| KAREN MACLEOD is a freelance editor, and Editorial Consultant to Simegen.com
Sending in a Query Letter to a Potential
PublisherYou've prepared your manuscript to be the best it possibly
is. You've had "beta readers" take it apart, critique it, and help you
"vet" it. You have made the spelling perfect (and don't count on your
computer's spell checker, it lies) as well as checking the continuity,
grammar. You've given it a total proofreading for any errors. If you have
NOT done this, or had someone else do it for you, this is the first step
to getting your manuscript published.
The second is to prepare a
package of materials, including manuscript excerpts, to send to a
potential publisher. Part of that package is the important query
letter.
I suppose there are as many ways to send in a query letter
to a publisher, as there are ways to tell a tale.
Before submitting
your manuscript to a publisher, investigate what genre(s) your work falls
under, and which publishers may be interested in the type of work you have
written.
Searching the internet will guide you to potential
publishers' websites, where their guidelines should be available. Follow
those guidelines exactly, for the best chance at getting your work noticed
and published.
Examples of those guidelines might include the
following:
Guidelines for Authors:
All book length fiction, all
genres. Everything: romances of all types, plus westerns, mysteries,
crime, historicals, paranormal, sci-fi, horror, suspense, thrillers and
blends. The majority of books will be romances.
No porn. We are
interested in good books that have fallen through the cracks, that don't
meet normal guidelines.
Send: First two chapters plus a synopsis.
SASE. Also a short letter indicating your experience, whether you are a
member of a writing organization, the length of the book(s) being sent,
and the type of book. If it is a blend, mention that: is it more western
than romance or whatever. If published, let us know if this book is
unencumbered. If you wish to send more than one book, send the synopsis
and first two chapters of one book and just a brief synopsis of the
others.
No electronic submission, please. If your book is not yet
finished, say so, and tell us how much still needs to be written. The
length should be from 60K to 100K, more or less.
Simultaneous
Submissions Accepted.
There are a few "givens" that you might keep
in mind as you write that all important, first impression
letter:
1) Write it in formal, business style. In Office 2000 there
are letter templates to help with this. Either the "elegant letter" or the
"professional letter" format is suitable. If you are not using a program
such as office, library books are available that outline secretarial
typing and letter styles. My thirty-year-old secretarial school typing
manual is just as accurate in format as the provided templates are
today.
2) Let the publisher know briefly and concisely what it is
you are offering them, and asking for in return. Use appropriate language,
formal yet warm. You're not writing the publisher as if you would write a
close friend or family member.
3) Be sure that whatever you send to
them is "disposable." If you want your material returned to you, it is
your responsibility to provide a postage-paid envelope for the return of
the items. Specify in your letter what to do with the items you have
provided.
Be sure to write a polite follow-up letter if you have
been contacted after your initial package has been submitted. Follow any
instructions you have been given.
I've included two examples to get
you started:
An actual letter (all addresses fictional) used with permission of the
author,
Elizabeth Caldwell. The manuscript she names is real, and was
"going the rounds" to find a publisher for it. I worked extensively with
Elizabeth on "Sacred Honor," before she (or should I say,
"we") decided it was ready for marketing.
The
synopsis of "Sacred Honor" is also used with
permission.
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