The Surprising Solution To A Perfect Agent Query Letter

One of the most famous voices in the online how-to market for aspiring authors says every query letter should follow this format 

·      Basics: your book’s genre/category, word count, title/subtitle

·      The hook: the description of your story and the most critical query element; 150-300 words is sufficient for most narrative works

·      Bio note: something about yourself, usually 50-100 words

·      Thank you & closing: about a sentence

All great information. 

And the hook isimportant. But the above format is a recipe to get your query tossed in the wastebasket!

To illustrate why, consider these facts:

In fact, here’s a startling statistic from Publisher’s weekly. Forgive me it’s ancient, but still illustrates the setting.

The average book in America sells about 500 copies. 

only 10 books sold more than a million copies in 2005, 

and fewer than 500 sold more than 100,000.

So if you can tell your agent you have 10,000 followers on Instagram who actively engage with your content, and 7,500 emails address in your list with a 10% open rate, what do you think is the real hook of the query letter?

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