How To Write a Great Literary Agent Query Letter

If you found this short query letter video helpful, you should get our complete Literary Agent Submissions Builder – a fast, easy & powerful way to get your agent submission package into shape:
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Subscribe and follow our How to Write a Book series. In this instalment, learn exactly how to write a query letter to a literary agent and find out what they really want.

You’ll need to check each agents’ websites for their exact specification, but, typically an agent will ask for a query letter, a synopsis and little chuck of text to prove that you know how to write.

There is a simple way to provide all the information that an agent is looking for in a query letter, but our first tip is to make sure you have the agent’s name right. I know, this sounds so simple, but you’d be surprised at how often people get this wrong, so double check.

Next, there are a few things that agents want to know about you and your writing in a quick and digestible way. You need to let the agent know why you’re writing to them, what you’re offering and the basic data behind the book e.g. genre, word count and a very small amount of scene setting. Following on from this, it’s time to talk about you, make it personal and let them know who you are.

Harry Bingham explains in greater detail exactly what an agent is looking for in a query letter so you can grab their attention straight away.