How to Write a Query Letter for Your Novel

The query letter is where you transition from creative novelist to sales genius. You’re not just proving you’re a good writer; you’re minimizing the agent and publisher’s risk of signing a debut novelist.

There’s one thing standing between you and a full manuscript request from your dream literary agent: a query letter. This is a 300–500-word pitch letter that transforms your book from cute story to sellable product. You’ll use four main elements to build your letter (hook, synopsis, personalization, and book details), but the key to a good query isn’t just these components; it’s how well you exercise your sales skills.

Love it or hate it, sales is part of the novelist’s job description. It’s the second half that comes after the craft and creation of your book. Trust me, the more you flex your sales muscles now, the more it’ll benefit your book career in the future. The query letter is the official transition from creative genius to sales expert. And writers who commit to the process have better query responses and better debuts.

Chapters

• What Must Be Done Before You Query (Your Checklist)
• Components of a Fantastic Query Letter
• How to Write a Query Letter + Your Query Letter Example Template

What Must Be Done Before Your Query (Your Checklist)

When you enter the query trenches, you’ve reached a huge milestone that requires grit, determination, and a whole lot of patience. My advice? Don’t start querying until you’re 100% ready.

In my experience, people who query prematurely are less likely to pursue publication long-term. It’s frustrating to get rejection letters, and you will get them if your novel doesn’t pass the vibe check with literary agents. Here’s my nonnegotiable checklist for before you query…

✔️ You have a completed manuscript. Preferably, one that’s been through multiple rounds of edits. Most agents won’t look at a novel that’s not finished, and even if they do, you don’t want to scramble to finish the ending.

✔️ Your favorite agent is accepting queries. Never pitch an agent who isn’t currently open to query letters, and only send to agents who represent your genre. I used to have authors come to me all the time, thinking they’d be the exception to this rule. But here’s the thing… even if your book is the next Lord of the Rings, a literary agent who represents children’s books won’t know any editors in the fantasy space. If they signed your manuscript, it would be a disservice to you.

✔️ You have a sales plan. Ideally, this is more than your number of Instagram or TikTok followers. It’s a marketing plan that targets your ideal audience with a sales funnel and content that captures their attention. Think about a social media series or online course you could create.

✔️ Your manuscript is sellable as is. When you submit your manuscript, you should assume that no more changes can be made to it. Don’t send your first three chapters to an agent and then scramble to edit the rest of the book while you wait for their response.

✔️ Your book is more than a story; it’s a brand. Novels that perform well in today’s market are more than good stories. They’re brands. Imagine your book has the same marketing budget as the recent Wicked movies. Then decide what kind of merchandise, partnerships, and public relations you’d get for the story. Build that into your marketing plan.

✔️ This isn’t your first novel. This is the only item on my list that’s negotiable. But I do encourage you to really think before you submit your first novel to an agent. Writing books is similar to making pancakes; the first one is usually a flop. It’s best to let that first one flop and use it as a learning experience, rather than get super invested in querying. You can always come back to querying, so perfect your skills first.

Components of a Fantastic Query Letter

Now you’re ready to open your inbox and write the letter. Your query should include a hook, audience details, a high-level synopsis, and comparative titles. These elements aren’t random; they’re the details that turn your book into a brand.

Start with a hook

If you’ve spent any time on Instagram or TikTok, you’ve been caught by a hook. It’s that leading line that says, “It took me five years to learn this skill, but I’m going to teach it to you in three minutes.” Another example of a good hook is a video that shows you the result, before they show you the process. You see a sneak peek of a beautifully decorated cake (the hook), and then the chef shows you how they did it.

Hooks aren’t exclusive to a query letter, though, since they’re used in every type of marketing. They ask, how can I get the reader emotionally invested from the first sentence? You should use a hook in the first chapter of your book and the first sentence of your query letter.

Here are some examples of query letter hooks:

• Character-driven or relationships: Amy’s world crumbles when she finds out her sister is hiding a secret about their family’s royal bloodline…

• Plot-driven or action: Meredith’s high school experience is totally normal. Normal friends, normal white hallways, normal locker combination. That is, until she arrives home one day to find her parents missing. And her principal knows more than he’s telling…

• Futuristic or sci-fi: Medical advancements mean Adam’s grown up in a world that doesn’t experience sickness. But after a secret political meeting goes awry, his best friend comes down with something incurable. Answers aren’t easy to find, and the clock is ticking…

• Nonfiction or business: This is the exact system I use to take my clients from starving artist to nailing $20,000 a month in sales. In this book, I’m giving it to you for free…

The best hooks don’t show all their cards. You need an element of mystery that keeps the reader (or agent) begging for more. Include your hook, then jump straight into the book synopsis before you reveal the ending.

Clarify your ideal audience with book details

Word count, age range, and book genre are essential elements to your query letter. This is because these details put your book into a marketing (aka sales) category. If you want to see this play out in real time, go to your local bookstore and look at the sticker on the back of each book. There’s a genre and age range printed there, so bookstores know how to categorize it.

Trust me, your agent is deep into research about current book trends, and they might even have publishing friends in mind who are interested in your genre. Being super clear about your ideal audience shows that you know how the market works, and you know where your book fits. Those are green flags to your agent.

As for word count, there are different ideal word counts for different genres. For example, science-fiction novels are typically longer than contemporary romance because there’s more worldbuilding. That said, debut novelists are encouraged to keep their novels on the short end to lower printing costs. Signing a brand-new author means the publisher is taking some risk, so your job is to lower that risk as much as possible with a reasonable word count. Once you become a more established author with a reader base, it’s easier to negotiate your word count.

Here’s an example of how to nail your ideal audience in a query letter:

• PROMISE ME THE STARS is a completed Young Adult psychological thriller novel of 73,000 words. It will appeal to readers of WE WERE LIARS and fans of the TV series STRANGER THINGS.

Include a high-level synopsis

The synopsis will take up most of your query letter (it’s a 2–3 paragraph summary of your story). Some authors get stuck in this section because they want to include every detail of their book. Naturally, we love our stories, and we’re invested in representing them well. But the goal of the synopsis isn’t to summarize every plot point. It’s to position your book as highly marketable.

Give the agent a high-level overview of your story, but don’t just narrate the plot points. Show how you’ve constructed every little detail and twist to appeal to your ideal reader. You need to position your novel as an essential addition to the current book market. And you’re still not showing all your cards here. Give your agent the details they need to understand the book’s marketability, but leave some mystery so they have to ask for more.

Here’s an example of your synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Margot never expected interior design to liberate her from her parents’ impending divorce drama. But after being named New York Times Teen Designer of the Year, Margot is offered the opportunity of a lifetime: restore a famous Italian lighthouse in exchange for partial ownership of the historic estate.

But running away to Italy isn’t the retreat Margot expects. After a dangerous childhood swimming accident, Margot is anxious to be alone at sea. And the anonymous notes, nosy neighbors, and eerie close calls on the island aren’t helping. As Margot starts her remodeling project, she uncovers ancient secrets that were supposed to stay hidden…

Margot is faced with a choice: If she bails on the design project, she has to face the family she left behind. But if she keeps digging up island secrets, she won’t be able to rebury what she finds…

Always follow instructions

One of the best pieces of advice someone gave me when applying to jobs? Always follow instructions. It seems basic, but it’s so rare for people to read job descriptions and stick to the guidelines that it makes you stand out. The same principle is true for query letters. Following query guidelines isn’t just about giving your agent everything they need to evaluate a manuscript; it’s about showing them you’re easy to work with.

My advice? Check and double-check the agent’s query guidelines. Only send pitches to agents who work with your genre, and only send queries when agents are accepting them. If the agent is actively searching for “adventure stories focused on friendship,” highlight that part of your story so they know you’re paying attention.

Your goal isn’t simply to send the query. It’s to send the query to the right people after following their explicit instructions (trust me).

Use comparative titles mindfully

I used a few comparative titles (comp titles) in the book details section (see above). Back when I used to take pitches from authors at writing conferences, the comp titles were always a bit of a pain point for them. That’s because no one really explains the rules of comp titles. So let me break it down…

• Comparative titles assign your book a marketing space. Similar to your genre, word count, and age range, the comp titles help agents pinpoint your ideal reader. If you have really good comp titles, the agent is already imagining your book on store shelves next to other bestsellers. These titles aren’t about proving you have really good book taste (unfortunately), they’re about making sales feel targeted and attainable.

• Use current books, TV shows, or music albums (5 years old or younger). Yes, you can use TV shows and music albums along with comp titles, and these help agents see your book in a more cinematic light. Just make sure any books, shows, or music you use is recent (no older than 5 years).

• You’re not looking for a carbon copy of your manuscript. In fact, if you name The Lord of the Rings as a comp title for your epic fantasy novel, this might be seen as lazy. The goal isn’t to find an exact replica of your genre, it’s to pull out similar themes, like friendship, family, imagination, ambition, and undeserved compassion.

• You only need 2–3 comparative titles. I personally love to see two novels that sound like an incredible mashup.

• Don’t use classics or bestsellers. It’s not recommended to use wildly popular titles like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, or The Lord of the Rings as your comp titles. These books are older and could indicate that you’re not familiar with the current book market. They also aim too high for a first-time author. You need titles that are more niche and realistic to your experience as a writer.

Here are some examples of comp titles:

• PROMISE ME THE STARS will appeal to readers of WE WERE LIARS (for family secrets and old money dynasties) and the TV series STRANGER THINGS (for a parallel world with a dark reality).

• THE CASTLE IN THE SEA will appeal to readers of THE LIFE IMPOSSIBLE and the TV series THE RESIDENCE.

Think of your novel as a personal brand

When you start querying, your novel goes from creative project to digital product. It’s important to harness this mindset, even in the early stages of your novel’s lifespan. Ask yourself questions like, “If I could turn this novel into a brand, what would it look like?” And create templates for your value statements, color schemes, and ideal audience. Think about how you’d reach your audience (the top of the sales funnel) and how you’d sell to them (the bottom of the sales funnel).

There’s a subtle energy you bring to a query letter when you look at your novel from a marketing lens, and agents catch onto this. They don’t want to have to hand-hold you through marketing, so if you know what you’re doing beforehand, you have a better chance at getting a full manuscript request. You’re also doing yourself a favor because these sales skills come in handy when you actually have a book to sell.

How to Write a Query Letter + Your Query Letter Example Template

Woohoo — you’ve made it through all the prerequisite information, and you’re ready to put it all together. Here’s a query letter example template you can use to get started:

Dear [AGENT NAME],

Margot’s world turns upside down when she accidentally uncovers a centuries-old secret hidden in a crumbling lighthouse… and she’s not the only person who knows about it.

Seventeen-year-old Margot never expected interior design to liberate her from her parents’ impending divorce drama. But after being named New York Times Teen Designer of the Year, Margot is offered the opportunity of a lifetime: restore a famous Italian lighthouse in exchange for partial ownership of the historic estate.

But running away to Italy isn’t the retreat Margot expects. After a dangerous childhood swimming accident, Margot is anxious to be alone at sea. And the anonymous notes, nosy neighbors, and eerie close calls on the island aren’t helping. As Margot starts her remodeling project, she uncovers ancient secrets that were supposed to stay hidden…

Margot is faced with a choice: If she bails on the design project, she has to face the family she left behind. But if she keeps digging up island secrets, she won’t be able to rebury what she finds…

PROMISE ME THE STARS is a completed Young Adult psychological thriller novel of 73,000 words. It will appeal to readers of WE WERE LIARS and fans of the TV series STRANGER THINGS.

Hi, I’m Stephanie, and PROMISE ME THE STARS is a culmination of over 10 years of professional writing experience. Currently, I run a copywriting agency where I help well-known businesses 10x their sales with targeted marketing campaigns. I plan to bring these skills to my book promotion with social media storytelling, SEO blogs, and Substack short stories about the characters.

The full manuscript is available upon request. Thank you for your consideration,

Stephanie