Biggest Query Letter Mistakes

WORK WITH ME ON YOUR STORY

DOWNLOAD MY FREE STORY SELF-ASSESSMENT!

SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER FEATURING WRITING/PUBLISHING EXPERTS

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
A great query letter can be the difference between getting a literary agent's attention and them passing on your book. Here, I reveal the biggest query letter mistakes I see all the time and explain what to do instead to ensure your letter stands out in agents' submissions inboxes. With these tips, you'll learn how to write an effective, stellar query letter and be on your way to getting your book published!

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
GREAT BOOKS ABOUT WRITING/PUBLISHING:

SOME OF MY FAVORITE NOVELS:

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
RELATED VIDEOS:

COMMON QUERY LETTER MISTAKES:
01:45 - Not personalized
07:15 - Being too vague in your plot synopsis
11:48 - Poor comparable titles (or none at all)

ABOUT ME:
My name is Alyssa Matesic, and I’m a professional book editor with 7+ years of book publishing and editorial experience. Throughout my career, I’ve held editorial roles across both sides of the publishing industry: Big Five publishing houses and literary agencies. The goal of this channel is to help writers throughout the book writing journey—whether you're working on your manuscript or you're looking for publishing advice.

Feel free to get in touch!

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
MUSIC:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I may earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

[gibbosandwich]

Thank you Alyssa for another great video. The query letter has really been somewhat of a demoralising step for me on the road to finding an agent. I know that with time and practice, I’ll have my letter perfectly personalised for the right agent.

[roleplayingwithidiots]

Do you have a video where you do mock query letters?

Like where you critique writers query letter if they were do submissions.

[rikjam]

Hi Alyssa, I'm in the pre-query zone right now, I've received feedback on my current draft and I'm going to go back to it with fresh eyes soon. I appreciate the tone of your videos, they have been the most helpful so far. Like you said, this is a safe space for us and it's just what I need right now.

[shaeokeefe]

Thanks so much! I've made plenty of mistakes querying my first book that I will avoid with my second. Your advice is logical, systematic, and so helpful.

[SueHamby-bvko]

Great info Alyssa. You do a great job. I have completed my book and now getting ready to do query letter. Your videos are extremely helpful.

[essi]

Great points, thank you for sharing them! Especially the deeper dive into what personalization can mean in a query letter was interesting. The second point though, did you mean to say "summary" instead of "synopsis"? In another video "How to Write the Perfect Book Blurb for Your Query Letter: Dos and Don'ts" you stress the difference between a blurb and a synopsis, but here they are used interchangeably..?

[roninvalkyrie]

Just found your channel and I appreciate how genuine these feel. Been surfing a lot of lit advice and usually somewhere in the process I find out that the writer is just barking platitudes. Finishing up my collection of shorts and drafting some queries…wish me luck!

[rob]

Thanks for the great advice. Been querying a couple months now. And while I'm no stranger to revising my letter, or any of the points you've made, it's good to have them reinforced by someone with experience.

[geoffrey]

Your expertise in the publishing industry is for me, like stubbing my toe on a GOLD MINE.
Thank you so much for the sharing of your knowledge about an industry I know nothing of.
I truly feel I may be able to help someone I know get their book published, simply because I stumbled onto your site. " I have stumbled onto a GOLD MINE, Thank you ever so much.

[michaellugenbuehl]

Alyssa, thank you for posting these videos. They are well thought out, nicely filmed (I'm a former indie short-filmmaker), and they are giving me some fantastic insight into the process one would take in the hopes of getting their book published. For myself, my book is done, and now I'm researching the best methods of getting it published...and you've made a lot of the research process much easier. Thanks again!

[theresahutch]

This is incredibly helpful. Thank you so much to your examples and clarity in the details!

[stevstring]

These were some good tips. I can’t say I’ve seen them on another channel. Thanks.

[kaymcbride]

Hello Alyssa!
I enjoyed this video very much!
I'm in the process of finding agents I want to fend my query letters to.
This info helps!
Thank you!

[lukesmith]

I've done every single thing you listed although will definitely try the personlisation at the front as you recommended. I reference similar titles. I'll read interviews with them and mention stuff that resonated. I'll mention books they rep that I've read. I've also had a friend who HAS an agent tweak my synopsis so it is tight. Nothing. Over 200 queries that I have tracked through a spreadsheet. One person who only responded to query letters (no attachments) emailed back in March saying "Oh that sounds interesting. Send me something." I did. Nothing. I am taking a break for a month then trying again in the new year. I knew this would be hard but had no idea it would be this much of a slog.

EDIT: Thank you for your content

[pearloverload]

You're opening my eyes! This process can be stressful sometimes

[hamedosanlouy]

Your channel is a blessing, and advices are priceless coming from actual experiences, thanks ma'am.

[WTB_Acts]

I've sent out about 12 so far. Eagerly waiting

[patrickmoan]

Hello Alyssa - I found it very helpful to understand the degree of personalization required for a query letter. Lesson: Do you homework and find at least one book they've worked with which in some way relates to yours... mention this book and keep it short and sweet. Much appreciated because I was unsure of what was expected. I realize there other avenues to 'short and sweet' as well, but fundamentally focusing on related products which may sell in the same way is of help. As a final step, I'd go to good reads or amazon to get at least some sense of how it did. If a book has 2 reviews, perhaps I'd find another book to reference.

[jeffreybarker]

The examples helped settle your insights. Wish everyone did this--thank you!

[GabeOtto]

Thank you, I was worried we weren't going to get a video this week.