December 14, 2005
I originally put this in the reply section of yesterday's post, but I thought I'd move it here since people seem to find this valuable:

Glad y'all liked it. I wish this woman luck, but if her query letter is any indication, she's got a ways to go. I can honestly say I take much more care with my queries these days. They're your first impression. Also, as an editor and generally busy person, I can more appreciate how important it is to get to the point. Don't think of an editor or agent patiently reading your query letter word for word and sentence by sentence. Think of them with a e-mail box with 130 e-mails and another 150 letters stacked up on their desk, with another 90 manuscripts at their feet, 8 of them by authors already contracted for. They're gonna skim and they're looking for:

1. A story that might intrigue them.
2. Basic info--word count and genre
3. Writing competence and professionalism--neat, no spelling or grammar errors, neat font on clean white paper
4. Any indication you're a professional writer, especially in the area you're trying to sell.

Here's a basic truth. With all this coming in, they're hoping something will make the story stand out. That won't be purple ink, fancy script or brownies. Sadly, what will stand out most is professionalism and competence--because it's rare.

Best,
Mark