As a literary agent, I receive anywhere from 400 to 500
submissions each month. In every case, these hopeful writers want me to see
potential in their work and help them bring it to market. What they probably
don’t know, is that they might be setting themselves up to fail at a very early
stage.
Most agents, and most publishers, want to see a query at first contact. That is, a one-page letter that describes both the book and the author. There is no single proper way to write a query, but the right information must be there: Author name, book title, genre, word count, synopsis, target audience, and something about you.
