How to Write a Query Letter that Hooks Literary Agents (2024)

By Caroline Madden

So you’ve polished your manuscript till it sparkles, drawn up your list of dream literary agents and now you need to know how to write a query letter that hooks literary agents in from the first line.

Writers sometimes find this step of the submissions process daunting but don’t stress – we’ve got you!

This guide will walk you step-by-step through the process so that by the end of this post you’ll know how to craft a sizzling query letter designed to grab the attention of agents and tempt them to read your opening chapters… and hopefully request the full manuscript.

To help you along the way, I’ve included my own query letter that quickly led to an offer of representation from my agent Kesia Lupo in 2023 (which I happily accepted!).

I’ve also included links to several other excellent real-life cover letter examples that I hope will help you on your querying journey.

This post is all about how to write a query letter that hooks literary agents in 2024

What is the purpose of a query letter?

The raison d’etre of your query letter is to pique the interest of the literary agent to such a degree that they’ll read the opening chapters of your novel.

How do you do this? By making sure your query email:

1. Is professional but not dull
2. Is tailored precisely to that particular agent and their preferences
3. Contains the SIX KEY ELEMENTS

We’re going to take a detailed look at those six key elements, but first…

How long should your query letter be?

The appropriate length of the query email depends on the submission guidelines of the individual literary agent.

For example, let’s take a look at the submission advice given by P.S. Literary Agency. They give quite specific instructions on structuring your query letter:

So if submitting to this agency, you’d be limited to three paragraphs for the ‘query letter’ part of your submission.

However, the preferred length and structure can differ from agency to agency, and even from agent to agent, so it’s important to do your research.

But what if no guidance is given? Then how long should your cover letter be? I’ve seen advice that suggests a maximum word count of 450. However, my query email to Kesia came in under the 300 word mark.

Agents are extremely pushed for time so I like to keep things concise and make sure every single sentence serves a purpose and is not just there for padding.

What are the six key elements of a well-crafted query letter?

Now that we know the rough word count we’re working with, let’s dive deeper into the key elements that a well-honed query email needs if it’s going to stand out from the slush pile and catch the eye of your dream agent.

First we’ll take a look at the guidance given by The Hannah Shephard Literary Agency as this gives a great insight into what agents want to see in your cover letter, and then we’ll get down to the nitty gritty:

Based on guidance like this, and advice that I’ve received over the years from former literary agents and editors, I recommend including the following six key elements:

1. Introduction

This is pretty straight-forward. Consider opening with something like:

Dear [agent name]

I’m currently seeking representation for my debut* novel [title], which is in the […] genre.

*If you’re a debut author!

You may also want to include your word count in the introduction.

Here’s an example from my query email to my agent Kesia Lupo in June 2023:

Dear Kesia,

I am currently seeking representation for my comic up-lit novel The Husband Whisperer, which was longlisted for the Blue Pencil Agency First Novel Award 2022.

I struggled to figure out the exact genre that my novel fits into, so I got help with this from the former literary agent Anna Barrett (I highly recommend. And no, I’m not on commission, I just really rate her service!) who was enormously knowledgeable and suggested that ‘comic uplit’ was the most fitting category.

You’ll see that I included a writing competition longlisting. I decided to get that information in early (rather than leaving it to the ‘about me’/bio paragraph at the end) in order to try and make my query stand out immediately.

Here’s a second example from a query letter that got me an agent a number of years ago. I’ve taken out information that could identify the people involved.

Dear [],

I’m seeking representation for my historical novel, The Last Favour. I thought I’d get in touch because you represent the (extremely talented!) author [], who is a member of the historical fiction workshop I’ve been attending for the last number of years.

In this instance, I was lucky enough to be friends with a writer already rep’d by this agent, and that writer was kind enough to give the agent a heads-up that I would be getting in touch. I decided that this was the most important aspect to emphasise in the opening paragraph. (Note: I would suggest only doing this if your friend VOLUNTEERS to introduce you to their agent – if you ask them for the favour, it can be awkward.)

Figure out what sets you apart and highlight that early on.

2. An intriguing pitch line

A captivating pitch line is incredibly helpful for agents – it’s essentially a one-sentence hook for your book. Not only will a good pitch line enable them to envision your premise immediately, but also if they DO decide to represent you, it will make it easier for them to sell your work to editors down the line.

It can be difficult to boil down an 80,000 word + piece of work into one line, but here are some tips:

Try phrasing it as a question.

For example, here’s the one line pitch for my novel The Husband Whisperer:

If a therapist promised to turn your neglectful husband back into the man you fell in love with, by any means necessary, would you say yes?

If your novel is high-concept, you could try the approach where you fuse two seemingly at-odds but highly successful concepts into a new idea. For example, Aliens was pitched as: Jaws in Space.

Here’s how I successfully pitched a historical fiction novel to an agent:

Think Indecent Proposal in period costume.

3. A catchy blurb

The blurb should be a succinct mini-synopsis of the premise of your novel – think the type of salesy paragraphs you read on the back of book jackets.

Here’s how I blurbed my novel to my agent Kesia (including the one-line pitch):

If a therapist promised to turn your neglectful husband back into the man you fell in love with, by any means necessary, would you say yes?

Former concert pianist Eliza Sheridan does just that. When her playwright husband Richard Sheridan was offered the chance to run a theatre in Ireland, she agreed to uproot their daughter Freya and leave behind their life in Bath. However, since arriving in Ireland, she’s barely seen Richard. She grows increasingly resentful and when she discovers a photo of him with another woman, she turns to renegade marriage therapist Salvadora Rossi for help. Little does Eliza know just how far Ms. Rossi is willing to go to get results…

It’s possible that my blurb could have done with being a little longer. Also I could have used it to give more of a sense of the tone of the novel, which is a dark comedy, but I struggled to do that while also doing justice to the premise.

4. Display an understanding of the market and where your book fits in

Market knowledge may not seem like something that should be a writer’s job, but agents need to be able to figure out — quickly — where a book will fit into the market. You can make their lives a lot easier by putting some effort into this. And it will help to convince them that there actually is a market for your book.

Really all you need to do is figure out these three key elements:

• What genre is your novel?
• What books do you imagine it sitting next to on the shelf in bookshops? (e.g. “I’d love to see my novel sitting on bookshelves next to X and Y”)
• Comp (comparative) titles

When picking comp titles, the general consensus seems to be to choose two or three titles (movies/popular TV shows can work well too) that are successful and, ideally, relatively recent (like in the last few years).

Here’s what I included for this part of my query letter:

The Husband Whisperer offers the wry wit and dark comedy of Sorrow and Bliss, crossed with the quirky, relatable tone and ultimately uplifting journey of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

5. Create a connection with the agent

When querying, you never want to give impression that you’ve spammed every agent out there with the exact same query email.

So instead you should take your time researching agents until you hone a list of ideal agents that you believe would be the best fit for your novel.

Then research them some more! Read interviews with them, sign up for their newsletters, scan through their tweets, read about their clients. And then find an area of common interest (maybe they mention in an interview that they’re obsessed with a book that you’ve included in your comp titles), and mention this as a reason why you think you and the agent would make a great team.

Figure out a genuine reason for querying this specific agent (as opposed to every other agent) and this paragraph will be easy. It only has to be a couple of lines.

Here’s what I included in my query to Kesia:

I was delighted to read that Eleanor Oliphant is one of your favourite reads as I loved the voice in that novel.

Or it could be something like:

“I see you represent X author. They’re a big inspiration for me.”

Or:

“I loved when you said X in an interview. I think we’d be a great team.”

6. Your bio

In the last paragraph, you should include any writing-related experience such as competition placings, awards, bursaries, courses completed, published writing, writing/critiquing groups that you’re a member of and so on. Anything that suggests you’ve been honing your writing skills and – ideally – finding some success.

Here’s what I included:

In 2019, I was longlisted for the ‘Write Stuff’ competition at the London Book Fair. I have been published in non-fiction (with Blackhall Publishing) but The Husband Whisperer is my debut in fiction.

I possibly should have included a sentence about new ideas that I’ll be working on, for example: “I’m really keen to establish myself as a brand author and have another idea in the comic up-lit genre that I’m working on.”

I’m not sure if this would have made a difference, but it’s something to consider. 

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Spelling the agent’s name incorrectly (and other basic typos): some agents say they’re not too bothered about small mistakes and understand that we’re all human. However other agents whose names are regularly misspelled have a bit of a bugbear about this, so take extra care;
• Submitting to two agents at the same agency at the same time: this is almost always a big no-no;
• Over-hyping your book: it’s important to come across as confident, even self-assured, but don’t tip into arrogant or self-deluded territory by saying you’re the next JK Rowling/Stephen King;
• TMI! There’s no need to give a detailed breakdown of your life history. Keep the bio section brief and preferably writing-related.

Real-life examples

Here is the query letter that I sent to my wonderful agent Kesia Lupo of the Bindery Agency in summer 2023 (with one or two details taken out for privacy):

Dear Kesia,

I am currently seeking representation for my comic up-lit novel The Husband Whisperer, which was longlisted for the Blue Pencil Agency First Novel Award 2022.

If a therapist promised to turn your neglectful husband back into the man you fell in love with, by any means necessary, would you say yes?

Former concert pianist Eliza Sheridan does just that. When her playwright husband Richard Sheridan was offered the chance to run a theatre in Ireland, she agreed to uproot their daughter Freya and leave behind their life in Bath. However, since arriving in Ireland, she’s barely seen Richard. She grows increasingly resentful and when she discovers a photo of him with another woman, she turns to renegade marriage therapist Salvadora Rossi for help. Little does Eliza know just how far Ms. Rossi is willing to go to get results…

The Husband Whisperer offers the wry wit and dark comedy of Sorrow and Bliss, crossed with the quirky, relatable tone and ultimately uplifting journey of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

I was delighted to read that Eleanor Oliphant is one of your favourite reads as I loved the voice in that novel.

In 2019, I was longlisted for the ‘Write Stuff’ competition at the London Book Fair. I have been published in non-fiction (with Blackhall Publishing) but The Husband Whisperer is my debut in fiction.

I really hope that you enjoy my opening chapters and look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes

Caroline

Brilliant sources of information

Querytracker has a number of great author interviews here and lots of the authors share their actual query letters.

It’s extremely useful to see examples of recent query emails that led to offers of representation from agents. I wish I’d know about this page when I was back in the querying trenches!

Here’s a great example:

Celeste Dador Success Story Interview | QueryTracker

This website is a fantastic resource too:

My Query Letter – Amanda C. Badillo (amandabadillo.com)

Agent and author Eric Smith’s advice on query letters is invaluable: Perfect Pitch — ERIC SMITH (ericsmithrocks.com)

This post by agent and author Kathleen Fox is really excellent too: How to Craft a Query That’ll Knock the Socks Off an Agent or Publisher – Foxx Editorial

Note: I’m not a querying expert, but I have been fortunate to have had three agents. My aim in sharing this post is to pass on any hints and tips that I’ve picked up over the years in the hope that it will help other writers to land their dream agent. However, I would encourage you to do your own research too so that you stand the best possible chance of seeing those full MS requests flooding in. Good luck querying!

This post is all about how to write a query letter that hooks literary agents in 2024