Agent Kristin participated in a bit of a game last month for Miss Snark’s First Victim blog where she decided whether it was a read on or pass for queries submitted to the website.  You can check out the starter post here and then scroll through the February archives to see what works and what doesn’t, not only for Agent Kristin but for other secret agents as well.

While there is no tried and true way to write a query letter, no single method that’ll guarantee your emergence out of the slush pile, it always helps to wade through things like this to try and find some sort of pattern as to what agents like and what they don’t.  But don’t blow a gasket trying to find one.  Most of the time it’s simply just the conciseness of the words combined with the plot itself that’ll grab the agent, which is what really matters.

From all the query-to-agent spots like this I’ve looked through, the one common denominator I’ve come across is that agents want to see you nail your book in that short hook paragraph in the voice of your story.  If you can do that, and if the story interests the agent, you’ll probably be saved from the slush pile.  At least initially.  They still have to love your entire story to sign you, of course.

So all you have to do is summarize your 70,000 word novel into about 100 that nails the voice and tone of your story using words that’ll be sure to grab the agent you’re querying.  Easy, right?  O_o

Be sure to keep the Rogaine on stand-by.