I've seen wall space in publishing houses and film production offices devoted to the most cringe-inducing query letters. All of them are unmitigated disasters; hand-written on mead loose leaf, novella-length ramblings, cryptic Zodiac-inspired language. Most have enough common sense to avoid glaring errors, but the truth is, that single page has a lot of work to do. It must introduce yourself, describe your work, and sell it. Very few writers survive the delicate moment when a time-starved gatekeeper holds your fate in his hands, just itching for a reason to lighten the in box. Feeling I could use a little tune-up on my own technique, I came across a free ebook by Noah Lukeman that is full of helpful advice.

Nothing in a query letter should be wasted. As with a resume, every word choice must be
deliberate. I'm always impressed when I receive a query which takes up only half a page or less
(which is rare). I understand how hard it is for a writer to achieve this, to fight back the urge to
tell more, to condense all he has to say to a mere few sentences. More often than not, I'll be
intrigued. If he can exhibit this kind of discipline in a query letter, it bodes well for what he can
to do in the actual book.

Although How to Write a Great Query Letter is geared towards the fiction writer seeking an agent, this primer has wisdom for anyone submitting their creative work. Check it out and let me know what you think.

PS. My latest obsession: acquiring an IBM Selectric.

Photo by Welcometoalville
Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.