Hank Nuwer's Expert Writing Site

What is a query letter and how do I write one?


Photo courtesy J. Howard


As an editor, the article proposals I prefer read like conversational letters.

The idea behind a query letter is to throw a pitch, not to deliver a finished piece.You must convince the Man or Woman Upstairs, that is, the editor, you have an idea that readers will enjoy and learn from if developed into an article.

But that’s not enough. Within the confines of that single-spaced, one-page letter (More pages if you are attaching sheets from the article itself),  your words offer evidence that you qualify as enough of an expert (or someone who can get the info from authoritative sources) so that readers will stay with you from word one to finish.

This can’t be that hard, right? Ha! Many capable writers lose out on opportunity after opportunity because they forget query letters are just that—letters. They write stiff or formal memorandums that make editors wince as they stuff your note into the stamped, self-addressed envelope you provided (or into a trash can if you’ve forgotten an envelope). The mystery is how writers who make Aunt Edna howl like a rhesus monkey when she reads their mail can somehow write letters to editors without warmth, energy, or appeal.

I used to prefer reading query letters ending with a “Hey, whaddyathink?” than endure one more (Aaaarghhhh!) “I await your response.”  The best query letters are those whose friends actually read the photocopied letters they send out at Christmas. Their proposals are chatty, never presumptuous. They make their point and quit, not underestimate the editor’s intelligence and go back to explain their previous explanation.

The best writers pitch an idea, then quit. In one to three paragraphs, they convince even hard-bitten editors that they possess the expertise, stamina and enthusiasm to do a better job than the net writer on this freelance assignment.

As an editor, I liked to envision writers with their sweatshirt sleeves rolled to the elbow as they write their letters with the kids asleep, the dog snoring, and all lights out next door. Good letters encourage a sense of a writerat work. Letters that are too formal, banal, and cliché-ridden, makeme think of grad students sweating blood to write dissertation proposals.  Which would I rather read? Hey, whaddya think?

What should a query letter contain?

Good query letters get to the point and get editors worked up to the point where they just have to contact you. Such a letter states an idea for a short-short or feature in its simplest form. The letter ends with the writers credentials, or if from a newcomer, a summary of why the writer is perfect to produce this assignment. This isn’t schmoozing or name dropping—it’s good common business sense.

Always attach clips of previous articles you’ve written—if you have them. Sometimes an editor will decide that your idea misses the mark but that you’d be worth the risk of giving an assignment letter for some idea manufactured by the editor.

Every article has expenses. Include a sheet with estimates of expenses, and do some research here on plane fares and motel prices. Don’t pull these out of the air. No one expects you to produce quality research without incurring expenses.  Suffice to say, you need to keep these as low as possible.

Finally, be careful what you propose, for an editor just may assign it to you. Estimate how long you think it will take to research and write the piece, then multiply that hour total by 20 percent longer as a rough estimate. Ask yourself these questions? Can I afford to write this piece, getting a reasonable per-hour rate? Can I stick with this assignment for the weeks or months it requires? If no, do your editor, and yourself, a favor. Burn that query letter.

Let me end with three personal preferences:
  a) I liked to see an attached list of potential sources that the writer plans to interview.
  b) I want to know if the writer has written about this subject previously—and read similar clips (photocopies fine) that are attached.
  c) I want queries that are timely -- a query on author Jim Harrison ought to result in a published piece the same month he releases a new novel.

Hank Nuwer, Journalism, Franklin College, Branigin Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46131. Nuwer is the author of "How to Write Like an Expert." Heoccasionally lectures at writing conferences and is available for one-on-one writing critiques.

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