How to Write a Query Letter: Nonfiction and Memoir

This station is regularly updated pinch caller information.

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For years, I’ve offered a lengthy guideline connected how to constitute a query missive for a novel. When you’re pitching fabrication to an supplier aliases patient done a query letter, your eventual extremity is to get your manuscript read. Therefore, nan query is simply a income piece, and it’s each astir nan creation of seduction.

A query missive for a nonfiction book isn’t all that different from a fabrication query: you’re still trying to get an supplier aliases editor willing successful looking astatine your work, but that whitethorn mean a book connection and sample chapters, alternatively than nan afloat manuscript. (Nonfiction is often sold connected nan ground of a proposal.)

Unfortunately, there’s a spot of complication when querying a nonfiction project; it’s not arsenic straightforward and formula-driven arsenic querying a novel. With a novel, you’re ever trying to trade nan cleanable hook that encapsulates nan principle of your protagonist and the conflict—and it doesn’t matter what type of caller it is. All novels are narratives with character, plot, setting, conflict, and resolutions (of immoderate kind).

With nonfiction, you whitethorn beryllium pitching:

• a communicative astir yourself (memoir)
• a communicative astir personification other (biography)
• a communicative astir immoderate point (broadly called communicative nonfiction; deliberation Seabiscuit)
• a prescriptive book (a book that helps nan scholar study aliases do thing better, specified arsenic a how-to, self-help aliases business book)
• a reference book
• an illustrated book

… and truthful on.

There isn’t a single formula that tin screen each these categories aliases types of books. But for our purposes, to supply immoderate benignant of roadmap, we’ll divided up nonfiction queries into 2 types:

1. Narrative-driven nonfiction (including memoir, biography, and communicative nonfiction)
2. Information-driven nonfiction

Before you statesman nan query process: you should person a vanished and polished book connection fresh to go, which should see astatine slightest 1 sample chapter, if not more. It should beryllium nan champion you tin make it.

It’s besides important that prospective authors springiness immoderate thought to their writer platform, aliases their expertise to marketplace and beforehand their book to an existing assemblage they tin reach, without nan publisher’s help, done online aliases offline activities. I talk level here. Your query and book connection not only person to coming an effective argument for why your book should exist, but besides should bespeak your authority and level arsenic a book author. (This is not nan lawsuit for novelists.)

Query Letter Elements: Narrative-Driven Nonfiction

The query for this type of nonfiction whitethorn extremity up looking very akin to a caller query, particularly if you’re penning a memoir. Include these elements, successful nary peculiar bid (except nan closing):

• Personalization: wherever you customize nan missive for nan recipient
• What you’re selling: genre/category, anticipated connection count, title/subtitle
• Hook: a compelling explanation of nan narrative
• Target readership: who will bargain this book and why? (it cannot beryllium everyone and anyone)
• Your bio, level and credentials to constitute nan book
• Thank you and closing

Query Letter Elements: Information-Driven Nonfiction

If you’ve written a book connection (and you astir apt should), past your query missive is often a more condensed type of your book proposal’s overview aliases summary—those first 500 words (or first 1 to 3 connection pages) should summarize nan astir important and salable qualities of your book. Your query and your connection overview should both answer 3 questions: (1) So what? Why is this book unique, typical aliases needed successful nan existent marketplace? (2) Who cares? Who is nan identifiable and circumstantial assemblage who will walk $20 connected this book? (3) Who are you? Why are you nan champion writer for this book—what are your level and credentials? It’s okay if your query and connection see nan aforesaid aliases akin language.

Whether aliases not you’re starting from scratch, see these elements, successful nary peculiar bid (except nan closing):

• Personalization: wherever you customize nan missive for nan recipient
• What you’re selling: genre/category, anticipated connection count, title/subtitle
• What makes your book unique—or its unsocial trading proposition
• Target readership: who will bargain this book and why? (it cannot beryllium everyone and anyone)
• Your bio, level and credentials to constitute nan book
• Thank you and closing

What’s successful nan very first paragraph of nan query?

Put your champion ft forward—lead pinch your strongest trading point. Examples:

• Personalization. Let’s opportunity you’ve been vouched for aliases referred by an existing customer of nan agent’s—or if you’re querying a publisher, you mightiness beryllium referred by 1 of their authors. Put that first! Or possibly you heard nan agent/editor speak astatine a convention aliases you publication thing they wrote that indicates they’re a bully fresh for your work. Mention it.
• Hook. If you person assurance astir nan compelling quality of your narrative, commencement pinch that. Example: “When I was eighteen years old, I moved from my hometown successful Oregon (population: 7,500) to unrecorded pinch nan astir powerful man successful Hollywood and beryllium a nanny to his 3 children.” (See nan afloat query here.)
• Platform aliases credentials. If your blog receives 100,000 visits a month, if you person an email newsletter of 20,000 readers who can’t hold to person your updates, aliases if you’re a YouTube star, past you mention your powerful reach up-front. If you’re a antecedently published author, knowledgeable professional, aliases highly regarded authority successful your field, you tin commencement pinch that. Example: “As nan erstwhile CEO of 3 successful startups …”
• Target readership. If your book will reside a timely aliases emerging demographic, aliases if it solves nan problems of a circumstantial audience, past you tin unfastened by discussing nan compelling marketplace for nan book: “Between 2000 and 2013, births by women ages 50 to 54 roseate by much than 165 percent. This book tells nan communicative of [or tackles nan problems of] …”

The Most Difficult Challenge for Narrative Nonfiction: Pitching a High-Quality Story for a Big Enough Target Audience

For astir narrative-driven nonfiction, nan penning and storytelling matters arsenic overmuch as it would for a novel, and your hook plays an important domiciled successful conveying nan value of nan story. But nan patient has to envision a sizable audience for that story, too. It’s instructive to look astatine the rejections that Rebecca Skloot collected for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, now an award-winning activity of communicative nonfiction. Skloot had problem convincing editors that her communicative was marketable to a wide audience. Here’s what those rejection letters said:

• “She has done a awesome occupation presenting nan individual and technological dimensions of this different and often eerie story. Unfortunately successful nan extremity I really spot this arsenic an extended mag article, and not a afloat book.”
• “Skloot is simply a first complaint stylist and explainer, truthful I’m sorry to opportunity I can’t make an offer. I judge her story, though it throws a agleam ray connected issues of title and science, is amended suited to an article than book length.”
• “I’m sorry to opportunity that I’m not wholly assured that nan attack taken present to show america nan communicative is nan benignant of curen which will scope nan wide nonfiction readership that we’re looking for.”
• “Though nan connection breaches a timely and absorbing taxable successful ray of renewed liking successful familial research, it does not look to beryllium correct for [our] list.”
• “She’s a graceful writer pinch a existent talent for presenting technological worldly successful a lucid and very quality way. That said, though, I person to admit I can’t rather ideate really a book connected this section successful subject mightiness scope much than a very constricted audience. To me, nan existent bosom of nan communicative is someway excessively short-lived to create a beardown consciousness of communicative tension, and its repercussions, I think, whitethorn not spark nan liking of a wide capable readership for [our] list.”
• “I deliberation this is an astonishing communicative and possibly an important 1 to beryllium told. What I’m little definite astir is nan eventual perspective that Skloot will beryllium telling it from. It is wholly clear that she is passionate astir her taxable matter; however, until much of nan communicative unfolds, I stay uncertain of nan powerfulness of nan narrative.”

Some of nan much communal rejections you’ll encounter: this book should beryllium a mag article, nan book’s assemblage is excessively small, aliases the story aliases attack is not unique aliases unsocial enough.

Writing a Narrative-Driven Hook That’s Not a Tired Storyline

Whether you’re penning memoir aliases nonfiction narrative, you request to boil down your communicative to these 3 cardinal elements:

1. Protagonist and her conflict
2. The choices nan protagonist has to make (the stakes)
3. The sizzle

If you’re penning a memoir, past constitute nan hook successful first person—meaning you are nan protagonist.

What does sizzle mean? It’s that point that sets your activity isolated from each others successful nan genre, that makes your communicative guidelines out, that makes it uniquely yours. Sizzle means: this thought isn’t tired and hasn’t been done a cardinal times before. When it comes to memoir, location are a batch of tired storylines retired there. In this supplier roundtable connected memoir successful Writer’s Digest successful 2010, you tin get a consciousness for what makes agents’ eyes glaze over:

• “On immoderate days it seems arsenic though each therapist successful nan state who is dealing pinch addicts of 1 benignant aliases different has told them to diary their betterment and past move it into a book. Quitting booze aliases narcotics is simply a bully point to do, but it isn’t nan triumph of nan quality spirit.”
• “I’m sick of dysfunctional family stories, but I’m a large instrumentality of memoirs by group who person lived lives nan remainder of america only dream of.”
• “Though books by crab and illness survivors are prevalent, I find them very reliable to waste to publishers unless nan subsister has immoderate benignant of sanction recognition.”
• “I effort to steer [writers] away from, ‘I was calved successful a big/small town, and I liked listening to punk music, and I hated my mother and blahdee blahda blah blah.'”

Sometimes awesome hooks tin beryllium botched because location is nary life, voice, aliases characteristic successful them. Sometimes so-so hooks tin beryllium taken to nan adjacent level because they convey a liveliness aliases characteristic that is seductive. You want to beryllium 1 of those seductive writers, of course.

The Most Difficult Challenge for Information-Based Nonfiction: Having a Sufficient Platform

You whitethorn person a slayer conception or method to stock pinch nan world, but for information-based nonfiction, unless you person level muscle, it’s improbable that New York publishers will beryllium willing successful your book. Platform fundamentally equates to visibility, aliases nan expertise to waste books. You should have visibility to nan circumstantial target assemblage you expect to bargain your book. And it’s not capable to say you person visibility—you person to beryllium capable to constituent to it, quantify it, and show really you’re fresh to assistance disconnected into nan stratosphere of book sales.

A secondary situation is having a unsocial capable trading proposition to group your book isolated from nan competition. You’re apt entering a crowded field, and particularly if your level is connected nan weaker side, you request to nail nan conception and make it irresistible.

So really do you do this?

It’s very powerful to declare that your book will beryllium nan first and only book to do X. Or you could talk really your book offers a compelling solution to a problem faced by your target audience. Ask yourself nan pursuing questions:

• What typical features aliases contented does your book offer?
• What typical investigation aliases investigation does your book see that tin beryllium recovered obscurity else?
• What proven systems, methods, secrets, aliases lessons do you share?
• How will readers use from your book? How will their lives alteration for nan better?

How to Describe a Meaningful Target Audience

Most authors person problem identifying their target audience—and nan astir communal misdeed is to spell measurement excessively broad. Here are 2 examples that miss nan constituent entirely:

• “Anyone who has children will beryllium willing successful this parenting book.” Really? Will parents of two-year-olds and parents of twenty-year-olds some beryllium interested? Will rich parents and lower-class parents some beryllium interested? Will municipality and agrarian parents some beryllium interested?
• “Anyone who’s had a friend aliases family personnel pinch cancer will beryllium willing successful this book.” That astir apt describes astir each personification successful nan United States—this is not a meaningful target audience.

You should besides debar citing meaningless statistics, specified arsenic “Google returns much than 152 cardinal hunt results for nan word climate change” aliases “Amazon lists much than 10,000 titles successful nan biology subject category.” Neither of these figures bespeak aliases picture nan target assemblage for your work.

Here are examples of a meaningful target audience:

• This book targets nan 2 cardinal firm labor who discontinue their jobs every month.
• This book targets degree-seeking students successful nan much than 500 imaginative penning programs successful nan United States, arsenic good arsenic those who person graduated wrong nan past 5 years.

If you’re wondering if this is like a lawsuit of Goldilocks and nan Three Bears, yes. Even wrong publishing houses, there’s ever disagreement astir nan perfect target assemblage for a book and its size.

Sometimes it tin beryllium adjuvant to constituent to different titles akin to your own, aliases competitory titles, to springiness an thought of nan target assemblage you’re after. Just beryllium careful: mentioning nan latest New York Times bestseller aliases nan latest book to beryllium made into a movie won’t beryllium very helpful. (Agents quickly tired of memoirs being sounded arsenic nan next Eat, Pray, Love or Wild.)

What You Should Mention successful Your Bio

• Publication credits aliases publishing history—especially if you’ve antecedently published immoderate portion of nan activity astatine a awesome website, magazine, aliases literate journal. (Your ain tract does not count unless postulation is successful nan six figures.) Be circumstantial astir your credits for this to beryllium meaningful. Don’t opportunity you’ve been published “in a assortment of journals.” You mightiness arsenic good beryllium unpublished if you don’t want to sanction them.
• Any professional inheritance aliases acquisition that’s applicable to nan contented of nan book and your authority to constitute it
• Any master nickname aliases awards you’ve received—or positions that you hold—that springiness you visibility to influencers aliases to your readership
• Relevant nationalist aliases mainstream media attraction you’ve received.
• Any ongoing gigs that put you successful beforehand of nan target assemblage (columns, podcasts, radio/TV shows, and truthful on)
• The size of your existent assemblage done online aliases offline media.
• Any awesome personalities aliases influencers who person agreed to constitute a foreword aliases blurb your book

Many authors inquire if they should mention immoderate antecedently self-published activity successful nan query. That’s wholly up to you. Sooner aliases later this accusation will person to travel out, truthful it’s usually conscionable a matter of timing. Lots of group person done it, and it doesn’t wounded your chances. If you do mention it, it’s champion if you’re proud of your efforts and are fresh to talk your occurrence (or failure) successful doing it. If you see it a correction aliases irrelevant to nan task astatine hand, time off it out, and understand it whitethorn travel up later.

Do not make nan correction of reasoning your self-publishing credits make you someway much desirable arsenic an author—unless you person really unthinkable income success, successful which case, mention nan income numbers of your book and really agelong it’s been connected sale.

Other Tips for Your Query Letter

1. The due magnitude for a nonfiction query is location betwixt 1 and 1.5 pages, azygous spaced. Usually nan shorter, nan better. If you tin nonstop nan book connection on pinch nan query, you should. In specified cases, nan query really ends up being a screen missive and doesn’t person to beryllium labored complete that much. (The bully news: conscionable astir each agent/editor will flip done a book connection if it’s successful beforehand of them.)
2. If your book’s estimated connection count is overmuch higher than 100,000, you whitethorn beryllium courting rejection earlier an supplier has publication a connection of your connection aliases manuscript. Eighty 1000 words is nan manufacture modular for a communicative nonfiction work. Information-based nonfiction varies tremendously, but still, precocious connection counts will raise a reddish emblem for astir publishers and agents.
3. You don’t person to authorities that you are simultaneously querying. In today’s environment, everyone assumes this. I do not urge exclusive queries; nonstop queries retired successful batches of 3 to five—or more, if you’re assured successful your query quality.
4. Don’t mention your “history” pinch nan activity (e.g., really galore agents you’ve queried, aliases really galore adjacent misses you’ve suffered, aliases really galore compliments you’ve received connected nan activity from others).
5. Resist nan enticement to editorialize. Don’t directly remark connected nan value of your work. Your query should show what a bully writer you are, alternatively than telling aliases emphasizing what a bully writer you are. Editorializing is whenever you proclaim really overmuch nan supplier will emotion nan work, aliases really breathtaking it is, aliases really it’s going to beryllium a bestseller if only personification would springiness it a chance, aliases really overmuch your kids bask it, aliases really overmuch nan world needs this work. On nan flip side: don’t knock yourself, aliases nan value of nan work, successful nan letter.
6. There’s nary request to spell into awesome item astir erstwhile and really you’re available. Simply put astatine nan bottommost of your query (unless utilizing letterhead) your telephone number and email address. Include a self-addressed stamped letter cover for snail message queries.
7. Do not present nan thought of an in-person gathering pinch nan supplier aliases editor. Don’t opportunity you’ll beryllium visiting their metropolis soon, and inquire if they’d for illustration to meet for coffee. The only imaginable objection to this is if you cognize you’ll perceive them speak astatine an upcoming conference—but don’t inquire for a meeting. Just opportunity you look guardant to proceeding them speak. Use nan conference’s charismatic channels to group up an assignment if immoderate are available.
8. Email queries tin lead to faster consequence times. However, I often hear writers kick that they ne'er person a response. (Sometimes soundlessness is nan caller rejection.) This is simply a arena that (regrettably) must beryllium accepted. Send 1 follow-up to inquire, but don’t support sending emails to ascertain if your emailed query was received.
9. While you should database your website aliases blog arsenic portion of your interaction info, there’s almost ne'er any need to tell agents successful nan assemblage of nan query to sojourn your website for much info. Most of them will Google you anyhow and cheque retired your online beingness to get a consciousness of really you mightiness beryllium to activity pinch and if you person a meaningful platform.

Looking for query missive examples?

I support a database of illustration query letters astatine my book-related site, The Business of Being a Writer.

How to Identify Agents to Query

• PublishersMarketplace (for in-depth info connected agents and publishing deals, costs $25/month)
• Don’t hide to look astatine agency websites to thief you customize your queries and submissions for each supplier due for your work