How To Write a Query Letter that Gets You Noticed

Before determining how to write a query letter, it is best to define what exactly a query letter is and to avoid the common pitfalls of misusing a query letter. A query letter is a document that is sent to editors, publishers and writers of publications to gain publicity and endorsement of a written piece of literature or to gain a spot in covering a certain topic that one thinks is print worthy. With this in mind, it is imperative that each of these query letters is addressed properly to the appropriate person in charge of receiving such documents.

Here are some suggestions in getting your letter noticed and, likewise, considered more than the others that will definitely be on the same desk competing for the same attention:

• Make certain that it is going to the right person in the right company. It’s commonplace for people to make the mistake of sending a letter to the wrong person just because he or she is listed on top of the editorial staff box. Normally, there are certain representatives that are hired to handle responses to these letters.
• Be professional, have the quickness of mind to know that it is important that your letter be direct and short. A good peg for this is a business letter.
• Never forget your basic credentials. A good letter will go to waste if there is no name that they can attach this letter to.
• There’s a very standard and easy format for people to follow when making these letters. First of which, the initial paragraph should introduce you and your work. Facts that support the work are essential, like the title, the length of the project, the status of the work if it is fully ready or still being currently worked on and what type of work it is. The second paragraph, on the other hand, should be a quick summary of what the project is about, what values it holds, what the setting is, what types of characters it contains and what the overall direction of the work is. The third paragraph is the part where you talk about yourself, what other works you have accomplished and what other things are in store for you. Think of this part as an extension of your curriculum vitae of sorts – only in paragraph form and more interesting.
• Do not “hard-sell” your work. It’s not up to you to talk about how much a character is involved in the story or how touching it is. Leave that to the editor or whoever it is that will be reading your work.
• Lay down all the necessary information about the work; do not try to be coy about this in the hopes of raising curiosity and empathy from the initial read. 
• Yet another commonplace of errors is the mistyped words or (even worse) sentences. Professionalism is a key at this crucial point. Remember that a person who cannot write a letter properly will always be questioned about his effectiveness in writing the whole thing.
• Never forget to thank the person that might be reading your letter. It is not required but it is also proper for you to address that person early on for taking his time to read what is one of many hundreds of letters is.

Always keep in mind that the person reading a query is a person that has probably read a lot of these things. The best way to get this properly is still to have a unique and fresh concept. At the end of the day it is still the “product” that sells itself, your letter will only open a door but that door can just be easily shut if the thing coming in is not worth it.