For writers getting ready to query
Query Letter Template and Example
Hook, pitch, the book line and bio, plus a thank-you, each with a word target, and a full example query annotated line by line.
Dear [Agent name]:
You asked on your wish list for mysteries where the crime is a story a whole town agreed to tell. I hope THE SALT LEDGER is a fit.
Maren Holt has spent eleven years repairing other people's history. Now she has to decide whether to repair her father's lie.
Maren, 38, is the only paper conservator in Port Absalom, Maine, a harbor town that lives on one story: in 1847 the whaler Constance turned back into a storm to save a crew of strangers. Its logbook, displayed in the museum her late father founded, brings in the summer visitors who carry the town through winter. While rebinding it for an auction that would pay for the museum's failing roof, Maren finds a watermark from a paper mill that did not open until 1871. The log is a copy. The margin notes are in her father's hand.
Her brother Cal, who chairs the museum board, needs the sale. The appraiser up from Boston needs her signature on the condition report. If Maren tells the truth, she closes the museum that employs her neighbors and turns her father into a fraud. If she signs, the lie becomes hers. Then she finds the letters her father hid, and learns the copy was never about money. It was made to bury what the real log said.
Thank you for your time. The full manuscript is ready if you would like to read it. [Name] · [email]
What you'll get
Each query part with a word target, plus a worked example
- Four parts plus a thank-you, each with a word target
- A full example query, annotated line by line
- A send checklist and the query form boxes mapped
Before and after
Your book in. Your query, started.
A paper conservator learns the logbook her town is famous for was forged by her late father. Her name is Maren Holt, 41, and she is restoring the logbook for the town's 250th anniversary. The museum director, her oldest friend, needs the anniversary money to keep the doors open. Upmarket mystery, 84,000 words. I work as a book conservator in Maine, and this is my first novel.
Hook: Maren Holt repairs other people's history for a living. Now she has to decide whether to repair her father's lie. Pitch, paragraph 1: Maren, 41, is restoring the logbook her town is famous for, in time for its 250th anniversary. Then she finds proof it is a copy, and the margin notes are in her father's hand. The book line: [TITLE] is an upmarket mystery, complete at 84,000 words. It will appeal to readers of [COMP 1] and [COMP 2]. About you: I work as a book conservator in Maine, and this is my first novel.
Brackets mark what only you know. River never fills them with guesses.
Why it works
What is the format of a query letter?
A query letter is a one-page email to a literary agent. It has four parts plus a thank-you: a hook, a pitch with the stakes, a line giving your title, word count, genre and comps, and a short bio. Most run between 250 and 350 words, the range Nathan Bransford recommends. This template gives each part a word target and a one-line job, then shows a complete example query with a note beside every part.
The example is an invented upmarket mystery, THE SALT LEDGER, at about 300 words. Its comps are described rather than named, because a real title on a static page goes stale, and Janet Reid advised picking comps from the last two years. The same book appears in our synopsis template, so you can see what a query holds back. For real letters that won agents, read our query letter examples.
The download is a free Word file that needs no account, and Edit with AI opens the same template in River. Tell River about your book, from a premise to full notes with your word count and bio. It starts the hook and a pitch of 150 to 200 words in your words, with brackets for anything only you know. The template also maps each part to the boxes on agents' online query forms. For a finished letter built from your pitch or manuscript, use the query letter generator.
What lands in your doc
What's inside the query letter template
- Four parts plus a thank-you
Hook, pitch, the book line and bio, then the close, each with a word target and a one-line job. - An annotated example
A full query for an invented mystery, with a note on why each part works. - A send checklist
Eight checks to run before every query, from the agent's name to attachments. - Where agents disagree
Length, where the word count goes, comps and personal notes, with who says what. - Query form boxes mapped
Where each part goes on agents' online forms, from Comparable Books to the AI question. - Slots, not guesses
Bracketed slots for title, word count, comps and bio, so nothing about you is invented.
How it works
From blank page to query
Open the template
Click Edit with AI to get your own copy in River, with every part and word target laid out.
Describe your book
Optional. Share a premise or paste your notes, and River starts the hook and pitch and adds any facts you gave.
Fill the slots
Add your title, word count, comps and bio, or let River walk you through each blank, then rewrite each line until it sounds like you.
Send it right
Run the checklist, follow each agent's guidelines, and paste the letter into the email body.
Questions authors ask
Common questions
What is a query letter?
A one-page letter, usually pasted into an email or an online form, asking a literary agent to read your finished book. It has four parts plus a thank-you: a hook, a pitch with the stakes, the book's facts, and a brief bio. Jane Friedman recommends block paragraphs and a "Dear [Agent Name]:" greeting.
How many words should each part of a query be?
Aim for about 300 words in all. Bransford's range is 250 to 350, Janet Reid aimed for 250, and Jane Friedman's guide stretches from 200 to 450. Spend most of them on the pitch. The template gives it 150 to 200 words, so the whole letter stays at 350 words or fewer.
What goes in the subject line?
Exactly what the agency asks for. Donald Maass Literary wants "QUERY:" followed by the manuscript's title, and other agencies add your name, the category or the agent's name. If an agent gives no format, "QUERY: TITLE (Genre)" is a clear choice. The template leaves the subject line as a slot so you can match each agent.
Where does the word count go?
Usually in the line that names your title, genre and comps. Writer's Digest suggests putting it in the paragraph that introduces the title, rounded to the nearest thousand. Some agents want it up front, so follow each agent's guidelines, and otherwise place it after the pitch.
Do I need comp titles in my query?
Usually include two recent books that share your readers, and skip franchises and megabestsellers. Janet Reid argued a compelling query can go without comps, but some query forms now have a required Comparable Books box, so have two ready. Never comp a book you have not read, and say in a phrase why each one fits.
Is a query letter the same as a synopsis?
No. The query runs about 300 words and stops before the ending, because its job is to make an agent want to read. The synopsis runs one or two pages and tells the whole story, ending included. Compare our two examples in the synopsis template, or draft one from your manuscript with the synopsis generator.
What if I have no publishing credits?
Keep the bio brief, or leave it out. A single line about relevant work or life experience earns its place, and "This is my first novel" works on its own. Family praise, rejections and how long the book took do not belong. For the longer bio some forms ask for, see the author bio template.
Your next step
More for your book
Write your query one part at a time
Open the template with every part in place, or tell River about your book to start the hook and pitch.