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How to Write a Great Query Letter:
Inside Tips & Techniques for Success

by Noah Lukeman

 

"Having had 9 non-fiction books published, I wanted to break into the world of fiction writing, and having written a worthy novel, needed some advice on approaching agents--as my initial attempts resulted in many "Thanks, but no thanks" letters. I downloaded HOW TO WRITE A GREAT QUERY LETTER and realized where I was going wrong, and followed Lukeman's instructions to the letter. Result? I've just received a letter from a top London agent saying they would like to represent me and my novel. Thank you so much Noah for your help and expertise!"
                                                                                                                                                 
--Deborah Durbin

 

              Many books have been written about the query letter.  But few have been written by literary agents, who receive thousands of queries each year and who grapple with them on a daily basis.  Even fewer books have been written by literary agents who are currently active, who are willing to write from the trenches and offer their perspective on why they reject query letters, and why they accept them.  

           New York literary agent Noah Lukeman, President of Lukeman Literary Management Ltd, has represented multiple New York Times bestsellers, winners of the Pulitzer Prize and American Book Award, National Book Award Finalists, and has written three critically-acclaimed books on the craft of writing (The First Five Pages, The Plot Thickens, and A Dash of Style). During his last 13 years as a literary agent he has read thousands of query letters and now, for the first time, he offers his insights on the query letter, sharing an insider's perspective, giving insights and practical tips about what works and what doesn’t.  

            HOW TO WRITE A GREAT QUERY LETTER:  INSIDER TIPS AND TECHNIQUES FOR SUCCESS is a must-read for any writer serious about being published.  Designed for writers of fiction and non-fiction, for screenwriters and poets, it speaks to a broad range of authors, offering principles that will help lead to success no matter what your craft.  Practical, engaging, filled with exercises, anecdotes and sidebars, this 80 page e-book takes you on a journey, will transform your query letter from a document that could be rejected to a document that will make agents take you seriously.  

            HOW TO WRITE A GREAT QUERY LETTER includes:

            · The 3 Paragraph Rule  
            · 3 Common Mistakes to Avoid in Your Plot Paragraph  
            · 4 Common Mistakes to Avoid in Your Author Bio  
            · Fiction Versus Non-Fiction (How a Query Letter Will Differ)  
            · Checklist:  30 Mistakes to Avoid in Your Query Letter

"I just downloaded your book HOW TO WRITE A GREAT QUERY LETTER and I want you to know how greatly I appreciated not only your expertise and knowledge in that area, but your willingness to post it free and help struggling writers like myself to better understand the business of books. Your information was definitely the most comprehensive and practical I’ve come across – most importantly to me, as I hit the six-month tipping point of my search, your words give me the encouragement I need to keep at this, while juggling my writing with the responsibilities of being a stay-at-home mom and running a consulting practice."
                                                                                                                                           
                     --Natalie Jenner

As of May, 2007, Mr. Lukeman has made his e-book HOW TO WRITE A GREAT QUERY LETTER free,
as a way to give back to the writing community. Click here to download the free e-book.

NEW!

If you would also like to read 20 free pages of Noah Lukeman's new book,
How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent, click here.

 

Noah Lukeman's other titles:

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To find more free e-books, we encourage you to visit Project Gutenburg, where you can find free e-books by authors such as Edwin Abbott Abbott (How to Write Clearly), Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations), Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer), Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), Jules Verne (Around the World in 80 Days), Lewis Carroll (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), James Joyce (Ulysses), Bram Stoker (Dracula), Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace), Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (Frankenstein), Homer (Iliad), Franz Kafka (Metamorphosis), William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Joseph Conrad.

Also visit www.ebookdirectory.com