Okay so the New Year is right around the corner and you have a resolution to query at least one agent or editor a month, right?
Right?
Whew, good. You want to get that romance novel published and the only way to do that is to put it out there.
That being said, it’s no use throwing together a sloppy query letter. You want to impress the would be agent or editor, not make them groan in displeasure.
The good news is that the most common query mistakes are easy to avoid.
#1 Check your spelling and grammar. Spell check, spell check and then read your letter aloud and spell check again. Check grammar too. When in doubt, simplify your sentences. Many grammar errors are made because we try to cram too much into a sentence.
#2 Skip the personal blow by blow. Generally, an agent or an editor doesn’t care to hear your life story. Unless it’s relevant to your ability to market and promote your book, skip it.
#3 Get to the point. A query letter has one objective – Get the agent’s/editor’s interest with a good pitch. They want to know that you’re professional and have a good story to tell – that’s it! If you spend twenty sentences blathering on about why you chose them to represent your book, well your flattery is going to fall on deaf ears because your letter will be in the trash.
#4 Keep it professional. Know your genre and speak intelligently about it. Remember, this is a business letter. It’s not a letter to a friend, a comedic speech or a dare.
#5 Tell the truth. If your book isn’t finished, don’t send a query. If your word count is over or under their required word count, don’t send a query. If your book isn’t in the genre they represent don’t send a query. And by all means never lie about your word count, genre and finished manuscript!
Take a risk and submit your romance manuscript to those top agents and editors on your list. If you don’t have a list, sit down and make one today. Then create a plan to check one name off that list each month.
To your success!