Template
Dear [Honorific] [Agent Name],
[Tagline]...
[Age]-year-old [Defining Characteristic] [Full Name] just wants[Hopes and Dreams], but when [Inciting Incident], [Chosen Name] [Incited Action]. Now, [Chosen Name] [Updated Purpose].
As [Chosen Name] [The New Normal], [Pronoun] discovers [New Discoveries]. [Chosen Name] is put to the test when [Initial Challenge(s) faced], and when [Greatest Challenge], [Pronoun] has to [Outcome 1] or [Outcome 2].
Complete at [Word Count] words, [TITLE] is a(n) [category] [genre]set in [setting]. It will appeal to fans of [Comp 1] and [Comp 2]. [TITLE] has potential for a sequel following [Chosen Name]’s story as [Pronoun] continues to [Sequels].
I am submitting [TITLE] to you because [Optional Agent Personalization].
[Optional Qualification 1]. [Optional Qualification 2]. [Optional Personal Detail 1]. [Optional Personal Detail 2].
Thank you for your consideration.
Yours sincerely,
[Author Name] (writing as [Pen Name])
Example Query
Dear [Ms.] [Agent],
[A fearsome dragon. A knight in shining armor]...
[22]-year-old [secret dragon] [Elsie Fire] just wants [a quiet life as an editorial assistant in New York City], but when [a man bothers her on the subway], [Elsie] [accidentally breathes fire on him]. Now [Elsie] [must face a world that knows her secret].
As [Elsie] [navigates her new life as a known dragon], [she] discovers [she enjoys finally feeling free to be a real dragon]. [Elsie] is put to the test when[she finds that everything she does—from using her fire to heat her soup to hoarding silver spoons in her studio apartment—only turns society further against her], and when [the man returns as knight in shining armor to slay her], [she] has to [admit she’s become the villain of her own story] or [show the world that the stories have always been wrong and knights in shining armor are not what they seem].
Complete at [70,000] words, [ELSIE FIRE: DRAGON] is a/n [adult] [low fantasy] set in [a fairy-tale inspired version of modern day New York]. It will appeal to fans of [Seraphina by Rachel Hartman] and [The Devil Wears Prada by Laura Weisberger]. [ELSIE FIRE: DRAGON] has potential for a sequel following [Elsie]’s story as [she] continues to [explore her dragon powers in a world where only metal-clad men are called heroes].
I am submitting [ELSIE FIRE: DRAGON] to you because [you mentioned on twitter wanting a book about women getting revenge on the men who harass them on public transport].
[I have a BA in Creative Writing from Fiction University]. [My stories have been published in Women Strike Back and Dragons Monthly]. [I have experience as an editorial assistant]. [I also have more than once wanted to breathe fire on a man who wouldn’t stop bothering me].
Thank you for your consideration.
Yours sincerely,
[Julia Marcie] (writing as [Eisle Erif])