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Query Letter and Blurb Kit

Done drafting? Fill these in when you are ready to share your book, whether you want an agent or plan to publish it yourself.

Logline (one sentence)

Who, what they want, what is in the way, what is at stake.

When ____ happens, ____ (a ____) must ____ before ____ or else ____.

Back-cover blurb (about 150 words)

Hook, setup, trouble, stakes. End on a question or a choice, not the ending.

HOOK (one line that grabs):

SETUP (who they are and what they want):

TROUBLE (what goes wrong):

STAKES (what they will lose):

CLOSER (a question or a choice, never the ending):

Query letter

One page. Agents read the first lines fast, so lead with the hook.

Dear [Agent name],

[Hook paragraph: your logline in two or three sentences.]

[Mini-synopsis: the main character, the central conflict and the stakes, in about 150 words.]

[Book details: TITLE is a [word count] [genre] novel, similar to [two recent comparable books].]

[About you: one or two sentences. Writing credentials if any, otherwise something true and brief.]

Thank you for your time and consideration.

[Your name]

One-page synopsis

Present tense. Beginning, middle and end, including the ending.

Paragraph 1: the main character and their world.
Paragraph 2: the event that starts the story and the choice they make.
Paragraph 3: the major obstacles and how things get worse.
Paragraph 4: the climax.
Paragraph 5: how it ends and what has changed.

Self-publishing checklist

If you are going the indie route instead of querying.

[ ] Final proofread done
[ ] Title, subtitle and blurb final
[ ] Cover designed (ebook and print sizes)
[ ] ISBN decided (free from Kindle or your own)
[ ] Formatted file (ebook and print)
[ ] Chosen platform(s): Kindle Direct Publishing, IngramSpark, others
[ ] Price and launch date set
[ ] 10 early readers lined up for reviews

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