How to Write a Query Letter or Cover Letter to a Literary Agent

Tips on how to write a cover letter or query letter to get a literary agent if you want to be traditionally published.

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If you are submitting your novel to a literary agent, what information should you include? How long should the query letter be? Should you mention your previous submissions?

In this video I answer these and many other questions about writing a query letter to a literary agent. All of the information has come via the #askagent hashtag on twitter and from my own experience. I also talk about the query letter that got me an agent.

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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Introduction
0:41 - How important is the query letter?
2:02 - Is my experience relevant?
3:00 - What is the key element of the cover letter?
3:40 - Should I mention previous submissions?
4:17 - Should I mention self published books?
4:41 - Should the query letter be short or long?
4:58 - What approach should my query letter take?
6:22 - Do agents read the letter first or the material?
7:43 - What level of story detail should I include?
8:13 - The query letter that got me a literary agent
9:10 - What is the MSWL hashtag?

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