My query letter for THE GLITTERING EDGE
For my aspiring authors out there.
After I shared my HOW I GOT MY AGENT post this past Monday, a friend asked if I could share my query letter. Reading successful query letters was the second most helpful thing I did while working on my own query (the MOST helpful thing was getting feedback from people in publishing!), so I decided to share my query letter below in bold:
Since your manuscript wishlist includes [customize here based on the agent’s MSWL], I thought you might enjoy THE GLITTERING EDGE (89,000 words), a multi-POV YA contemporary fantasy that will appeal to fans of Maggie Stiefvater and C.L. Herman. It’s a standalone with series potential.
Rumors are the lifeblood of Idlewood, Indiana. The locals whisper that the De Lucas are witches, that they cursed the wealthy Barrion family as revenge for a love gone tragically wrong—and now, if a Barrion falls in love with you, you’ll die. Wallflower Penny Emberly doesn’t believe any of the stories; instead, she stays as far away from the drama between the Barrions and the De Lucas as possible. But when her mom is in an accident that leaves her on the brink of death, Penny can’t ignore the rumors anymore—the Barrion curse is real. And her mom is the latest victim.
In order to save her mom’s life, Penny enlists the help of two rivals. For star quarterback Corey Barrion, breaking the curse would mean saving his family from the magic that killed his mom. And for misfit witch Alonso De Luca, it would mean convincing Penny—and everyone else in Idlewood—that he isn’t a villain.
As the trio navigates a drag show, failed spells, and an increasingly chaotic group chat, rumors start to swirl about Penny and Corey, and Alonso’s long-buried feelings for Penny threaten the group’s shaky truce. Soon, they discover that the origins of the curse aren’t what they thought—and in order to have a chance at saving her mom, Penny must put her own life at risk.
Like Penny and the boys, I grew up in rural Indiana, but I currently live in Los Angeles. In non-pandemic times, I traveled the world and went to concerts; now, I mostly watch BTS music videos.
Attached you will find [insert how much of the manuscript you’re including]. Thank you for your time and consideration!
A few notes:
Standard advice says to keep your book’s description to 300 words or less (or maybe 250 words, depending on who you ask). The above text is 325 words, and the description of TGE is 226 words. The most important thing is to be as efficient as possible in pitching your book!
I am a big believer in customizing a query letter based on an agent’s interests, but there’s debate about this. It may not be necessary, especially if you feel like you’re forcing it. When it doubt, leave it out and dive into sharing your book’s title, word count and description. Once again, efficiency is key!
One publishing pro who read my query letter advised me to stick to three paragraphs for the actual description of the book, then add an intro and a conclusion. I think this is a good rule to follow.
I also recommend reading as many query letters as you can get your hands on! Something to keep in mind is that trends in query letters change, so the more recent, the better. My own query letter is from summer 2021, and I’m sure agents’ expectations have changed by then! But if you’re looking for standard advice, I recommend reading Jane Friedman’s guide to writing a query letter.
Hope this is helpful!