What’s a query letter?  The first time I wrote a letter to an editor with a writing idea, I confess that I didn’t have a clue that I had written what’s known in the industry as a query letter.  A query letter is like a passport.  With rare exception, especially in today’s world, you need it to pass through into the land of publishing. 

A query letter is generally a concise (typically one page max., though it may be longer if you have an extensive or elaborate proposal), well-written letter aimed to capture an editor’s interest in your idea.  In a query letter, you’re pitching your idea.  Think selling your idea to an editor.  You want to hook the editor a.s.a.p.   The query letter is your chance at a rockstar moment.  You either woo the editor with your magic, or your idea ends up in the monster-sized slush pile or electronic recycle bin.  Sometimes, if you’re lucky, your idea may fall somewhere in between instead of getting tossed out.  An editor may like the general concept, but think it needs re-thinking on your part.  They may shoot it back to you, and give you another chance to re-pitch your idea. 

Depending on the nature of your work, the query letter will highlight key information pertaining to your work.  For example, a nonfiction query might include a few lines about you or your experience to convince the editor that you are the perfect pick for authoring the piece–you’re qualified and credible.  On the other hand, your credentials may be less important or even irrelevant to an editor interested in fiction.  In a fiction query, you’ll usually want to include talk about plot and main characters.

I’ve always believed there’s a lot of mystery to the query letter.  You may write a brilliant letter, but every editor rejects it.  You may write, what you later conclude after re-reading and re-reading your letter in disbelief, a half-assed letter and score a feature spot in a glossy magazine, even a book deal.  The key is practice.  The more you write query letters and get responses from editors (good or bad), the sooner you’ll get a sense of what you’re doing right, and hopefully, what you’re doing wrong.

If you do a Google search or pick up a freelance writing book, you can find plenty of query letter examples (including witty sites featuring reject letters from editors).  If you’ve always wanted to write, it’s my view that if you can put that idea down into letter form and start sending it out to editors, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a published lawyer writer.  It may take time to find an editor who accepts your idea, and maybe you’ll get an overwhelming number of rejections, but if you’re persistent and keep tweaking that letter and idea (or scratch the idea completely and start anew), you will get where you want to go–and you’ll eventually see your name in print.

Copyright 2009 The Published Lawyer. All rights reserved.