Breaking Query Letter Paralysis

Overwrought.

After six drafts of my query letter, my partner had to tell me the truth: the letter is overwrought, overwritten, overbaked. I knew he was right, and I felt as if with each iteration I was drifting further from the sharp, tantalizing pitch I wanted to craft. Worst of all, each time I sat down to “try again” I ended up writing variations of the same letter, over and over. I felt paralyzed.

Frustrated, I threw myself down on the couch with my e-ink notebook and barred myself from seeing any of my previous query letters.

I decided that this time I was not going to write a query letter. No, instead, I was going to write a handwritten, personal letter to a very old friend of mine who is a librarian. The goal? To convince my well-read friend to read my book. Knowing her tastes, I knew I needed to keep the pitch straightforward and to the point, and suddenly, the whole letter just “clicked.”

I finished the letter to her and re-read it. Instead of the convoluted mess of my prior queries, in which I agonized over capturing the complexities of the novel, I had a simple but intriguing pitch.

I gave her the letter (after she had read one of my previous overwrought versions), and she loved it. My partner also gave me a resounding “yes!” to this version. Since then, I’ve edited and tweaked it before flitting it off to a fresh round of agents. I’ve also recently sought out some professional feedback on the letter to ensure I’m on the right track.

At the very least, I feel more confident about submitting this particular letter.