# 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*.

<!--
Guidance: How to use this template
- Keep the letter to about one page (roughly 250 to 400 words). Agents
  read many queries a day and decide from the first paragraphs.
- Read each agent's current submission guidelines before sending: what
  they represent, what to attach (sample pages, synopsis, proposal) and
  whether they accept email or a form only.
- Fiction: finish and revise the manuscript before querying. Nonfiction:
  query with a proposal; see the Book Proposal template
  (`writing/book-proposal`).
- Comparable titles ("comps") should be recent books in the same
  category with a similar reader; avoid the biggest bestsellers.
- The worked example (fictional author Mara Quillon and her fictional
  novel) is marked *Example*; the comp titles in it are invented.
-->

## 1. Letter

<!-- Guidance: Order: personalisation, hook and pitch, book details, bio, closing. Some agents prefer the book details first; follow their stated preference. -->

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

<!-- Guidance: Check each comp: published in the last few years, same category and reader, similar length. Explain in one phrase what your book shares with it. -->

| Comp title | Author | Year | Category | What my book shares with it |
|------------|--------|------|----------|-----------------------------|
| [title] | [author] | YYYY | [category] | [setting, theme, voice, structure] |
| *Example:* The Tide Clerk (invented title) | Invented author | 2024 | Literary mystery | Small working harbour, archival investigation |
| *Example:* A Ledger of Small Debts (invented title) | Invented author | 2023 | Literary fiction | Inherited family business, intergenerational secret |

## 3. Before you send

<!-- Guidance: A final pass catches the errors that end a query on the first line. -->

- [ ] 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

<!-- Guidance: Log every query so you do not query the same agent twice with the same book and can follow up only where the agent's policy allows. -->

| ID | Agent and agency | Date sent | Materials sent | Response window stated | Response | Next step |
|----|------------------|-----------|----------------|------------------------|----------|-----------|
| [QL-NNN] | [name, agency] | YYYY-MM-DD | [query + 10 pages] | [N weeks / no reply means no] | [Pass / Partial request / Full request / Offer] | [action, date] |

## 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.