Book queries that get noticed

Writing a good inquiry letter shows book publishers your ability to think accurately, use language efficiently, and advance your inquiry in a seemingly simple but elegant way.

Before writing an inquiry letter, study the book market to find out which publishers may be interested in your topic. It is a waste of time and publisher if you send your fishing book inquiry letter to a publisher who only publishes romance novels.

A well-structured inquiry letter can consist of the following parts: 1) an opening sentence that describes the category of your book, such as sports, cooking, romance, mystery, how-to, travel, or other; 2) a statement that describes the premise of your book; 3) a short list of especially good credits that qualify you to write the book (no extensive biographies, please); 4) a list of your books or book contributions; 5) a statement of how your book will distinguish itself from similar titles; and 6) a formal closing: Thank you for your attention and your name.

Do not use paragraph indents in your inquiry letter. Single-spaced paragraphs and double-spaced between them are standard. By no means use a fancy, hard-to-read font. Easy-to-read fonts such as 12-point Times Roman or Arial are best. If you want to email the letter, create it in MS WORD and attach it to an email note so the editor has your email address for easy response. MS WORD is standard document creation software that all editors have on their computers. Using other software may prevent editors from opening your attachment.

Create a simple letterhead for your inquiry letter that includes your name, postal address, email address, website address, and phone number. Date your letter, send it to the appropriate publisher, and make sure the publisher’s name and address are correct. If you are printing the letter to be mailed, use professional weight paper (8/12 x 11) in the brightest white and print at high quality resolution. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to facilitate the editor’s response. If you don’t include the SASE, you probably won’t hear from the publisher.

Please review your inquiry letter carefully to clear the document for errors. Nothing turns an editor off faster than misspelled words and grammatical errors, which the editor can associate with the book he is proposing to write. Remember, writing a good inquiry letter is your first introduction to the book publisher and your first chance to make a good impression. Making a good impression improves the chances that a book publisher will ask you for a more extensive proposal in the future. Take it easy. It may take several weeks before you receive a response.

Book publishers take their positions seriously and still view formal inquiry letters more favorably than the informal email notes that many of us are getting used to in cyberspace. Due to its instantaneous nature, email is sometimes hastily composed, inviting sloppy use of language, missing punctuation, and poor spelling. Emails filled with errors will not attract attention or consideration in the same way as formal inquiry letters created wisely. Remember, book publishers base their decision to review your book proposal on your inquiry letter. For information on how to start your query and write headlines, see You can write awesome headlines.