Literary Agent Query Letter Template

Query Letter: [book title]

Query letter for approaching a literary agent with a novel or a nonfiction book: personalised opening, hook, pitch, book details with comparable titles, author bio and closing, plus a comps worksheet, a pre-send checklist and a submission tracker. Based on common publishing practice; there is no formal standard, and each agent's submission guidelines take precedence. Replace every [bracketed] value and every passage marked Example.

1. Letter

Dear [Agent name],

[Personalisation: one sentence on why this agent. Example: I am querying you because your list includes literary mysteries set in working coastal towns, and you mentioned on your agency page that you are looking for novels about family businesses.]

[Hook and pitch: two short paragraphs that name the main character, what they want, what stands in the way and what is at stake, without giving away the ending in the letter. Example: When archivist Nell Varga inherits her grandmother's failing salt works, she finds a ledger that records payments to a harbour official who vanished in 1974. Selling the works would clear her debts; keeping them means digging into a secret that half the town would rather forget.]

[Example: As a storm season threatens the salt pans and a developer circles, Nell must decide whether the truth about the missing official is worth the livelihoods of the people who still work for her.]

[Book details: Example: THE SALT ARCHIVE is a literary mystery, complete at 82,000 words. It will appeal to readers of [Comp title 1] by [Author] and [Comp title 2] by [Author], with the coastal setting of the first and the family secret at the centre of the second.]

[Bio: relevant credentials only. Example: I worked for twelve years as a records archivist for a regional port authority. My short fiction has appeared in [magazine names]. I live in [region].]

[Closing: Example: As requested in your guidelines, I have pasted the first ten pages below. Thank you for your time and consideration.]

Sincerely, [Author name] [Email] | [Phone] | [Website or social profile, optional]

2. Comparable titles worksheet

3. Before you send

• Agent's name spelled correctly; no leftover name from another query
• Agent currently open to queries and represents this category
• Word count and category stated, and the manuscript is finished (fiction)
• Attachments or pasted pages match the agent's guidelines exactly
• Letter fits on about one page and has been read aloud once
• Contact details work; email subject line follows the guidelines

4. Submission tracker

Reference and licence note

Based on common publishing practice for agent queries; no standard applies. Agencies set their own submission rules, so check each agent's current guidelines. Related: writing/book-proposal, writing/book-chapter. All wording is original. Template licence: MIT.