Here’s a guest post by Wendy Burt-Thomas
One of the complaints I hear most from magazine writers (and authors) is that they hate writing query letters. As someone who has been on both sides of the slush pile (writer pitching bad queries and editor reading bad queries), trust me when I say I feel your pain.
So what’s a writer to do?
Whether you’re selling a book, article, short story or personal essay, you’ve got to figure out how to find the fun in writing queries. I know, I know…Pollyanna.
Here are 3 reasons you’ll feel the pinch in your pocketbook if you don’t get the bitter taste out of your mouth:
1. Writing query letters will become such drudgery that you’ll stop doing it altogether. (= No sales to anyplace requiring queries first)
2. You’ll write them, but it will take you forever just to finish one. (= Few sales because you’re sending out fewer pitches)
3. Editors will think your manuscript will be as bland as your query. (= No sales.)
The first two are self-explanatory, but the third is a direct reflection of the fun you put into your query. Want an example? Here are two query openings for the same piece. These are samples taken from my book, The Writer’s Digest Guide to Query Letters (January 2009, Writer’s Digest Books):
Dear Mr. Corey,
On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I had the pleasure of meeting the cast of “Ocean’s 13.” Because my brother-in-law was the assistant director for the movie, I was also invited to dine with them. Needless to say, it was incredibly exciting and the conversations during the meal provided me with good fodder for my article, “Dining with the Cast of ‘Ocean’s 13.’”…The only thing this person has going for him is good grammar. Granted, he’s just eaten dinner with some of Hollywood’s biggest leading stars, but that alone might not be enough to save this piece. If his article is as bland and stoic as his query, even Fabio’s fan club will be bored by the likes of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon. Un-sexy.
Now try this on for size:
Dear Mr. Corey,
I have to wash my brother-in-law’s car for a year, but it’s worth it. As the assistant director on “Ocean’s 13,” he allowed me to tag along to a four-hour dinner with three of the hottest studs (Um, that’s according to my wife) in Tinseltown: Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon. The three were forewarned that I was a freelance writer and they didn’t disappoint. From kissing Julia Roberts and visiting Cambodia to attempts to launch Matt as People’s “Sexiest Man of the Year,” I’ve got dirt to dish and the photos to prove it. At just over 2,000 words, “A Dud Among Studs” is a humorous piece about a night that was nothing less than hysterical—and humbling—with the three Hollywood hotties. (I did mention I’m married, right?)…
Can you feel the difference? The second query’s opening was probably as much fun to write as the article itself. The writer is enticing the editor with not only the topic, but also the voice he’ll use to write it; a fun, funny, self-deprecating style that’s hard to find, and therefore, hard to pass up.
The trick to writing a good magazine query is to find the stories that fascinate or entertain you – and then make that interest contagious in your query. If you love your completed novel, put as much effort into your book’s query letter. Make it a game to craft the best query possible. Can you make the editor laugh? Cry? Look your name up on the Internet? Most importantly, can you make them request your manuscript?
Find the fun in query letters. Your wallet will thank you … and so will your editor.
Wendy Burt-Thomas is a full-time freelance writer, editor and PR consultant. Her credits include more than 1,000 published pieces and three books. She promises that her new book, The Writers Digest Guide To Query Letters
P.S. Check out the thrifty new prices for The Editor Unleashed Workshops including Query Letter Clinic, Blogging 101, Fiction Writing Intensive and Make a Scene. E-mail Maria with questions. Starting soon!
flickr photo by striatic
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Am I a dork because I sorta enjoy writing cover & query letters?
Back in college, I had a prof who taught me that my cover letters were the only things that would make me stand out in a sea of identical resumes. He then taught me to embrace creativity and quirkiness in the writing of these letters, and I’ve since heard a number of hiring managers and editors admit that they were won over by my fabulous letter.
When you feel fired up about a letter you’ve written, you know you’ve given it your all. When you’re not excited by what you’ve written, why should an editor be any more excited or interested? I try to remind myself that, in being lazy in my letter-writing, I’m not giving myself much of a chance to succeed.
I’m with Steph. Love writing query letters, but hate the waiting that comes after. Another option is the LOI (letter of introduction), and I’ve had some luck sending LOIs and clips to trade magazine editors.
I recently wrote a query e-letter to an agent (to no avail) that I had a lot of fun with. I first wrote the formatted, boring, business-like letter. Then I went back and made it actually pleasant. I like the second one better. And while the agent said no, I did get a personalized response. I guess that’s a bright side.
This post gave me an idea for a post over at Ways With Words. I posted the aforementioned query letter … just for kicks.
Wendy, I had never thought of writing query letters as something that could be fun. Thanks for the new perspective — and challenge!
Like most anything else, your attitude about something often times dictates the response back. I agree that having a bit of fun can take some of the stuffiness and formality out of the whole affair and shows you to be an open and “real” person.
George