5 Things to Avoid in Your Novel Query Letter
Don't Make These 'Instant Rejection' Mistakes!
Previously, we discussed how to write a query letter for your novel and now I’d like to talk just a bit about some of the things you should never do when writing a query letter.
While it’s really important to make your novel query letter stand out from the thousands an agent might get in a week – it’s also important to appear professional and educated.
1. Gimmicks – Avoid gimmicks when querying agents. You might think it would be clever and funny to make your entire query rhyme or to address it to an agent’s dog – but it’s not.
Remember that most agents have seen it all, and it doesn’t get any cuter as they go along. Just ask agent Jessica Faust what she does when someone addresses a query to her pup…
Make your query stand out with excellent, crisp and concise writing and you’ll need no gimmicks.
2. Mistakes - No one is perfect, and I think most agents realize that. However, if you’ve done your job correctly, you’ve proofread that query more than once and probably more than twice. If one mistake squeezes through (or even two), it might be okay.
However, if your query is full of mistakes such as typos, words used in the wrong context, grammatical errors and more – you’re probably going to receive a rejection. Agent Janet Reid has a lot of great advice when it comes to the things that will get you an ‘instant rejection.’
3. Begging - Oh boy. You want that agent to request a proposal package or the full manuscript! You want it so badly you can taste it, but the last thing you want to do is beg, bribe, threaten or try to trick the agent into asking for a partial or full.
Simply submit the query in a professional and confident way, and if the strength is in your query, you’re going to get asked for more. Begging will accomplish nothing except making you look pathetic to an agent – which you don’t want!
4. Providing Too Much Information – The agent reading your query wants to instantly find out what your manuscript is about and whether or not it’s good. They don’t want to know where you grew up, unless it’s relevant somehow to your manuscript.
I’m not an agent, but I’m guessing they don’t care what kinds of sports you’re into or whether you took professional tennis lessons. They couldn’t care less about who took you to prom and if you’re allergic to corn – keep it to yourself. Your bio probably shouldn’t even be more than a sentence or two. Restrict the information in the query to manuscript-related!
5. Time Limits – Giving an agent a time limit for when they should respond to you is a huge no-no. Let’s face it – we’re nobodies in the publishing world…agents work with a lot of somebodies. If they receive a time limit from you because you’re going to edit if you don’t hear from an agent within 3 weeks…or because you want to query another agent but would like to hear from this agent first – chances are the agent is going to giggle and move on to another writer.
By avoiding these mistakes in your novel query letter, you may have a better chance of having the agent ask to see more of your work!
