Everyone knows The Beatles, so let’s have a look at their song that relates to what we do – Paperback Writer. If you don’t know it, it’s sung as if it’s a query letter from a writer to a publisher or literary agent. But you probably shouldn’t use it as a good example of a query letter if you’re looking at getting a novel published. Here are a few things we can learn from the song.

1. Firstly, try to find the name of the literary agent or publisher that you need to reach. “Dear sir or madam” doesn’t show that you have taken the time and care to find out who you are actually speaking to. If you don’t know the name, call and ask. Let them know that you’ve gone the extra mile.

2. Be careful with regards to copyright infringement. Writing a fan-fic? Quoting a large piece of text? If you’re using someone else’s intellectual property, you need to make sure you have permission for that. If it’s, for example, a very old poem, then it’s probably in the public domain and you’ll be able to use it, but think carefully about anything that isn’t yours and whether or not you’ll be able to use it freely.

3. You need to wow the recipient with your plot. Get straight in there with the conflict in your story and make sure you get across why they should publish your story, why it’s important for people to read and what’s so unique and interesting about it. Try to sum up the plot in one sentence at first, then get into a little more detail. But remember, you’ll be including a synopsis so you don’t need to say too much in your initial query letter.

4 Unless you’re writing non-fiction, you should never send unfinished work to a publisher or agent. Sure, they might want you to edit it somewhat, but they’ll expect it to at least be finished. What happens if you add something in later that changes something in the beginning of the story that the editor has already accepted? You’d have a bit of a problem then.

5. Be realistic. And by that I mean, don’t make any grand promises. Declaring that your story will immediately make the publisher millions of pounds/dollars/euros/other will not impress anyone and will probably just sound like a lot of hot air. Likewise, telling them that your mother thinks it’s a darn good read won’t impress very much either. If you do want to impress, let them know who your target audience is, e.g. “anyone who likes work by Tolkien will love this book”. This will let them know that you know your market, but take a step back before you start comparing yourself to the greats. You want to impress, but again, you should be realistic.