Queries, Proposals & Cover Letters

| General | Fiction | Nonfiction | Freelance | Samples |

"Above all, a query letter is a sales pitch and it is the single most important page an unpublished writer will ever write."       ~ Nicolas Sparks

"A man's reach should exceed his grasp."     ~ Robert Browning

General

Links to Publishers, agents, distributors, etc. are listed on the Publishing Page
Links for Marketing, Freelance and Magazines are listed on the Marketing page

Query Letter Do's and Don't's

Agent Query

The All-Important Query Letter by Don Rutberg - Excerpted from A Writer’s First Aid Kit

Referrals and Blurbs and Quotes, Oh My blog by Nathon Bransford

How to Write a Query Letter - advice for magazines and books

What Is a Cover Letter? from Perdue OWL (for any job, not necessarily for writers)

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Fiction

Basics of a Solid 3-Paragraph Query by Ann Rittenberg, January 14, 2010 in Writer's Digest

The Complete Nobody's Guide to Query Letters Written by Lynn Flewelling

Writing the Perfect Query Letter by Lee Masterson

Common Fiction Query Letter Mistakes by Steve Thompson

How do I write an attention getting Query Letter? from the Nelson Literary Agency. Includes samplea, a workshop for Query Letter Writing.

Query Letters for Children's Book Fiction by Margot Finke

Writing a Query Letter That Sells By Alex Keegan

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Non-Fiction

How do I write a good Book Proposal? from the Nelson Literary Agency.

How to Write a Great Non-Fiction Book Proposal

Non-fiction Book Proposal

How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal blog by Nathon Bransford

What Is a Book Proposal for Nonfiction Writers from blog @ Bookends, a Literary Agency

The Bulletproof Non-Fiction Book Proposal By Robert W. Bly

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Freelance and Magazines

How to Write a Query Letter by John Hewitt 

How to Write a Query Letter - advice for magazines and books

How To Get Freelance Writing Jobs- (Insider Secrets!) By Allena Tapia

The Query Letter: An Important Skill for Freelance Writers by J. Carroll

Cover Letter Advice By Ginny Wiehardt

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Samples

Sample Query for magazine article

Sample Query and Cover Letters - the do's and don't's

Sample Query Letters - Romance

Sample Query Letters from “Nuts & Bolts of Freelance Writing”

Sample Cover Letter for a short story