A couple of months ago, I offered free query letter evaluations to writers on my email list. Having never made this type of offer to a large group of writers, I was totally unprepared for the responses. Dozens and dozens of query letters flew into my email, reminding me of the pressure agents face every day.

It's daunting to discover an incredibly long list of queries, waiting to be read. To live up to my agreement to evaluate full queries, I read each and every one of them. Although the stories and projects described in these queries were diverse and fascinating, reading them  required hours of time. (Who needs sleep?)

The experience reminded of what life is like in agentworld. Every week/day agents must read hundreds of queries, hoping to find the next best-selling author. Small wonder they read just the first few lines, and not the entire query. They don’t have time. (It’s rumored that some agents have lives outside of the business. They actually spend time with their kids, significant others, bowling buddies, etc.)

Don't despair. Use this information to motivate you to spend the time and extra effort in learning how to write an effective, attention-grabbing query letter, especially that first paragraph. Prove, in less than 100 words, that you are 1) a skillful writer, and 2) have crafted a timely, interesting, and saleable manuscript.

You can do it!
 


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