Writing a Synopsis & Query Letter

by Charlotte Dillon

I think this is probably one of my most popular pages. It doesn’t matter if you are submitting to an agent, a big New York publishing house, or a small press, you have to have a synopsis and a query letter to go with that manuscript. In fact, many of the big houses, and even some agents, will only accept a query and or a synopsis.  Chapters can only be sent later if they ask to see them. Hopefully, the information you’ll find listed here will have you writing both like an old pro.

First things first, the query letter. My main Writing a Query Letter page covers a lot of the basics, including articles and books to help. For me a sample is often a lot of help, so I’ve put together a number of Sample Query Letters from some published authors. Reading over these samples can be a big help. I also have an article called The Power of a Query Letter, that might explain how one little page of writing can tell an agent or editor a lot about your writing ability.

After you have that query letter finished, the bad new is, you’ve gotta do a synopsis. I know you would rather have a tooth pulled, maybe even five, but you need to write it. My Writing a Synopsis page is just the place for you to at least figure out how to start. You’ll find links to articles on writing them, books on writing them, and some hints. Once done there, there’s a Sample Synopsis page you can move on to. Like I said above, I think seeing samples that worked for others can be a big help with your own efforts.

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