Today, I want to discuss query letters and cover letters and explain the basic differences.
Query Letter
The query letter is your sales pitch. You send a query letter to a publisher first in order to inform him about your wonderful book and to pique his interest in seeing it. Here is where you introduce yourself, describe your book, explain who your audience is and offer evidence of your ability/willingness to promote this book. The query letter is your foot-in-the-door. It is your first opportunity to make a good first impression with the publisher of your choice.
I advise authors not to come on to strong in their query letters, but do present your project with confidence. You want to appear professional and confident not pleading and desperate.
And be sure to identify your query letter as a query letter. Say in the beginning, for example, “I’d like to introduce my book, Parenting the Second Time Around, a guide for grandparents who are raising grandchildren.” Or say, “Please consider publishing my book on….”
Cover Letter
The cover letter accompanies your book proposal package or your manuscript. You will write a different cover letter for your proposal than you will for your manuscript. The cover letter is generally a reminder to the publisher that he requested to see your proposal or your manuscript and you also want to remind him of what your project is about.
Of course, there are instances when you will send a book proposal first (if that’s what the submission guidelines call for). Then your cover letter is strictly an introduction to your proposal and not a reminder that the publisher requested it.
In the case of a cover letter for a requested proposal, you might start by saying, “Thank you for asking to see my book proposal for Who Let the Dogs Out?—Who Will Put Them Back?” or write, “Per your request, I have enclosed my book proposal for my novel, Sweet Sixteen. As you may recall, this is the story of…”
The cover letter won’t be as detailed as the query letter because it is backed up either by a full-blown proposal or a manuscript. But you still want to give an introduction that will entice the publisher to stop what he was doing, to choose your package over all others, to wave of interruptions and focus on your proposal.
Questions? PLFry620@yahoo.com.