How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query & Cover Letters [Paperback]

John Wood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2000

Provides professional guidance for all writing-related correspondence, be it a query to an editor, a request for a celebrity interview or a book proposal.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books (August 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582970238
• ISBN-13: 978-1582970233
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #794,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Lots of promises but contradictory substance, February 14, 2003

By 

Steve Frandzel - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query & Cover Letters (Paperback)

First the author promises you the moon amidst reminders that your chances of succeeding as a freelance writer are virtually nil. He follows with 10 unbreakable commandments for a query letter, which are repeatedly and obviously broken in the subsequent examples of letters he recieved as an editor. No rules are unbendable, but his examples are so far from his recommendations in some cases that I wonder what he was thinking. For example, the author admonishes us to use provocative, snappy leads that grab the reader, then presents several queries that begin with wordy, boring personal introductions or whose leads are buried for several paragarphs. He warns us to concise, then shows a three-page query that he calls one of the best he ever received as an editor and which doesn't specify the topic clearly until the very end. Contradictions like this abound throughout the book. Make up your mind Mr. Wood.

Overall, mostly a waste of my time.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mostly for non-fiction writers, August 27, 2002

By 

Gregory Bascom (San Jose Costa Rica) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query & Cover Letters (Paperback)

My three star rating is the average of two stars if you're a novelist, and perhaps four if you're not.

As a novelist beginning to accumulate those unimaginative rejection form letters, Mr. Wood convinced me that, regardless of the guidelines, send at least a synopsis along with the query letter. The two pages he devotes to writing the novel synopsis are worthless, however, and according to Writer's Digest, perhaps dangerously outdated. As indicated by WD, for today's agents and editors, the novel synopsis should never exceed five double-spaced pages. (See "format Your Novel Proposal" by the editors of Writer's Digest in the August 2002 issue to get the scoop on cover letters, synopses and chapter-by-chapter outlines.)

The WD article is not helpful for novel query letters though. Mr. Wood devotes 11 pages (out of 185) to the novel query, including his model sample and one successful query. You might get as much by surfing the web. Still, I don't regret buying this book.

The majority of "Attention Grabbing..." discusses query letters and correspondence relating to non- fiction. Although non-fiction isn't by cup of tea, Mr. Wood's plentiful advice appears to be useful.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This could be the book that gets you published!, March 19, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query & Cover Letters (Hardcover)

If you've ever written anything, you know that getting your query letter together to send to a publisher is the scariest thing you have to do. Everything you've written hinges on the acceptance of an editor, and his acceptance hinges on your query letter. If it doesn't look good, then no matter how good your book is it won't see the light of day. This book will take you step-by-step through every aspect. Don't neglect the most important part of your book - the query that gets you noticed