Home » Writing & Publishing » Book Publishing » Marketing - Six: Writing the query letter - Page 2

Marketing - Six: Writing the query letter - Page 2

© Joanne Reid

Tell the editor who you are. Slant your standard bio paragraph for that publication. If you have a lot of publication credits, list the strongest, most recent and most indicative of this type of writing and add something like "and dozens more articles in trade magazine and newspapers." to show that you know your business. If you don't have a lot published, pick the strongest one or two and say something like, "My articles have been published in a variety of magazines, including Chatelaine and Boy's Life." If you have publications but they are for really small places and you don't want to look like a beginner, you can refer to the newsletter and local free weekly newsletter generically. Something like this, "I have been a freelance writer for nearly a year and have written primarily for specialty newsletters and newspapers." In the latter cases, you might want to add reference to other writing related activities you have done. "In addition, I have written letters and reports for the local freenet where I am a volunteer."

(Okay, I would use freenet in my example because I write about the internet. But suppose you want to write about health issues, look at any volunteer work you have done and think back. Did you ever write a letter for that group? A press release for the paper? Chances are that you did, because you're a writer and writers often can't stop themselves from writing.)

The third paragraph.

This is just a short line or two and covers other matter that don't fit in above -- rights offered, availability on disk and anything else like that. I normally don't mention the rights offered because usually I know before I write the letter the rights that the publication requests. My third paragraph is usually a variation of this:

I can provide this article on disk in either WordPerfect (any version) or Word format (any version) or I can e-mail it to you if that's an option.

The closing.

I use a simple, Sincerely, Joanne Reid.

FAX MEMO

For local editors, I write the same basic query but I put it in a memo format:

TO: Editor

FROM: Joanne Reid

DATE: June 19, 1997

RE: Query on article for Today's Senior

__________________________________

Then I include the pitch paragraph and if I have not worked with this editor before, the bio paragraph.

THEORY

The copyright of the article Marketing - Six: Writing the query letter - Page 2 in Book Publishing is owned by . Permission to republish Marketing - Six: Writing the query letter - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.