How to Write a Query Letter That Gets Read: Template and 3 Annotated Examples
A query letter fits on one page and does five things in order: it names the book (title, genre, word count), it tells the story in fifty words, it says why this agent, it says who you are in three lines, and it stops. Everything else (your childhood, your passion for writing, your certainty that this book will change lives) gets it out of the pile. Here is the template, its agent version (the query used in the US and UK) and its French version (the cover letter sent with a full manuscript to a publisher), three examples annotated line by line, and the five sentences that get a letter binned.
The template in five blocks
| Block | Content | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Title, genre, word count, named recipient, the word "complete" | Two lines |
| Character, situation, disruption, stakes | Fifty words |
| What in this agent's list or this house's catalogue made you choose them | Two or three lines |
| What matters for this book: job, publications, link to the subject | Three lines |
| One sentence about what is attached, a plain sign-off | Two lines |
Block 2 decides. Block 3 is the one almost nobody writes, and the one that proves you did your homework. The letter does not replace the synopsis, which tells everything through to the ending and is written separately; the method is in how to write a novel synopsis. Nor does it replace the formatting of the manuscript itself, covered in how to prepare a manuscript for submission.
Example 1: a query to an agent, annotated
Fictional novel: "The Ninth Tide", young adult fantasy, 95,000 words.
Dear Ms Okafor, You have said you are looking for YA fantasy carried by heroines who are not the chosen one. "The Ninth Tide" (95,000 words) is a complete novel in that vein.
The query opens with the link to the agent (her public wish list), then gives title, genre, word count and the word "complete", which is mandatory: agents do not read unfinished novels from debut writers.
On the island of Kerrance, the sea rises nine times a year and takes one house with every tide. Nell, fifteen, daughter of the keeper of records, discovers the houses are not chosen at random: they are drawn by lot, by her own father. When the ninth tide names her best friend's house, Nell has three days to rig the draw, or to understand why it exists.
The pitch in three sentences: the world in one image, the protagonist and her discovery, the countdown. An agent reads a hundred queries a week; this one gives the dilemma, not the mythology.
It will appeal to readers of [two recent comparable titles from the same shelf, published within the last five years].
The comps: two recent titles, same readership, not global bestsellers. They tell the agent where the book sits in a bookshop.
I teach English at a secondary school and have run a writing workshop for teenagers for six years. This is my first novel. As per your guidelines, the synopsis and first ten pages follow below. Thank you for your time.
Short bio, explicit mention that the guidelines were followed, plain exit.
Example 2: a cover letter to a French publisher, annotated
The French route has no agent: you send the complete manuscript straight to a house, with a one-page letter. Fictional novel: "What the Bees Know", contemporary fiction, 74,000 words. Translated here for reading; in practice it is written in French.
Dear Ms Delorme,
The name of the imprint's editor, found on the website or in the acknowledgements of one of the house's books. "Dear Sir or Madam" signals a mass mailing.
I am sending you "What the Bees Know", a contemporary novel of 74,000 words, for the Terres imprint.
Block 1 in one sentence: title, genre, length, imprint. The reader already knows whether they are in the right place.
Mathilde, a beekeeper in the Vercors mountains, finds her hives dying one by one the same week her father, silent for ten years, starts talking again. To save the hives she will have to listen to him, and what he tells her overturns everything she knows about the farm.
The pitch: one character, one place, two events that answer each other, a stake, a threat. Fifty-two words. Nothing about themes, nothing about style: the facts of the story.
I read "Ridge Paths" and "A Season Without Rain" on your list, and it is that attention to people who work outdoors that I would like to join.
Block 3: two titles from the catalogue (fictional here), one sentence on what links them to the manuscript. Not flattery, a reason.
I worked as an agricultural technician for twelve years before taking over a farm. This is my first novel; two of my short stories have appeared in literary magazines. The complete manuscript and a two-page synopsis are attached. Thank you for reading.
Block 4 gives legitimacy on the subject and a real publication. Block 5 says what is attached and stops.
Example 3: the letter that gets binned, annotated
Same novel as example 2, in the version that lands in piles too often.
Dear Sir or Madam, I have been writing since I was a little girl. Writing is a vital need for me, a breath, and after years of doubt I have finally dared to finish the novel I carried inside me.
Three lines on the author, none on the book. The reader still does not know what they are holding.
This novel is about resilience, legacy and the bond between humans and nature. It will speak to every reader, because everyone will find an echo of their own story in it.
Themes instead of a story, and a "universal" audience, which means none. The reader cannot shelve the book.
I know you receive many manuscripts, but I am certain this one will stand out. Several people close to me have read it and were deeply moved.
Two sentences that work against the submission: the judgement is not the author's to make, and friends do not count.
I remain at your entire disposal to discuss it in person and hope with all my heart for a positive reply.
The editor will not call to discuss; they will read, or not. This sentence only adds pressure.
Nothing in this letter is false or rude. It simply does not say what the reader needs to know.
The five sentences that get a query binned
- "I have been writing since I was a child." Everyone has. It is not information.
- "This novel is about..." followed by abstract themes. Tell what happens to someone.
- "It will appeal to all readers." A book for everyone has no shelf.
- "My friends and family loved it." The reader concludes nobody else has read it.
- "I am certain this book will stand out." That is their job to decide, not yours.
Add a sixth, quieter one: the title spelled three different ways across the letter, the synopsis and the manuscript. Fix it before you send; the method is in how to title a novel.
The fifty-word pitch, worked out from your outline
The pitch is not invented by staring at the ceiling; it is derived from the outline. Four questions are enough: who wants what, what stands in the way, what changes at the first third, what they lose if they fail. In the Sagoræ studio, that is Dédale's job: it reads your outline and asks you those questions, chapter by chapter, until the answer holds in three sentences. It does not write the pitch; it forces you to know what you wrote.
D Daedalus · Story architect Pre-recorded demo
Daedalus stress-tests the outline of "What the Sea Gives Back"
Daedalus
Your feeling is right, and the outline shows why. From chapter 9 to chapter 22, Maud looks for a buyer. Looking is not an event: it is a state. Nothing stops her from looking for thirteen chapters.
Three questions, and no answers on your behalf:
- Where is the midpoint? Something around chapter 14 has to make going back impossible. A buyer who signs, then pulls out? A discovery about the father?
- What does Jonas want? He appears in Act II with no goal of his own. A character who wants nothing does not create conflict, he creates a pause.
- Why does the cannery burn? If it is an accident, the climax comes from outside. If it is the consequence of a choice Maud makes in Act II, the whole middle tightens at once.
Daedalus
Then your Act II has just found its spine: Maud needs the money of the man who wants to destroy what she is trying to save. Your midpoint almost writes itself (she signs, or refuses to sign), and the fire in chapter 23 changes meaning depending on who holds the match.
I am not updating anything: it is your outline. Add the line "Jonas = buyer" to chapters 9 to 16 and look at what each chapter now has to contain.
Pre-recorded simulation. Daedalus never writes: it questions the structure of the novel and leaves the decisions to the author.
For "What the Bees Know", the author's first answer to the questions was "Mathilde wants to save her hives." After three follow-ups ("save them from what?", "why now?", "what stops her asking for help?"), the pitch in example 2 was there. Once the letter is ready, the rest of the route (agents, houses, timelines, committees) is described in how to get published in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a query letter be? One page, never more. Five blocks: header, fifty-word pitch, why this agent, who you are, exit.
Should a query letter give away the ending? No. The query gives the stakes and stops before the resolution; the synopsis, sent separately, tells everything, ending included.
What is the difference between a query letter and a cover letter? The query goes to an agent, replaces the manuscript, cites comparable titles and follows the agency's guidelines. The French cover letter accompanies a complete manuscript sent directly to a publishing house.
Should you talk about yourself? Three lines: what gives you legitimacy on the subject, a real publication if you have one. No life story, no declaration of love for writing.
Can you send the same query to every agent? Blocks 1, 2 and 4 stay; block 3, the why this agent, is rewritten for every send, with the recipient's name.
If you want your pitch to come out of your outline rather than the ceiling, with a coach that questions and never writes for you, Sagoræ offers a free trial, no card required.
✒️ Read next: How to Get Published in 2026: Agents, Editors and What Really Happens After You Submit · How to Write a Novel Synopsis: The One-Page Method, With an Example · How to Title a Novel: 7 Methods and a Memorability Test
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