Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Picture book query/cover letter

For a picture book cover/query letter, do I begin with the story?

Yes. Jump right into two or three sentences and show your story as it pertains to the protagonist and their challenge (s). You can write a second paragraph to expand the story a little more, or place it all in one paragraph using five to seven sentences. Keep it brief. Give your background, writing associations you below to, hopefully one is the SCBWI (Society of Childrens' Book Writers and Illustrators). You don’t have to tell your entire story, that’s not the point. The purpose of this query/cover letter is to motivate the agent to read the attached manuscript.

1 comment:

  1. What is the difference in terms of what should be included in a cover letter and a query letter? I want to send a manuscript to a publisher who prefers to see the whole manuscript and a cover letter rather than a query with or without a few chapters. Of course I hope the manuscript will speak for itself, but I would like the cover letter to draw in its reader and make him or her eager to read the manuscript.

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