Thread by @TheHollyRiddle

I know #querying is bad rn. BUT, I've also looked at several query letters recently... And please, please, please -- don't shoot yourself in the foot before an agent even gets to your pages. Follow the standard query format. Make it engaging.

A 🧵 for the #WritingCommunity ...

1/7 Include your meta data! At the top or at the bottom! (I prefer top, so the agent knows what to expect, right away.) It should have your title, (CORRECT) genre, age group, word count and comps. The comps should be recent, recognizable and multiple. Better yet, get specific...

2/7 ...About why you're using the comps you are. Don't just say "My book is similar to The Night Circus." Tell us that you have a cast of strong female characters like in Comp 1, a tantalizing mystery like Comp 2, and a sexy love story like Comp 3.

3/7 Then get into the meat of your query, about your plot. This bit should be 3 paragraphs. Paragraph 1 should describe your MC's opening world/situation. But make it interesting! What do they hate? Love? Set things up so you can blow it apart with the inciting incident!

4/7 Paragraph 2 should show the inciting incident. What happens and why do we care? How does it rock your MC's world? What do they do about it? Paragraph 3 should show how things get even HARDER, and then end in the stakes. The stakes are the hardest bit for me.

5/7 But the stakes need to be good. What does your MC stand to lose at the end of this journey you've set them on? Do they need to make a difficult choice in order to survive? Make those stakes more specific than just "they'll be miserable." Make them MEANINGFUL.

6/7 Then, wrap everything up with a brief paragraph on yourself. Give credentials. Brag about yourself. Don't have anything to brag about? Yes, you do. There are multiple things that make you awesome. Find em and sell em.

7/7 And that is how you format a query letter that should get you at least one step further in your querying process. You do have to write the above WELL and have a hook that grabs the agent, but this is the general format that you NEED from the start. Good luck out there!