Query Do's & Don'ts - Part 3

✅ DO
Use a conventional letter format when writing your query letter. Improperly writing a letter can tell a literary agent that you are unprofessional and possibly give off an "I don't care" attitude. So ALWAYS follow this rule to look professional, serious, and to reflect that you did your research.

✅ DO
List your qualifications and publication history. If you don't have any publication history, that is fine, but be sure to hone in on your qualifications. Did you major in creative writing or English in college? Did you win a writing contest at some point? Do you have a Facebook Group dedicated to writing with x-amount of members? Mention anything you can and be professional rather than braggy.

❌ DON'T
Writing more than one page can be a death sentence. Address the agent by name, hook them with the summary of your book, provide the genre and word count of your book, list your qualifications and publication history in a short bio, and then list your contact information—ALL WITHIN ONE PAGE. More than this will waste an agent's time and might cause them moving on.

❌ DON'T
Do not send a query letter that isn't proofread. Read over your query letter, have a friend look over your query letter, and then have another person read over your query letter. Do this and ask for the other eyes on your query letter to catch any mistakes you might have made. Sending a query letter containing errors is a huge mistake.

Hope this is helpful to those writers who are in the query trenches! 🤎