A query letter is a sales tool used to interest a literary agent in representing your manuscript, or, more rarely, an acquisitions editor for a publishing company that accepts unsolicited manuscripts. Query letters are typically one page and focus on what the manuscript is about with a sentence or two devoted to the author’s background.

If you’re not getting the results you would like from your query letter, a critique may be able to help you improve your letter and generate interest. However, sometimes a query letter critique will show that there is some problem with the actual manuscript (this is often something to do with the conflict or narrative drive of the work). When this happens, you’ll probably need to revise the ms before you continue submitting.

Query letter critiques are $150 for up to 500 words (if your query is longer than this, it’s too long). Click here to purchase a query letter critique.