What is a query package?
- Three core components: query letter, synopsis, sample pages.
- Query letter: 300-400 words, personalized per agent.
- Synopsis: 1-3 pages, present tense, reveals the ending.
- Sample pages: 5-50 pages depending on agent guidelines.
- Read each agent’s submission page before sending.
A query package is the complete set of submission materials an author sends to a literary agent: a personalized query letter (300-400 words), a synopsis (1-3 pages, present tense), and sample pages (5-50 pages depending on the agent’s guidelines). The exact contents vary by agent — read each agent’s submission page before sending.
Chapter i·Why it matters
"Query package" is the canonical term for "what you actually send agents." Authors who confuse the components send the wrong materials and trigger fast rejection. Knowing the standard three components and how each one functions is the foundation of querying.
Chapter ii·What to include
- A personalized query letter: 300-400 words, structured (opening, hook, comps, bio, closing).
- A polished synopsis: 1-3 pages, present tense, omniscient POV, reveals the ending.
- Sample pages: 5-50 pages from the start of the manuscript.
- A complete finished manuscript available on request.
- The agent’s exact requested materials per their submission page.
- A submission tracker recording what was sent to whom.
Chapter iii·Example
A querying writer’s package per agent: 380-word personalized query, two-page synopsis, first 10 pages of her manuscript, all pasted into the email body per the agent’s no-attachments policy. She sends 8 agents the same package with personalized openings.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom’s Pitch studio assembles the query package — letter, synopsis, sample — from one source.
See the Pitch studio