Your advice has been most helpful for me in the writing and presentation of my first novel. I am querying now and you have helped me greatly with comparatives. This video is the best yet in summing up the querying process. Thank you so much, Susan
I’m about to finish the first draft of my first novel. I still have a ways to go before I start querying but it’s so helpful to hear this before I’m starting!
There are a lot of helpful tips in this. Thank you! I am in the editing process of my sixth novel. The first five were self-published and are doing well but I think it’s time to work with an agent and take my writing career to the next level. I’m loving your videos!
Will be studying this. About to get laid off in 60 days and I have been working on a novel series for 4 years. I have volume one done and finishing up volume 2. Hopefully I will be able to take it somewhere and God will bless me good fortune. Thank you for the video explaining this as it has helped the anxiety a little bit.
I finished my first draft and have barely got into my second draft when i lost a bit of motivation. I probably just didnt wait long enough after the first draft to start the second, it wasnt much time. Anyway i figured i would just do a query letter to give myself a bit more motivation.
Definitely take a break from your manuscript if you need it! I think mixing it up and working on your query letter is a great idea when you're not feeling motivated to write. You might be interested in another of my videos - ua-cam.com/video/LacSmH_Rtm8/v-deo.html It offers some additional tips for when you need a motivation boost.
This video has been a great confidence builder as I am just starting down the query road. I will definitely watch the "blurb" and "comp titles" videos next. Thanks again for all you do.
This was very validating. I am traditionally published with the metaphysical publisher Llewellyn, but I want to grow and approach larger publishers. I spent last weekend writing query letters and sending off pitches to agents and felt very good at the time, but as the week's progressed I've started to become doubtful. I'm pleased listening to this that I did follow script and included all of the important parts needed.
@@AlyssaMatesic Thankyou! it's a weird feeling going through this process having already gone through a traditional publishing process directly with the publisher, it almost feels like I'm a debut author again. Thankyou again!
Im just about to start making my query letter. Thank you for this information. I was planning on self publishing when I started my book. But writing it was enough work. Deciding to go traditional is scary but Im hoping it will be worth it. Im writing a self help about leveraging the conditioning and skill developed in childhood trauma as an adult. I hope someone will find it worth publishing. My editor thinks it will. I remain hopeful.
Good thing I have hired you to write my letter. Even when I have been getting rejections, but you already explained very well how to understand the responses. Keep up with your videos. Always informative.
Thank you for sharing all your advice here, it's been very helpf helpful as I am revising my first manuscript (contemporary fiction) and preparing to query literary agents :) Really appreciate it!
I really appreciate your videos! I've been struggling to get a couple independently published books out there. So, I'm planning to pitch some query letters out there later this year when I'm done with my third book. Thanks for your helpful content!
I gotta say I’ve been watching your videos a while. I wrote a novel I really want to get published. 111,000 words. 22 chapters. I’ve always wanted to write but I’m dyslexic. Getting it to where it is was a lot. Stressful on the proofreading, used programs to assist. Now I’m just starting in hopes of getting it published. So all of this is overwhelming. In some videos you speak to people like me saying. Hey you finished great job. Don’t worry if you’re not a great writer. To hey! You need to know all these peoples works, don’t turn them off and oh yeah have comps and have everything finished and refined. Otherwise you seem like you don’t know what you’re doing. Yep! I sure don’t!
Hey Alyssa - helpful advice. If you can't find a book/author that particularly aligns with the agent, could you write a personalized line about the genres they're looking for? I.e. "I noticed you're looking for literary fiction, which is why I ask you to represent my book," etc. I know it's not as good as a specific title they represented but wondering if it's better than nothing. Thanks!
Thanks for your advice. I know it's a very subjective market, and that a thick skin is required with the knowledge that one may have to endure dozens of rejections. I have had a 'professional' create a query letter for me recently, but I don't know enough to know how effective it is yet, but you both seem to be on the same page. Time will tell.
Hi! Attended a really cool pitching event I helped organize via writing organization, WNBA, the San Fran chapter, and I pitched my poetry chapbook to a really cool literary agent, who asked me to send her my working manuscript. Now it’s just time to wait the 10 weeks until I hopefully hear back! Since she already heard my pitch, I only briefly summarized the central theme of the collection, and left out the comp titles and author bio, since she already heard all that information during the Zoom pitch. I hope that wasn’t a mistake! I also noticed that the formatting got messed up for four lines of only one page where the font is different from the rest of the manuscript. Would love to hear if this would be an issue for many agents, and would lead to my MS being thrown out? Thanks!!! Love your channel as both a writer and editorial assistant in the indie publishing world!
Great video, but I've heard from several agents that as long as you put it in a clearly visible separate paragraph, you can have metadata before or after your plot paragraphs.
I am embarrassed to admit that I didn't even know that query letters existed before this week. I've been writing unpublished stories for a decade and never had the confidence to try to publish. I've decided to start taking it more seriously. Thanks for the information.
Love your videos. At least two other folks in the industry, an author/professor and an editor, have told me the bio should be the first paragraph in a query letter. I like your suggestion that it should be last, but I wonder if it used to appear in first paragraph in query letters and there's been a change?
Thank you so much. I have been working on my first children's book this past year and am ready to submit my first query this month! My question is- is it ok to submit to multiple literary agents at the same time or does that look bad? I have found one that is fitting for the book I created but I don't want to limit myself by only sending out one query. Is it best to wait for a reply and then move on to the next agent or best to send out multiple queries to agents that are a good fit? Thank you so much!
Alyssa!! I keep finding conflicting advice on whether you should add [name, address, phone number, email] to your query letter. Either the agent you're querying (at the top left) or your own (at the bottom left). Older query letter examples I've found seem to show this as standard practice (well, as old as 2020, anyway) - and examples I see that are current and up-to-date for 2022 don't seem to include these at all. Please let us know whether these should be included or not. Is it okay to leave them out and just start with Dear [Agent Name,] - and end with Sincerely, [Author Name]?
I can see how the stress of trying to attract attention would bring a person to write this. I find it so stressful that I find I rarely write query letters, so thank you for this video.
This has been so helpful. My question stems from the comparable books section. I am writing a memoir and I have read two memoirs that have a lot in common with my own. The only giant difference is that both of those authors are celebrities and I am not. Would it make sense to put those as my comparable book titles? Or am I better off finding memoirs from the more general population like me?
Love this! I’m about to start seriously querying and the letter is definitely a source of stress. ?? Question ?? If you want to personalize, but are pitching a newer agent without published authors yet, would it still be good to pull tidbits from their Manuscript Wishlist and use a similar phrasing? “I see you’re looking for something like [e.g., Bridgerton meets Bridge Kingdom] and thought you might like my story, which has similar themes.” Of course, only if your story actually does align in some way? I’ve found newer agents are a bit more descriptive in their MSWL, giving you more to work with.
Hey Lina, if you're doing sci-fi/fantasy YA, would you be interested in doing a query letter or even 10-page swap? I'm at the same stage as you, soon to start a round of querying. Cheers!
I have been ripped off by 2 possibly 3 publishers. My dream has always been a traditional publisher. I've tried loads of agents. But will try your advice as well.
i always wonder how creative one can get with comp titles... like, what if the best comparison is "game of thrones if it was written by tina fey" or "murderbot in the regency era." can i say that?
Thanks a million! I have a question. My book is a non-fiction English book for middle grade students based around stories and teaching kids how to analyze stories using the hero’s journey. I’m also an illustrator (I’m pretty good), and the book will have my illustrations in it. Do you think it would be helpful to spice up the query letter with a few illustrations from the book?
I have two questions. First, in the author bio section, should I list a previously published book that was published using the Hybrid/Vanity method and sold ALMOST twenty copies? Second (this is a two-parter), are sample pages only sent if asked for or do I include them with every query? Also, are the sample pages the first pages of the MS or any pages I choose? As always, thank you for all you do to help us out.
Thank you for this refresher. I am in the process of tweaking my query letter now. I have sent off some query's and have only gotten rejections. The agents that I have gotten rejections from didn't even give me any vague tips on what else to do. I of course believe in my project so I am just going to keep on submitting.
Hi Micia, if you're doing sci-fi/fantasy YA, would you be interested in doing a query letter or even 10-page swap? I'm at the same stage as you, soon to start a round of querying. Cheers!
I’m about finished my first full length science fiction book and started writing the query letter/email. Could you look over the query and tell me if it’s good? I have a hook, synopsis, bio-but I’m new to all of this, I have no idea what I’m doing, I just want to make a good first impression for my query emails
I have a prologue, epilogue, and appendix in my book. Should I include these in the word count of my query? If so, do I give each as an individual? Or just say complete at the total word count for all?
How do you go about querying when you want to publish under a pseudonym? Do you use your government name when submitting or use the pen name in the letter?
I love this! How many words do you think the query should ideally be? I’ve been struggling with that cuz at first I sent a long version and got many rejections but I later on corrected that. Do you also think it’s worth resubmitting to the agents who haven’t answered yet if my first query wasn’t up to par?
Query Skeleton ---- Dear NAME, Personalization: Show the reason why you’re reaching out to this agent. “I am reaching out to you because of your work representing AUTHOR, and I am excited to present my own novel-“ Overview of project/Required Information: “I am seeking representation for my book TITLE in GENRE genre completed at WORD COUNT.” Blurb section: The movie trailer of the book. Entice the reader to keep reading. 2-4 paragraphs Tease the main conflict and characters. Comparable titles paragraph: 3 titles max. Published in the last 5 years. Don’t be too all over the place, because you don’t want to confuse the agent. My own bio: 2-4 sentences. Include degrees, awards, trainings, publications, and whatnot What do you do outside of writing in order to support this work Where you are based Closing Paragraph: Simple sign off language “Thank you for your consideration and for taking the time to look over this project.”
Hey Alyssa, do I have to put the title of my book in all caps? I've been seeing examples online and it seems I see a good amount writing their titles in call caps.
I've never seen anyone say to have a separate paragraph just for comps! I usually see it wrapped into the metadata (opening) paragraph. That's where I have mine! So, a three sentence paragraph instead of a two sentence paragraph. It's basically... "Because you [personalization], here is my novel [genre, word count, etc. This [adjective] story features [tropes]. It will appeal to fans of [comps].
I was wondering about your rule in the comp section not to use books older than 5 years and books that are considered canons of the genre. One of the books I wanted to mention was How the Grinch Stole Christmas as my story shares a similar tale of redemption and salvation of Christmas for a small town. What do you think?
Not sure if you answer this in any other videos, but when doing the closing paragraph and putting in your name, do you use your pen name if you're using one or your legal name?
Well looks like I'm in tricky position as far as publishers go---my novel is 160K words--no way it can be cut down to 100k or even 140k...perhaps I should just try going for a netflicks series--it's a no brainer for that format according to readers and I think that too--its fun, has soul, is unique, magical and wild--- a magical realism yarn... didn't know publishers were so hung on smaller novels though I can see the logic in that. But let me put this to you--you seem to be a very sharp person, you present extremely well, and clearly know a lot about the industry....say you had something very special and totally unique and it was 160K words and not much trimmable fat in the tale (certainly not 40,000 or 60,000 words worth)...is there any way you could get it through the industry's defenses against larger novels. I do have one novel on Amazon with all 5-star reviews but not a lot of sales. Again, compliments on your videos--you really put together good stuff and present extremely well. Thanks for your work.
I just finished writing a draft of a query letter. I read that the letter should be 300 words or less. I also went to a workshop and was advised 400 words or less. Based on your video it seems like what you advising might be more than the suggested word count. I am trying to keep my letter at one page.
Thank you for your advice! As a teenager, I was wondering if I should include my status as a student in my author bio since I'm worried it would undermine me as an author. Would this steer agents away from working with me?
Hi there - I've touched on whether to mention your age in your query letter in another Q&A video: ua-cam.com/video/vXr1lgVfHQ8/v-deo.html I hope that helps!
Hi Alyssa. I watch your videos and they are really helpful. I have a question, I'm received conflicting information on how much I need to put in a query letter. My editor says to put the entire plot overview into it while other sources say not to and to keep it one page around 250 - 350 pages. My editor was last informed that query letters followed the entire plot method but I and her are not sure what the standard is right now. I would appreciate your help.
At this point I am preparing to write query letters although I still have to research literary agents as I do not have a Twitter account, neither have I had much inclination besides your recommendation to look at Twitter. However I would like to ask - I recently stumbled across a video about an author who recently got her first book deal and she claimed to have used Pirates of the Caribbean as a comparative title. I just want to ask your personal opinion how well does that usually fly, if the comps are not novels at all but movies, television, or such like?
just before this I saw in another video there was an example of a successful query letter that started with a story hook, so what am I supposed to do??
Hey Alyssa! I have two questions: I have a book that is 'published' on Wattpad, and as a Wattpad author, I am allowed to see the demographics of my audience. My Wattpad novel is a hockey player - fan romance, and the current novel that I am interested in getting traditionally published is a Mafia Romance. When Querying I do feel like mentioning the amount of reads I have on my hockey romance in the author bio paragraph as a credential. But, my question is, should I include my demographics? My demos for the hockey romance are 53% 18-25 years of age. I feel like this could be helpful already knowing that I have an audience that enjoys my reading, but I also feel like adding it in my Query, could be potentially limiting. My next question is: Should I mention my hockey romance in the 'Comparable Titles' paragraph? I'm on the fence mainly because it is not traditionally published and is also written by me but, it is my writing style and can be used an an example for how I write. Thank you so much for all of your information and guidance! It is truly helpful and reassuring through this process. Light and Love, Elizabeth James (Good closing paragraph) lol
Hi, Alyssa, l have self published two books through Amazon KDP and recorded and uploaded the Audible versions. What would happen now if I try to get published traditionally? Or am I stuck with Amazon?
It depends on what works best for you and your schedule! I recommend reading back through the manuscript at least once before sending it out, but in reality the more time you've invested into editing your manuscript, the stronger it likely is--and thus, the higher chance it will have of attracting the attention of an agent. But that, again, depends on how much you can put in. Thanks for the question!
Do you attach sample pages directly with the query letter (same document) or is it a separate submission? I haven’t started querying yet but was curious about that aspect of things. Thanks!
@@AlyssaMatesic Do you send the sample pages only if the agent requests them? Or do you send them two e-mails--the query, and the sample pages? I'll start my querying process after my third draft is back from my copy editor. That should be next month.
I hope this isn’t a weird question, but I’m still a teenager (16) and ready to publish a novel, should I try not to mention my age in the letter? I don’t want to be judged just because of my age. Thanks for your help!!
For the most part, the US and UK querying processes are similar! You could even query US-based agents, if you wanted your book to come out in the US market first. Thanks for the question!
@@AlyssaMatesic Thank you for this. I wrote 'The Brotherhood of Necessity' which initially focuses inside the USA, with a worldwide extension. I then found that I don't know as much about the USA as I thought - tricked by the TV! So... revision, revision, revision... my main character is now an Aussie, but his father is American. this allows all kinds of graft in the story. 🙂
Thanks for this series, Alyssa. One question, if I may: Should I mention that I already have a self-published book out? The book I'm seeking representation for is a prequel to the self-pubbed title but is written as a stand-alone. Book #1 is a Family Saga and Book #2 goes back one generation. Might this cause issues? I'm assuming an agent will google me and probably find the first book anyway.
This video would be a lot better if you could show examples of a query as you talk about it, that way we can see--in rough strokes--how to apply your suggestions.
Your advice has been most helpful for me in the writing and presentation of my first novel. I am querying now and you have helped me greatly with comparatives. This video is the best yet in summing up the querying process. Thank you so much, Susan
I'm so glad! I wish you the best of luck with the querying process!
Did you ever get a request?
I’m about to write my first query letter for my first novel and this really simplified the process. Thanks a bunch!
Glad it was helpful! Good luck querying your novel!
I’m about to finish the first draft of my first novel. I still have a ways to go before I start querying but it’s so helpful to hear this before I’m starting!
There are a lot of helpful tips in this. Thank you! I am in the editing process of my sixth novel. The first five were self-published and are doing well but I think it’s time to work with an agent and take my writing career to the next level. I’m loving your videos!
You got this!
Will be studying this. About to get laid off in 60 days and I have been working on a novel series for 4 years. I have volume one done and finishing up volume 2. Hopefully I will be able to take it somewhere and God will bless me good fortune. Thank you for the video explaining this as it has helped the anxiety a little bit.
Good luck! Rooting for you 👏
@@Jdawg96-to2lf thank you. I appreciate it. Finishing up volume two and maybe having two books back to back will be a good starting point. 😊
I took notes! Getting this DONE, Alyssa - THANK YOU!
I finished my first draft and have barely got into my second draft when i lost a bit of motivation. I probably just didnt wait long enough after the first draft to start the second, it wasnt much time. Anyway i figured i would just do a query letter to give myself a bit more motivation.
Definitely take a break from your manuscript if you need it! I think mixing it up and working on your query letter is a great idea when you're not feeling motivated to write. You might be interested in another of my videos - ua-cam.com/video/LacSmH_Rtm8/v-deo.html It offers some additional tips for when you need a motivation boost.
This video has been a great confidence builder as I am just starting down the query road. I will definitely watch the "blurb" and "comp titles" videos next. Thanks again for all you do.
Glad it was helpful!
Thumbs up if you sent out a query only to discover a typo afterward. I raise my glass to you, my friends.
I'm about a third through my first draft and have been binging all your videos! I have to say, you are brilliant. Thank you
Hands down, this is the best video I've ever seen about query letters. Thank you very, very much. So helpful!
Thank you again for the clear explanation.
This was very validating. I am traditionally published with the metaphysical publisher Llewellyn, but I want to grow and approach larger publishers. I spent last weekend writing query letters and sending off pitches to agents and felt very good at the time, but as the week's progressed I've started to become doubtful. I'm pleased listening to this that I did follow script and included all of the important parts needed.
So glad it was helpful - best of luck with querying!
@@AlyssaMatesic Thankyou! it's a weird feeling going through this process having already gone through a traditional publishing process directly with the publisher, it almost feels like I'm a debut author again. Thankyou again!
I'm preparing to query in October. Thank you so much for this video.
Best of luck! 😊
I came back to it, as I'm starting my query prep, and I must say it's gold. Thank you!
Alyssa. KUDOS. Another excellent lesson. I recorded the audio, and will listen to it many times during my work commute.
Im just about to start making my query letter. Thank you for this information. I was planning on self publishing when I started my book. But writing it was enough work. Deciding to go traditional is scary but Im hoping it will be worth it. Im writing a self help about leveraging the conditioning and skill developed in childhood trauma as an adult. I hope someone will find it worth publishing. My editor thinks it will. I remain hopeful.
Thank you for this, Alyssa!
Thanks for this video :) I'm currently thinking about querying agents for my fiction, so I'm taking all the information I can get.
Good thing I have hired you to write my letter. Even when I have been getting rejections, but you already explained very well how to understand the responses.
Keep up with your videos. Always informative.
This is very helpful. I think I basically have all the elements, but I can definitely tweak it to emphasize these points better.
I've heard polarized advice about the genre/wordcount paragraph. Some say put it at the end and some at the beginning.
Nice. I can work on this on the side, to give myself a break from the story. I'm not at the querying stage yet but yeah... Thanks.
Thanks! I just sent my first query this week!!
''and so the games begin!''
Haha, congrats! I wish you the best with this querying journey :)
How are the games going?
Wonderful and inspiring video! Excellently presented and helpful! I look forward to watching more.
Thank you this has been very helpful as I’m just getting started good. I have 15 books published with 100 more to write.
I follow you on TikTok and I am so happy to know that you have a UA-cam channel! What a nice surprise☻ immediately subscribed
Really helpful. Short, precise and well presented. Just like a query should be, aye?
Thank you for your advice and insight.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for sharing all your advice here, it's been very helpf helpful as I am revising my first manuscript (contemporary fiction) and preparing to query literary agents :) Really appreciate it!
Another very helpful video. It clarified what I've already done and offered more to strongly consider. Thankyou!
Excellent insight. Thank you Alyssa. Just finished the second draft of my first novel and love your videos.
Keep up the good work!
Preparing my own query letter. Thank you for all your help.
Subscribed! Any info on the children’s book industry is appreciated. Great videos :)
I really appreciate your videos! I've been struggling to get a couple independently published books out there. So, I'm planning to pitch some query letters out there later this year when I'm done with my third book. Thanks for your helpful content!
Best of luck!
Thank you.❤
I gotta say I’ve been watching your videos a while. I wrote a novel I really want to get published. 111,000 words. 22 chapters. I’ve always wanted to write but I’m dyslexic. Getting it to where it is was a lot. Stressful on the proofreading, used programs to assist. Now I’m just starting in hopes of getting it published.
So all of this is overwhelming. In some videos you speak to people like me saying. Hey you finished great job. Don’t worry if you’re not a great writer. To hey! You need to know all these peoples works, don’t turn them off and oh yeah have comps and have everything finished and refined. Otherwise you seem like you don’t know what you’re doing.
Yep! I sure don’t!
Thank you so much for this! Im finishing writing my first novel and I hope by next year I can find an agent!
did you finish it ?
Useful info. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Hey Alyssa - helpful advice. If you can't find a book/author that particularly aligns with the agent, could you write a personalized line about the genres they're looking for? I.e. "I noticed you're looking for literary fiction, which is why I ask you to represent my book," etc. I know it's not as good as a specific title they represented but wondering if it's better than nothing. Thanks!
This was honestly the most helpful thing I've found for querying, thank you.
I'm so glad you found it helpful! Thanks for commenting!
Great content! I'd like to know more about the best ways to personalize, especially referencing agents' manuscript wish lists?
Thanks for your advice. I know it's a very subjective market, and that a thick skin is required with the knowledge that one may have to endure dozens of rejections. I have had a 'professional' create a query letter for me recently, but I don't know enough to know how effective it is yet, but you both seem to be on the same page. Time will tell.
Hi! Attended a really cool pitching event I helped organize via writing organization, WNBA, the San Fran chapter, and I pitched my poetry chapbook to a really cool literary agent, who asked me to send her my working manuscript. Now it’s just time to wait the 10 weeks until I hopefully hear back! Since she already heard my pitch, I only briefly summarized the central theme of the collection, and left out the comp titles and author bio, since she already heard all that information during the Zoom pitch. I hope that wasn’t a mistake! I also noticed that the formatting got messed up for four lines of only one page where the font is different from the rest of the manuscript. Would love to hear if this would be an issue for many agents, and would lead to my MS being thrown out? Thanks!!! Love your channel as both a writer and editorial assistant in the indie publishing world!
I tried to be quirky in my query. 😬 Thanks for sharing your knowledge! I’m gonna start over better now.
Great video, but I've heard from several agents that as long as you put it in a clearly visible separate paragraph, you can have metadata before or after your plot paragraphs.
Great video, just what I needed just now, thank you.
I was just wondering, what do you put as the subject of the email?
Exactly the video I needed right now!
Glad it helped!
I am embarrassed to admit that I didn't even know that query letters existed before this week. I've been writing unpublished stories for a decade and never had the confidence to try to publish. I've decided to start taking it more seriously. Thanks for the information.
How to publish?
Love your videos. At least two other folks in the industry, an author/professor and an editor, have told me the bio should be the first paragraph in a query letter. I like your suggestion that it should be last, but I wonder if it used to appear in first paragraph in query letters and there's been a change?
Thank you so much. I have been working on my first children's book this past year and am ready to submit my first query this month! My question is- is it ok to submit to multiple literary agents at the same time or does that look bad? I have found one that is fitting for the book I created but I don't want to limit myself by only sending out one query. Is it best to wait for a reply and then move on to the next agent or best to send out multiple queries to agents that are a good fit? Thank you so much!
Thank you very much for your advice. Does a non-fiction writer need a fully completed manuscript before sourcing a literary agent?
Alyssa!! I keep finding conflicting advice on whether you should add [name, address, phone number, email] to your query letter. Either the agent you're querying (at the top left) or your own (at the bottom left). Older query letter examples I've found seem to show this as standard practice (well, as old as 2020, anyway) - and examples I see that are current and up-to-date for 2022 don't seem to include these at all. Please let us know whether these should be included or not. Is it okay to leave them out and just start with Dear [Agent Name,] - and end with Sincerely, [Author Name]?
Hahaha, the ending had me rolling on the floor. “We’re going to sell a million books”. Do people actually send that to agents? 🤣
You'd be surprised!
I can see how the stress of trying to attract attention would bring a person to write this. I find it so stressful that I find I rarely write query letters, so thank you for this video.
LMAO 😂😂
This has been so helpful. My question stems from the comparable books section. I am writing a memoir and I have read two memoirs that have a lot in common with my own. The only giant difference is that both of those authors are celebrities and I am not. Would it make sense to put those as my comparable book titles? Or am I better off finding memoirs from the more general population like me?
Love this! I’m about to start seriously querying and the letter is definitely a source of stress. ?? Question ??
If you want to personalize, but are pitching a newer agent without published authors yet, would it still be good to pull tidbits from their Manuscript Wishlist and use a similar phrasing?
“I see you’re looking for something like [e.g., Bridgerton meets Bridge Kingdom] and thought you might like my story, which has similar themes.”
Of course, only if your story actually does align in some way? I’ve found newer agents are a bit more descriptive in their MSWL, giving you more to work with.
Hey Lina, if you're doing sci-fi/fantasy YA, would you be interested in doing a query letter or even 10-page swap? I'm at the same stage as you, soon to start a round of querying. Cheers!
Excellent video. Thank you!
I have been ripped off by 2 possibly 3 publishers. My dream has always been a traditional publisher. I've tried loads of agents. But will try your advice as well.
i always wonder how creative one can get with comp titles... like, what if the best comparison is "game of thrones if it was written by tina fey" or "murderbot in the regency era." can i say that?
Thanks a million! I have a question. My book is a non-fiction English book for middle grade students based around stories and teaching kids how to analyze stories using the hero’s journey. I’m also an illustrator (I’m pretty good), and the book will have my illustrations in it. Do you think it would be helpful to spice up the query letter with a few illustrations from the book?
I have two questions. First, in the author bio section, should I list a previously published book that was published using the Hybrid/Vanity method and sold ALMOST twenty copies? Second (this is a two-parter), are sample pages only sent if asked for or do I include them with every query? Also, are the sample pages the first pages of the MS or any pages I choose?
As always, thank you for all you do to help us out.
This was extremely helpful!❤
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you Alyssa.
Is it common for a cover letter to also accompany the quiere?
If so, what should it say?
Thank you for this refresher. I am in the process of tweaking my query letter now. I have sent off some query's and have only gotten rejections. The agents that I have gotten rejections from didn't even give me any vague tips on what else to do. I of course believe in my project so I am just going to keep on submitting.
Glad it was helpful! I wish you the best of luck with querying!
Hi Micia, if you're doing sci-fi/fantasy YA, would you be interested in doing a query letter or even 10-page swap? I'm at the same stage as you, soon to start a round of querying. Cheers!
@@arnoldtanjunhan sorry, I do adult fiction/romance. Good luck to you 🎉
@@plmwrites no worries. And to you!
Hi Alyssa! Do you have any specific suggestions for poets? Specifically regarding the blurb section. Thank you so much for the help!
I’m about finished my first full length science fiction book and started writing the query letter/email.
Could you look over the query and tell me if it’s good? I have a hook, synopsis, bio-but I’m new to all of this, I have no idea what I’m doing, I just want to make a good first impression for my query emails
I have a prologue, epilogue, and appendix in my book. Should I include these in the word count of my query? If so, do I give each as an individual? Or just say complete at the total word count for all?
Great video and thank you
Very much appreciate this video!
Excellent!
Never written anything more engrossing than a shopping list.
Just finished 79,500 words.
Writing my Letter, starting tomorrow.
Best of luck Mike!
It's done
Thanks so much!
the best advice, thank you!
How do you go about querying when you want to publish under a pseudonym? Do you use your government name when submitting or use the pen name in the letter?
I love this! How many words do you think the query should ideally be? I’ve been struggling with that cuz at first I sent a long version and got many rejections but I later on corrected that. Do you also think it’s worth resubmitting to the agents who haven’t answered yet if my first query wasn’t up to par?
Query Skeleton
----
Dear NAME,
Personalization:
Show the reason why you’re reaching out to this agent.
“I am reaching out to you because of your work representing AUTHOR, and I am excited to present my own novel-“
Overview of project/Required Information:
“I am seeking representation for my book TITLE in GENRE genre completed at WORD COUNT.”
Blurb section:
The movie trailer of the book. Entice the reader to keep reading.
2-4 paragraphs
Tease the main conflict and characters.
Comparable titles paragraph:
3 titles max. Published in the last 5 years. Don’t be too all over the place, because you don’t want to confuse the agent.
My own bio:
2-4 sentences.
Include degrees, awards, trainings, publications, and whatnot
What do you do outside of writing in order to support this work
Where you are based
Closing Paragraph:
Simple sign off language
“Thank you for your consideration and for taking the time to look over this project.”
Thank you
Hey Alyssa, do I have to put the title of my book in all caps? I've been seeing examples online and it seems I see a good amount writing their titles in call caps.
I've never seen anyone say to have a separate paragraph just for comps! I usually see it wrapped into the metadata (opening) paragraph. That's where I have mine! So, a three sentence paragraph instead of a two sentence paragraph. It's basically... "Because you [personalization], here is my novel [genre, word count, etc. This [adjective] story features [tropes]. It will appeal to fans of [comps].
This is another great template to use! Thank you for sharing :)
I was wondering about your rule in the comp section not to use books older than 5 years and books that are considered canons of the genre. One of the books I wanted to mention was How the Grinch Stole Christmas as my story shares a similar tale of redemption and salvation of Christmas for a small town. What do you think?
Should I include that I'm an emerging writer in my query?
Not sure if you answer this in any other videos, but when doing the closing paragraph and putting in your name, do you use your pen name if you're using one or your legal name?
As I Canadian, my book would still be published by American publishing houses (the Big Five) even though I don't live in the States?
When a literary agents ask for works previous published, which paragraph do you put in? Similar works? bio?
The biography would be the best place!
Well looks like I'm in tricky position as far as publishers go---my novel is 160K words--no way it can be cut down to 100k or even 140k...perhaps I should just try going for a netflicks series--it's a no brainer for that format according to readers and I think that too--its fun, has soul, is unique, magical and wild--- a magical realism yarn... didn't know publishers were so hung on smaller novels though I can see the logic in that.
But let me put this to you--you seem to be a very sharp person, you present extremely well, and clearly know a lot about the industry....say you had something very special and totally unique and it was 160K words and not much trimmable fat in the tale (certainly not 40,000 or 60,000 words worth)...is there any way you could get it through the industry's defenses against larger novels. I do have one novel on Amazon with all 5-star reviews but not a lot of sales.
Again, compliments on your videos--you really put together good stuff and present extremely well. Thanks for your work.
I just finished writing a draft of a query letter. I read that the letter should be 300 words or less. I also went to a workshop and was advised 400 words or less. Based on your video it seems like what you advising might be more than the suggested word count. I am trying to keep my letter at one page.
Thank you for your advice! As a teenager, I was wondering if I should include my status as a student in my author bio since I'm worried it would undermine me as an author. Would this steer agents away from working with me?
Hi there - I've touched on whether to mention your age in your query letter in another Q&A video: ua-cam.com/video/vXr1lgVfHQ8/v-deo.html I hope that helps!
@@AlyssaMatesic thank you so much :)
Would it be weird to write the entire letter it in third person? Like a it a blurb or about the author would be written on a website....
Hi Alyssa. I watch your videos and they are really helpful. I have a question, I'm received conflicting information on how much I need to put in a query letter. My editor says to put the entire plot overview into it while other sources say not to and to keep it one page around 250 - 350 pages. My editor was last informed that query letters followed the entire plot method but I and her are not sure what the standard is right now. I would appreciate your help.
At this point I am preparing to write query letters although I still have to research literary agents as I do not have a Twitter account, neither have I had much inclination besides your recommendation to look at Twitter.
However I would like to ask - I recently stumbled across a video about an author who recently got her first book deal and she claimed to have used Pirates of the Caribbean as a comparative title. I just want to ask your personal opinion how well does that usually fly, if the comps are not novels at all but movies, television, or such like?
just before this I saw in another video there was an example of a successful query letter that started with a story hook, so what am I supposed to do??
Hey Alyssa! I have two questions: I have a book that is 'published' on Wattpad, and as a Wattpad author, I am allowed to see the demographics of my audience. My Wattpad novel is a hockey player - fan romance, and the current novel that I am interested in getting traditionally published is a Mafia Romance. When Querying I do feel like mentioning the amount of reads I have on my hockey romance in the author bio paragraph as a credential. But, my question is, should I include my demographics? My demos for the hockey romance are 53% 18-25 years of age. I feel like this could be helpful already knowing that I have an audience that enjoys my reading, but I also feel like adding it in my Query, could be potentially limiting.
My next question is: Should I mention my hockey romance in the 'Comparable Titles' paragraph? I'm on the fence mainly because it is not traditionally published and is also written by me but, it is my writing style and can be used an an example for how I write.
Thank you so much for all of your information and guidance! It is truly helpful and reassuring through this process.
Light and Love, Elizabeth James (Good closing paragraph) lol
What about query letters for audiobook authors
Hi, Alyssa, l have self published two books through Amazon KDP and recorded and uploaded the Audible versions.
What would happen now if I try to get published traditionally? Or am I stuck with Amazon?
Should I have a completely edited manuscript before sending out a query?
It depends on what works best for you and your schedule! I recommend reading back through the manuscript at least once before sending it out, but in reality the more time you've invested into editing your manuscript, the stronger it likely is--and thus, the higher chance it will have of attracting the attention of an agent. But that, again, depends on how much you can put in. Thanks for the question!
Do you attach sample pages directly with the query letter (same document) or is it a separate submission? I haven’t started querying yet but was curious about that aspect of things. Thanks!
Having them separate is ideal, just to keep things separate!
@@AlyssaMatesic Do you send the sample pages only if the agent requests them? Or do you send them two e-mails--the query, and the sample pages? I'll start my querying process after my third draft is back from my copy editor. That should be next month.
I hope this isn’t a weird question, but I’m still a teenager (16) and ready to publish a novel, should I try not to mention my age in the letter? I don’t want to be judged just because of my age. Thanks for your help!!
Hi Alyssa. I live in the UK and just wondered do your videos also relate to UK agents and publishers too? Or is this more US based advice?
For the most part, the US and UK querying processes are similar! You could even query US-based agents, if you wanted your book to come out in the US market first. Thanks for the question!
@@AlyssaMatesic thank you so much!
@@AlyssaMatesic Thank you for this. I wrote 'The Brotherhood of Necessity' which initially focuses inside the USA, with a worldwide extension. I then found that I don't know as much about the USA as I thought - tricked by the TV! So... revision, revision, revision... my main character is now an Aussie, but his father is American. this allows all kinds of graft in the story. 🙂
Thanks for this series, Alyssa. One question, if I may: Should I mention that I already have a self-published book out? The book I'm seeking representation for is a prequel to the self-pubbed title but is written as a stand-alone. Book #1 is a Family Saga and Book #2 goes back one generation. Might this cause issues? I'm assuming an agent will google me and probably find the first book anyway.
I notice it usually does
This video would be a lot better if you could show examples of a query as you talk about it, that way we can see--in rough strokes--how to apply your suggestions.