Query letter

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A query letter, or query, is a formal letter sent by a writer to literary agents, magazine editors, and sometimes publishing houses or companies, to propose writing ideas.^[1]

Query letters are the standard format for unrepresented authors' submissions to potential agents; as such, querying is often a writer's first professional interaction with the publishing industry, with success furthering their steps on the traditional publishing path.

A standard requested format for a manuscript query letter to a literary agent could be approximately 200–400 words expressing the following information:

• The topic of the work
• A short description of the plot
• A short bio of the author
• The target audience

The literary agent would then decide whether to contact the author and request to see the manuscript, based on the contents of the query letter.

• Publishers Marketplace

• Query Shark, query critique site by well-known literary agent Janet Reid
• The Complete Guide to Query Letters, by industry consultant Jane Friedman

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