An aspiring author confronts the literary demons of the world and sets off in search of an agent.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Four Reasons Your Query Letter Failed

Why do query letters fail? The Demon surveyed the most respected literary agents and here, in their own words, are four reasons they've rejected your query letter:
  1. “To whom it may concern” no longer  works at this agency; we fired him/her years ago.
  2. You propose to write a novel that is “somewhere between Gone with the Wind and The Little Engine that Could.”  Frankly, my dear, I don’t think you can, I don’t think you can, I don’t think you can.
  3. Thank you for assuring us that your manuscript is “complete, finished, done and over with.” That just about describes your chances with this agency.
  4. Gee, what a fascinating coffee stain on the lower left-hand corner of the letter…would that be Mocha Java or Sumatra?

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