What a query letter needs to communicate

Make the book easy to identify

A query letter is a short introduction to a project, not a compressed account of every event in it. State the title, kind of book, approximate length and relevant audience clearly. These details give the recipient a frame for the pitch. A literary novel, a middle-grade adventure and a practical history book create different expectations before the first paragraph of sample text is read.

Use the recipient's current submission instructions to decide what belongs in the email, form or attachment. Penguin's guidance on approaching agents emphasises the covering letter alongside the material requested for the particular kind of book. Treat general advice as preparation for following the actual instructions, not as a replacement for them.

Avoid a long preamble about how difficult it is to summarise the manuscript. Begin with the book. A clear subject line and correct recipient name also help an ordinary administrative process work. Check them on the final message, especially if you have adapted material from another submission.

Show the central pressure

For fiction, introduce the person whose situation gives the story its shape, the change that disturbs it and the consequential choice or conflict that follows. Specific relationships and constraints are more useful than general claims that the story is moving or suspenseful. “A translator must decide whether to conceal a letter that could free her brother” gives a reader more to imagine than “a story about love, secrets and courage”.

Choose enough detail to make the situation distinctive without requiring a glossary of names. A pitch can usually describe a secondary character by their relationship or role. If every sentence introduces another person, place or invented term, the central line may become difficult to follow. Preserve the details that cause the conflict, rather than every detail that makes the fictional world extensive.

For nonfiction, identify the subject, intended reader and the book's particular approach. A book about gardens may be a cultural history, a memoir or a guide to small urban plots. Explain what question it answers and what material supports that answer. A promise of comprehensive coverage is less persuasive when the project has not defined its boundaries.

Explain relevant fit without inventing it

A short, factual reason for approaching the recipient can be useful. It might concern their stated interests or work they represent, provided the connection is real and current. Do not force a comparison to every name on their list. Research should help you choose whom to approach, not become a paragraph of flattery.

Include biographical information relevant to the project or writing. Relevant publications, experience, access to material or knowledge of the subject can explain why you are writing this book. A debut novelist need not manufacture an impressive publishing history. A concise factual biography is sufficient when there is little directly relevant material to add.

Avoid predictions of bestseller status, claims that the book has no competitors or statements about what all readers will feel. Those assertions are difficult to support and displace information about the actual work. Let the premise, writing and appropriate evidence do their jobs.

Read it as a submission package

Check that the letter, synopsis and sample describe the same version. A changed protagonist name, revised word count or new ending can leave traces in older materials. Confirm the attachments and file formats before sending. The most polished pitch cannot compensate for a missing sample when one was requested.

Read the query aloud for sentences carrying too much information. Then ask a reader unfamiliar with the book to describe the project they understand from it. If they infer a different genre or central conflict, investigate the wording. The aim is an accurate invitation to read more, not a pitch that attracts attention by promising a different book.