What should be included in a query letter?
- Five components: personalized opening, hook, comps, bio, closing.
- Total length: 300-400 words.
- Hook: 250-350 words covering protagonist, conflict, stakes.
- Two recent comp titles, both published in the last 2-3 years.
- Bio mentions only writing-relevant credentials.
A query letter contains five things in this order: a personalized opening, a one-to-two-paragraph hook (250-350 words covering protagonist, conflict, stakes), comp titles (two recent comparable books), a brief bio with relevant credentials, and a closing with manuscript word count and genre. Total length: 300-400 words. Anything longer is read as undisciplined.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Agents read the first paragraph of each query in 10-15 seconds. The query letter is the audition that determines whether the rest of your submission gets opened. Following the standard structure is not formula-following — it is signaling to agents that you have done your homework on the industry.
Chapter ii·What to include
- A one-line personalized opening naming why this agent.
- A 250-350 word hook: protagonist’s name, world, conflict, stakes, ending implication.
- Two recent comp titles from your subgenre (last 2-3 years).
- Word count and genre stated explicitly.
- A two-sentence bio with writing-relevant credentials (publications, workshops, awards).
- Closing line: "thank you for your consideration" — no flourish.
Chapter iii·Example
A debut adult fantasy author’s 380-word query opens with "I’m querying you because of your representation of Author X." The hook introduces a 28-year-old healer in a 14th-century Italian alternate history, names the conflict (her order disbanded after a discovery), and ends with stakes (the discovery itself is being hunted). Comps: two 2024-2025 fantasy debuts. Bio: an MFA and a short story in Lightspeed. Word count and genre stated: 95,000 words, adult historical fantasy.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom’s Pitch studio drafts queries from your manuscript, project notes, and comp set — with the right structure built in.
See the Pitch studio