Queries & Book Proposals

Crafting the Perfect Query: Editor & Agent Panel Video

This month, we bring you a true world exclusive….

A little while back, Laura was a faculty member and featured speaker at Big Sur of the Rockies, a wonderful writing conference presented by the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. One of the highlights of the weekend was a free-flowing discussion

Get Your Foot in the Door with a Strong Query Letter

by Jane Choate, CBI Contributing Editor

In many cases, your first contact with an editor will be through a query letter. The query letter is a sales pitch; it allows the editor to see if what you’ve written might be of interest. If so, she'll ask you to send

Query Letter Do’s and Don’ts

This is special Fightin' Bookworm-only bonus content from Jane's article Get Your Foot in the Door with a Strong Query Letter

DO write a short synopsis (a few sentences for a picture book or easy reader, a paragraph for a chapter book, 1-2 paragraphs for middle grade and young

Create a Query that Gets a “Yes”

We have taken classes on how to write the perfect query letter. We know the ins and outs of crafting that attention-grabbing letter that will snare an editor and/or agent’s question. Or do we?

Do you know how to keep your query letter from being filed in the circular

How to Write a Plot Synopsis

There is no way around it— if you plan to submit your manuscript to publishers, you're going to have to write a plot synopsis. But many authors, even those who write long novels, cringe at the thought of summing up their plots in a few sentences. Here are some tips

Taming the Synopsis

by Jane Choate

Editor’s note: This article explains how to write a longer synopsis for a novel that would accompany the query letter. This synopsis would be up to two pages long, typed single-spaced.

If I ever started a business of writing bumper stickers, my first slogan would be “I Hate Synopses.”

How to Write a Great Query Letter

In an ideal world, you’d be able to pitch your manuscript to an editor over a leisurely cup of coffee. But we’re forced to inhabit the real world, where you’ve got about 10 seconds to hook an editor before she decides to continue reading or reach for her form rejection

Assembling the Perfect Submissions Packet

You’re now at an exciting time in the submissions process. You've polished your manuscript, researched appropriate publishers and studied their submission guidelines. Now you're finally going to send your manuscript out into the world to be read by editors.

Publishers will specify on their guidelines exactly