COMM 317: Query letters - the best tipsheet I've seen yet!

The subject line kind of says it all, doesn't it?

It's the SAMPLE QUERY LETTER on the James Russell Publishing website. It's much, much more than sample boilerplate. It explains why we should say the things James Russell says we should say. And it's the best thing I've seen yet in 20-some years of reading sample query letters and how-to-write-a-query-letter pieces in how-to-write-a-book books.

But I already said that, didn't I?

Here's Rule #1:

You may mail query letters to most all publishers, but here's the rule: Your query letter must be professional in all aspects, and this includes e-mail queries. For some reason, writers believe the e-mail query may include less information. This is not true. Your e-mail query letter must mimic your postal mail query letter! ...

I'm not going to summarize the rest of it, because I want you to read it. But here, way down on the list, is a tidbit I hadn't known before:

Never send a manuscript in a padded envelope! These brown kraft paper envelopes are filled with millions of shredded fibers. When publishers and agents see them they hit the roof! They know the manuscript will be filled with these fluffy dust particles and will mess up their clothes, desktops, floors, hands and the manuscript itself. Use bubble envelopes! Some editors become so upset when they see a padded envelope they simply reject the manuscript without even reading it!

So there. Now we all know.