Being patient can be difficult when you haven’t heard from a literary agent that you’ve queried. How long should a writer wait to check in with a literary agent after sending a query letter, book proposal, or even a manuscript? What’s the best way to follow up after you’ve sent your book out for consideration: by phone, email, or a knock on the door? Is it even worth a writer’s time to nudge a literary agent for a reply at all?

Writer’s Relief has been working with novelists, memoirists, and nonfiction writers since 1994, and we’ve learned a thing or two about how to work effectively with literary agents.

Is it okay to send a manuscript with a request for a signature upon delivery?

No. If you want Delivery Confirmation, don’t make a literary agent (or anyone else in the agent’s office) sign for your letter. Ask your local post office or other courier’s office how you can get confirmation of delivery without a request for a signature.

Is it okay to ask a literary agent to confirm immediately that he or she received a query letter, proposal, or book manuscript?

Generally speaking, no—it’s not okay to follow up a query with a simultaneous request for confirmation of receipt. Of course, this poses problems for writers.

Some literary agents who accept email queries have adopted a policy of replying to queries only if they are interested in the project in question. That leaves the writer in a pinch: wait and assume that no news is bad news? Or wait, and then follow up?

There’s no right or wrong answer here. If, after you’ve waited a substantial period of time (at least three months would suffice), you are really itching to write a follow-up, then at that point you may have nothing to lose. The literary agent will either confirm that you’ve been rejected or ask you to resend your query.

But we don’t recommend following up a query with a request for receipt confirmation. It’s just bad form—and the literary agent will likely find it annoying.

(TIP: Know what else will annoy literary agents? Asking them to go through some kind of anti-spam verification process in order to respond to your email. Not the best way to make friends.)

What is the ideal amount of time to wait before following up with a literary agent?

While there is no “rule” about how long to wait before asking for an agent's opinion on your manuscript, the key is to consider how you would feel if you were a literary agent. If you’re getting 500 query letters a month, impatient people annoy more than impress.

Some literary agents have guidelines on their websites that indicate how long to wait before making an inquiry. (For example: You may follow up on your submission after six weeks.) For those literary agencies that don’t offer instructions, be as patient as possible. If you push an agent to read your query, he or she will read it all right—with the understanding that you are impatient and pushy.

Are there extenuating circumstances that make it okay to send a follow-up?

If you are in an unusual circumstance (especially a circumstance that pertains to having competition for your book), then a literary agent may be more open to a follow-up.

The best circumstance for following up with one literary agent is when another agent has requested your materials. It’s more appropriate to say, “I’m following up with you because another agent has requested my complete manuscript, and I wanted to let you know” than it is to say, “I’m feeling antsy and want you to drop what you’re doing and get to my book.”

Read more: What To Do When A Literary Agent Requests Your Manuscript

How should you follow up with a literary agent?

More often than not, literary agents prefer to communicate via email, which allows them to read and reply at their own pace. It’s rarely appropriate to call. And it’s never appropriate to stop by in person—no matter how close you just happen to live to the literary agent in question.

When you do send a follow-up email, be polite and brief. Don’t choose a vague subject line like “My book.” Instead, be specific:

SUBJECT: Joe Writer, follow-up, The Case of the Missing Facts

or better yet

SUBJECT: Joe Writer, follow-up, notice of manuscript requests

Writer’s Relief submission strategists are always on hand to help our clients navigate the submission process. We provide our writers with valuable advice about when and how to follow up with a literary agent—and all elements of publishing. Want us to manage the submission process for you? Give you more time to write? We’ve been targeting submissions for writers since 1994!

What is an author platform? The term platform is generally most relevant to writers of nonfiction (especially those working with book proposals); however, novel and memoir writers can also be included in terms of their platforms. Literary agents and editors use the word platform within the publishing industry to talk about an author’s relationship with his or her audience. Let’s get into the specifics of what a platform is, why literary agents and editors take them seriously, and whether or not you, as a writer, need one.

Author Platforms in Real Life

When you write a proposal for a nonfiction book, you’re expected to have a good, strong platform. A platform involves many components: the author’s expertise in the field that he or she is writing about; the author’s preexisting popularity, notoriety, and status as a leader in his or her field; the author’s personal, already-established connection to the readership that will be interested in his or her book.

In short, a platform is the author’s background within a given field that establishes him or her as the right person to publish (and sell) a book on the subject.

Most of the time, writers of self-help, how-to, or even biography proposals will need a strong platform.

What Is A Strong Platform? A Weak platform?

Let’s say you’ve written a nonfiction book proposal to publish a book about a brand-new diet: The Lima Bean Diet.

An author who has a strong platform:

Is a highly educated nutritionist with multiple degrees and special studies about lima beans

Has written and published many peer-reviewed articles on lima beans in science journals

Has written and published many popular weight-loss articles about lima beans in major commercial magazines

Has a blog with a strong following of people who have had success with The Lima Bean Diet

Has gained some preliminary media coverage (local TV spots, articles, interviews) that suggests The Lima Bean Diet is the next big thing

Has led high-energy seminars all over the nation about The Lima Bean Diet and has a growing mailing list

A writer who has a weak platform:

Has minimal or informal education in his or her field (relies on personal experience to prove The Lima Bean Diet works)

Has published a few articles on The Lima Bean Diet with “underground” blogs, websites, and zines

Has not published anything in commercial magazines or has published only in small-circulation periodicals

Has a blog, but not many followers—and few followers are active

Has a following of family and friends (with some friends of friends and some strangers)—but that’s where it ends

Has had little to no media coverage

Has no reputation for being an expert, leads a couple of local seminars in libraries or health food stores

What Your Platform Means To A Literary Agent Or Editor

To make “big numbers” on a nonfiction book, a literary agent will look for an author who comes with a built-in audience (an audience that depends on and trusts said author’s expertise). Many writers believe that they “have a great idea for a book.” And still more believe that their personal experiences alone make them the authority about their subject.

Nonfiction writing is especially competitive. If a literary agent “falls in love with” a project, he or she may be willing to work with an author to build up a platform (in order to impress an editor), but this happens very rarely. Instead, writers should build their own platform before querying an agent.

How To Build Up A Better Platform For Your Writing

1. Be (or become) an expert in your field.

2. Establish a strong online presence via an author website, a blog, and social networking.

3. Write articles for major commercial magazines.

4. Be approached as an expert source for other people writing about your subject.

5. Offer seminars and establish yourself as a speaker.

6. Hire a publicist who can help with media exposure.

One last note: if you’re writing a memoir, it helps to be high-profile, but it’s not necessary. Memoirs are not sold via proposal, and, therefore, their authors don’t necessarily need a platform. For all intents and purposes, a memoir works like fiction: The book must be complete, not pitched via proposal.

Writer’s Relief has been helping writers of fiction and nonfiction connect with the best literary agents since 1994. We’ve successfully helped many creative writers build up their publication credits (and platforms) within the literary-magazine market. When you have a strong writing bio or platform, you’re more likely to receive interest from a literary agent. So check out Writer’s Relief today!

How do you know if your short prose is a short story or a novella? How long is a short story? A novella? What’s the difference? If you want to get your short story or novella published, you’ll need to know who is publishing your type of fiction—and you’ll need to know the best way to target your writing to literary agents and editors of literary magazines.

How long is a novella?

A novella is a “short book.” As such, a novella is considerably longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. A novella must be able to stand on its own as a book, but the exact word count is not set in stone: 30,000 to 60,000 words may be an appropriate length for a novella in most markets.

Who is publishing novellas?

Imagine the weight and size of a typical novel (80,000 to 100,000 words) when you hold it in your hand. Now imagine holding a slim, 30,000-word book—almost a pamphlet—in your hand. In order for a publisher to justify the production and marketing overhead of taking on a novella, the publisher must give the reader a valuable experience that justifies the price of the book.

The trouble is, the profit margin of a novella can be lower than the profit margin of a novel in certain circumstances. For that reason, few “big New York” publishers will take on a stand-alone novella—except in certain circumstances. When a novella is published, it is often bound in a collection of novellas by various authors or the same author, creating an anthology.

Because novellas are difficult to market as print novels, they have become very popular in the world of digital publishing. E-publishers are readily taking on novellas of all genres, and readers of e-books are on the rise. In fact, some e-publishers prefer novellas to novels because some readers of electronic formats prefer shorter books—and a good novella can pack a lot of story into a limited number of pages!

How long is a short story?

Although a short story could be as long as 30,000 words, stories of that length begin to become too bulky for their genre. These days, editors of literary magazines are readily publishing short stories of approximately 3,500 words, and they are shying away from longer works.

Short stories published in online literary magazines are often held to even smaller word counts, sometimes as little as 1,000 words or less. The Internet has dramatically changed the way that modern readers approach fiction and prose, and the trend is that shorter short stories are more readily published than longer ones.

Read more: Stories And Poems: Why Length Matters

Who is publishing short stories?

The best place to publish a short story is a literary magazine—be it an online journal or a print magazine. Literary magazines have a long history of being both cutting-edge and traditional; if you’re a writer, you can bet there is a literary magazine out there for you. It’s just a matter of researching the right literary magazines for your writing. (Note: Writer’s Relief can do this research for you.)

Many writers dream of publishing a collection of their short stories; however, the short story genre is not especially popular with the book-buying, mainstream public at this point, and in order for a collection to be appealing to a literary agent or publisher, the writer would do well to have a significant number of publication credits.

Read more:

How To Write A Query Letter For A Short Story Collection

How To Publish A Short Story Collection: Tips For Getting Agents’ And Editors’ Attention For Your Short Stories

Writer’s Relief is NOT currently working with writers of novellas. However, we do work with writers of short stories and, when merited, short story collections. Writer’s Relief is an author’s submission service; we assist creative writers with the process of making submissions. We lift the burden of researching markets and give our (invitation-only) clients more time to write. Learn more about how Writer’s Relief can help you submit your novel, short story, or short story collection.

Have you finished a novel? Are you submitting your poetry manuscript to competitions? If so, your manuscript should be proofread and prepared to publishing industry standards. The format and presentation of your manuscript matters in the same way as how you present yourself at a job interview. Show up in jeans at your own risk!

Writer’s Relief offers a proofreading and formatting service (novels, nonfiction, and poetry manuscripts included). This service is designed to help writers prepare their manuscripts for publication and/or for submissions to literary agents and publishers, as well as contests and competitions.

Want to get a proofreading and formatting quote? Send us an electronic copy of your book manuscript (Proof@wrelief.com). Include your contact information: mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address. We’ll evaluate the manuscript and quote a price to prepare it for you. Be sure your subject line refers to the project you want proofed.

You can also call our proofreading department today at (866) 405-3003 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. ET.

You’ve done the work of writing a great manuscript, so don't skimp on the final steps. Make sure that your pages are ready to pass muster with the agent or editor who receives them. We will format the manuscript to meet industry standards, and we can assist with special formatting for contests and/or competitions. Remember, presentation is everything!

If a literary agent asks to read your entire manuscript, pat yourself on the back! Something in your book or novel piqued the agent’s interest—not an easy thing to do. The literary agent believes you may have something that he or she could sell to an editor.

BUT—before you bundle up your manuscript and send it off in the mail, there are a few things to consider. You’ll want to get the most mileage out of the agent’s interest in your book. A savvy and diplomatic writer may be able to use one agent’s request to stir up interest from other agents.

Here are some options and tips to help you decide how to handle an agent’s request for a complete manuscript:

Of course, the easiest thing to do is to simply send the manuscript ASAP, as per the agent’s request. No questions asked.

But sometimes, it’s not that simple.

Has the agent requested an exclusive read? If so, you may want to put the brakes on. There are a number of ways to handle a request for an exclusive, and we’ve written a post to help you make the right choice. READ MORE: When A Literary Agent Requests An Exclusive: Solutions For Sticky Situations.

If the agent is your top choice and you know that you’ll sign with the agency given the opportunity, then you do not necessarily need to drum up enthusiasm at other literary agencies. Doing so might feed your ego, but it may not be conducive to a strong partnership built on mutual respect and trust.

If, however, you’re hoping that a literary agent other than the one who requested your book will rep your writing, you may want to contact the agencies who have already received your query in order to inform them that you’ve received a request from another agent.

(TIP: Don’t call. Agents hate that. Email is fine. State simply that you want to let so-and-so know that another literary agency has requested your complete manuscript and that you want to extend the courtesy of informing said agency.)

You don’t need to drop the names of the people who are reading your book, but by informing the parties involved that your full manuscript is currently being read by others, you may just get bumped to the top of the slush pile. After all, no literary agent wants to get scooped by another agent.

Need help negotiating the finer points of the book publishing industry? Writer’s Relief submission strategists are here to help!

Who is publishing work by new writers? If you’ve been in the publishing industry long enough, you’ve probably heard a writer lament, “In order to get published, you have to be published already!” And yet, if having publishing credentials in order to get published was truly necessary, no one would be published at all.

There are many publishers, presses, literary magazines, and publishing houses that acquire the books, short stories, poems, and novels of new, unpublished writers. It’s just a matter of being at the top of your game, and knowing where to look.

Local Papers, Private Publications, and Specialty Publications

While having your work published in a small, monthly hometown paper (whose editor was at your barbecue last year) might not be the most glamorous publishing credential, smaller publications in your region are a great place to start. Often, editors of local magazines, e-zines, and community newsletters are thrilled to print the work of up-and-coming writers from their area.

If you want to tap into this market, be sure you’re the right person to do it: If you’re not truly enthusiastic about participating in your community with like-minded readers/writers, you might not be a prime candidate for this type of publication.

You might also consider writing for a specialty newsletter. For example, many corporations, religious organizations, and clubs issue community bulletins and newsletters on a regular basis. Why not see about getting your writing published there? Or keep your ear to the ground to learn about local magazines targeted to a specific audience. Many locales will have smaller poetry magazines or periodicals about nature, education, or local living. Those are great venues for new writers.

Once you have a few smaller publications under your belt, you’ll be ready to take the next step: publishing your creative writing in literary magazines.

Online Literary Magazines

New writers would do well to take the booming world of online literary journals very seriously. As the Internet continues to evolve, a writer’s online presence (and online platform) will become increasingly important. Ignore online journals at your own risk!

We’ve been writing a lot about online literary magazines in recent weeks (we love them), and we hope you’ll check out some of our articles listed below. In the meantime, here’s what you—as a new writer—need to know about online journals.

Because online journals don’t typically have the same kind of operating costs as print literary magazines, they do have a little more leeway to take a risk on a new writer. Choose your online journal submissions carefully, and you could end up with a fantastic portfolio. Don’t know which online magazines are best for your work? Writer’s Relief can help.

Articles About Online Literary Magazines:

Online Literary Journals: How To Determine Quality And Reputation

Online Writing Submissions: Mistakes Writers Make Submitting To Literary Agents And Editors

What Is Considered Previously Published Writing?

Print Literary Magazines And Journals

For new writers of poetry and creative prose (short stories and essays), literary journals are a rite of passage into writing maturity. While online journals are increasingly important, many literary journals are also available in print editions (though the number is shrinking).

Print literary journals DO frequently publish work by new writers. At Writer’s Relief we’ve been helping writers submit their work to literary magazines since 1994—and we’re not going to tell you that it’s easy to be accepted for publication in a print magazine. Generally speaking, only about one or two of 100 submissions make(s) it all the way to publication.

That said, literary magazine editors truly are on the hunt for exciting new writing. And to many editors, your writing background matters very little. It’s the quality of the writing that dictates whether you’ll get published—that and how well you researched and targeted your submissions.

At Writer’s Relief we’re proud that we’ve helped writers publish their work more widely. Some writers-turned-clients came to us with no publishing credits at all and left with many publications AND a literary agent. Learn how you can become a client of Writer’s Relief.

If you’re writing a novel under a pen name—and you’re querying a literary agent—there’s a right way and a wrong way to use your pen name in your query letter and on your manuscript pages. And if you’re writing poems, short stories, or essays under a pen name, there’s etiquette for submitting them under a nom de plume too. So here is Writer’s Relief’s best advice on how to use your pseudonym in your cover and query letters as you try to publish your book, poems, or short prose.

Should you include your real name in a query or cover letter?

Yes. Absolutely. Here’s the rule of thumb: Submit without hiding your real name. Publish under your pen name.

All dealings with agents, editors, publicists, and other industry professionals (like the staff at Writer’s Relief) should be conducted under your real name. Why? Because it’s good business. Think about it this way. “Pen name” is a nice way of saying “fake name.” And there are very few of us who use aliases in our everyday lives—at least, very few of us who are not violating parole.

You wouldn’t introduce yourself at a job interview using a fake name, and since a cover or query letter acts as an introduction, the same rules apply. Using your real name suggests that you’re honest and open—not trying to hide anything. Plus, if your editor or literary agent is going to draw up a contract or write a check for you, he or she would use your real name. So why introduce yourself with a fake name unless you were trying to be cagey? Honesty is always the best policy.

Click to learn more about how you get paid and how you interact with publishers when you write under a pen name. 

Writing nonfiction? Learn the truth about using a pen name to protect your identity and prevent lawsuits. 

Where in a query or cover letter should you mention a pen name?

One sentence somewhere in the body of a query or cover letter mentioning that you write under a specific pen name should be sufficient.

Where on a manuscript should you write a pen name?

On book manuscripts, one common practice is to list your real name with your contact information and your real name as your byline. Then, beneath your real name, you will include something along the lines of:

The Best Book Ever Written

by

Jane Doe

(writing as Arabella Von Pseudonym)

Sometimes “writing as” will be abbreviated as “w/a,” but in your query letter you should spell it out. If you don’t want to use the “writing as” approach, you can simply opt to write:

The Best Book Ever Written

by

Arabella Von Pseudonym

The important thing is to be forthcoming about your real name on your letter and with your contact information.

In your submissions to literary magazines (if you’re submitting poems, stories, and essays), you’ll want to include your real name with your contact information on the first page (typically upper left corner) of your manuscript. Then if you’re writing a story or essay, you can do something like:

The Best Story Ever Written

by

Arabella Von Pseudonym

There are no hard and fast rules about pen name format on manuscripts: The important thing is to be sure to distinguish your real name from your pen name—and to always associate with fellow professionals using your real name, but to publish under your pen name.

Confused? Writer’s Relief helps guide our clients through the etiquette of the publishing industry, including issues of pen names. Our submission strategists are here to help!

Many writers wonder, “How much money can I make as a writer?” And while it may seem frustrating, the answer is “It depends.” How much money you can make on a book, story, poem, or novel depends on many factors: the market for your writing, the strength of your voice, your ability to research and submit regularly, etc. Here’s a breakdown by genre to help you understand how much money you may or may not make with your writing. This will help you as you learn how to get published.

Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money.  Jules Renard

How much money will I make writing poems (or books of poetry)?
Individual poems are most often published by colleges and universities—institutions that do not have much money since they are funded mostly by grants. Therefore, it’s unlikely that poets will make any significant money by publishing their individual poems. Occasionally, a magazine will choose a poem from among those it published in a given year and award that poem a prize—however, that’s not income a poet can bank on.

Some independent presses will pay their poets for a collection of poetry or a chapbook of poems; however, the advances rarely produce a living income. Often books of poems are published via competitions sponsored by independent and university presses (the poet pays an entry fee, which is then put toward the payment for the book of poems once a winner is chosen). Established poets have been known to enter many contests (and pay many contest fees) before securing a win. So be prepared to make a significant investment if you’re going to attempt to make money by entering publication contests.

See our article Five Ways To Make Money As A Poet for more information.

How much money will I make writing and selling a book?
Advances (payments guaranteed for publication) vary at traditional publishing houses. In the larger New York City publishing houses, you may expect a publisher to pay you anywhere from $2,000 and up for your book or novel. A small book deal may be $5,000 to $20,000. A middling deal may be $20,000 to $60,000. A significant deal may be $60,000 to $150,000. And, of course, advances can go through the roof for a book that every publisher wants. Some smaller independent houses may pay less than $2,000, especially for new writers or for books that may not have a wide appeal. (NOTE: These numbers are approximations, since there are no “rules” that dictate what is considered a big or small book deal.) Ultimately, the size of your book or novel advance depends on your platform, the excitement surrounding your book, and the size of the editor's budget. A good literary agent can help you negotiate the most amount of money and best rights deal for your book or novel.

If you are self-publishing, how much money you make on your novel depends on how much legwork you’re willing to do to promote it. Statistically, the majority of self-published novels do not make a profit that goes beyond the cost of printing. However, other self-published novels go on to do very well under the love and care of their writers.

How much money will I make writing short stories? How much money will I make writing essays?
Short stories and essays are generally published in literary magazines funded by universities and colleges. Unfortunately, most academic institutions don’t generally have big budgets for their presses, so writers will generally not make much money—if any—by publishing their short stories and essays in literary magazines.

As with poetry, story and essay writers may sometimes be awarded prizes for their work by the publisher (but there’s no guarantee). Story and essay writers can also compete to win a publishing contract for a collection of their writing. Please see our “How much money will I make writing poems” section above for more information on writing contests.

Some commercial publications do publish short stories, and they do pay their short story authors a significant amount of money. However, commercial markets are especially hard to break into for short story writers. If you want to have the best shot at getting your short story published in a paying market, you’ll most likely need to build a strong bio, with a history of having published in college and university literary magazines, before moving on to bigger and better known publications.

If I can’t make money, why should I write?
First of all, if you would like to make money writing poetry, short stories, or novels, then you must BUY poetry, stories, and novels. In other words, when publishers of poetry, short stories, and novels can count on turning a profit, advances will be more likely to rise.

Most writers write because they love it; they will write regardless of how much money they make or don’t make. Some of the most successful writers report that being paid for publishing is an afterthought—that an advance is just “gravy.”

That said, many writers do go on to make a LOT of money. But in order to get to that point, writers often have to “pay their dues” by not getting paid any money for their early work. A writer’s success in nonpaying markets will often determine how much a writer is paid when he or she approaches paying markets (since payments are sometimes determined by how much buzz surrounds a given writer). For more on this, please read Building Publication Credits.

Writer’s Relief can help you submit your novel or book to agents; we can help you target your poetry, short stories, and essays to the best-suited literary journals. Some writers may go on to make a significant amount of money on their writing, but we can’t guarantee writers a big income. What we can promise is that our clients have more time to write because we tackle the submission process for them, making it more effective and increasing their odds of publication. We help our writers build up their literary bios so that literary agents and editors with significant budgets will take them more seriously. How much money you’ll make writing poems, stories, and novels or books ultimately depends on your talent and stamina. If you love writing and want more time to write, Writer’s Relief can help.

The concept of E-publishing has been around since the Internet was born, but only recently has it started to gain strength and widespread respectability in the publishing industry. What does E-publishing (aka electronic or digital publishing) mean to a creative writer? How can writers take advantage of E-publishing trends to publish their books, stories, novels, essays, poems, and other writings?

First, the basics. What is e-publishing? With electronic publishing, a work of creative writing can be published online, on a CD, or in a format that is compatible with a handheld reading device or computer. E-publishing includes all genres: books, poems, essays, and short stories.

(Editor’s note: This article will focus on E-publishing for book authors. But writers of poems, stories, and essays would do well to pay careful attention to the trend in online literary journals and magazines. Learn more: Online Literary Journals: The Cutting Edge Of Traditional Publishing.)

So far there are thousands of E-books to choose from, and this number is sure to increase dramatically if the concept catches on. Nonfiction and how-to books were the forerunners in this new technology, but Stephen King paved the way for more famous novelists to explore the medium.

His E-book, Riding the Bullet, shook up the industry and forced publishers to begin the process of adapting to the changes. It took a big-name author to make publishers sit up and take notice, but E-publishing offers newer writers an alternative to traditional publishing.

There are many methods of E-publishing for book authors. Writers may publish and promote their work solely in a digital format. Or they may publish primarily in a digital format, but also offer the option of POD (print on demand) books for readers who want to hold actual pages in their hands. Writers might also publish primarily in print, but offer readers the option of downloading an e-book.

Writers can research E-presses to publish their books online and offer POD options. Many digital presses are so called “vanity” presses or subsidy presses. If you’re going to work with a publisher that requires you to pay to publish, be sure you know what you’re getting in to. More information: Is Self-Publishing The Easiest Way To Get Published? Decoding The Hype And The Facts.

For writers considering breaking into the world of E-publishing, there are a few things to consider.

ADVANTAGES:

• The author usually makes a higher percentage of royalties for E-books, and royalties are often paid more frequently—but sales numbers can be markedly lower than print, at least for now. And usually there are no advances paid to e-book writers.

• Because there is little financial investment required by the publisher, editors are more willing to take risks on new writers and nontraditional work.

• Electronic publishing is ideal for smaller work, since a print run on a small project is rarely cost-effective for a traditional publisher.

• Printing is the most expensive aspect of publishing, and E-publishing offers a more economical and eco-friendly alternative. E-publishing also offers a much faster turnaround—generally a few weeks or months after acceptance—compared with up to two years at traditional houses.

• It’s extremely easy and cheap to make updates to E-books that are already in circulation, which is invaluable for nonfiction, how-to books, and technology-related work that changes constantly.

• It’s easier to self-publish in E-book format when traditional publishers don’t feel the work would sell well. If E-book sales prove the publisher wrong, they are sometimes willing to pick it up and sell it in print. Learn more: After Self-Publishing: How To Find An Agent And A Publisher For Your Self-Published Book.

• Authors usually retain all other rights to the work, while traditional publishers claim as many rights as possible.

DISADVANTAGES:

• E-book reading devices are expensive.

• E-publishing does not offer all the layers of quality control that traditional publishing provides. You, the author, are responsible for the editing of the book, and you market your book yourself. At a traditional publishing house, there are a host of professionals to provide quality control and up sales for your work.

• E-book publishing credits do not carry the same weight as print credits.

• Piracy is much easier with electronic work.

• You miss out on seeing your baby on the shelves of Barnes & Noble. (However, since e-books have ISBN numbers, your readers can walk into B&N and order a copy of your book.)

Learn more: What Is Considered Previously Published Writing?

There is no substitute for the smell and feel of a brand-new paperback or your dog-eared copy of Wuthering Heights. But be prepared for a marked increase in online reading material and electronic reading habits. You may find yourself reading The Wall Street Journal in bed on Sunday mornings from an E-book reader sooner than you think.

Writer’s Relief has been helping creative writers keep up with changes in the publishing industry since 1994. Feeling obsolete? We can help you too.

When you send out a query letter to a literary agent, you have to know what to include. The letter has approximately two seconds to grab an editor's or agent's attention before being relegated to the Round File. But what if you don’t know how to write a query letter, or what to put in it? If your query letter doesn’t contain the proper information, your book probably won’t get a second glance.

Getting Ready To Write Your Query Letter

Many writers are tempted to start their query letters with some snazzy attempt at humor, a rhetorical question, or some witticism. Unfortunately, if the first line of a query letter is too flashy and splashy, it will fall flat. Read more: Cover And Query Letters: Striking The Right Tone In Your Writing.

Many writers rush through the process of writing the query letter, thinking that the focus should be on their manuscript, not their introductory letter, but editors and literary agents do not have the time to evaluate manuscripts individually. That’s what your query letter is for—to succinctly state your case for representation.

Your query letter must be convincing on its own, both in its ideas and the quality of the writing. Any number of common query letter mistakes can get your query passed over, and although it may seem unfair to be judged on a one-page letter, that's the nature of the business.

There is no magic formula to help sell your ideas. The most writers can do is to educate themselves on the art of the query—by adhering to industry guidelines, studying successful query letters, heeding the advice of editors and agents, and through practice.

There are four necessary parts to a query letter, and it's up to you to decide how to effectively order them. Writers with impressive backgrounds, publishing credits, or expertise in their subject matter may choose to highlight their credentials first thing. An unpublished writer may choose to wow the editor with the premise of his story right up front. The important thing is to cover all the important points:

1) Opening lines

At this early stage an agent will likely make the decision to read further based on book genre and word count alone. Make it clear what you are offering, and define your work in terms of genre and length.

My book falls into the women's fiction category and was inspired by a family member who struggled with bulimia.

Or: My book is a science fiction novel based on my experience in DNA research and is complete at 150,000 words.

2) The synopsis (aka blurb, aka overview)

Describe the plot of your story (or the concept of your nonfiction book). Keep it to one paragraph or two, and give just enough information to describe the general plot, the setting, central characters, the conflict, and the resolution. Be specific. Your plot paragraph should include the time frame of your novel as well as the location or setting.

This novel takes place in rural Georgia in the 1960s—a time of strife and racial tension.

Introduce your main characters, but leave the minor characters for your full-length synopsis. At this point you want to avoid slowing the editor or agent down with any unnecessary information. Keep it interesting and keep it moving.

Read more: How To Write A Killer Book Blurb For Your Query Letter: What Literary Agents Want To See.

3) Your credentials

Composing your professional writing bio is an easy task for previously published authors and experts, but a daunting task for the unpublished writer. Whether you've got a string of best-sellers behind you or this is your first writing endeavor, make sure you come across as confident (but not arrogant). If your query letter is good, your lack of experience need not count against you.

Highlight any publishing credentials, writing experience, and education. Know the best way to highlight self-published books in your bio.

Examples:

I've published numerous short stories in Literary Magazine and have a degree in journalism from Impressive College.

Or: This book is based on my findings while on an archaeological dig in Africa for Stanford University, where I currently teach archaeology.

If your background experience has no bearing on the subject, leave it out. However, if your writing credentials are not impressive, by all means highlight anything in your background that merits writing your book.

As a mother of a child with Down's syndrome, I feel uniquely qualified to write about the subject.

If you don’t have any publishing credentials, there are few things you can do to help convey that you’re serious about your craft. Read more: How To Build Up Your Writing Bio Super Fast.

Writer’s Relief helps our clients query literary agents and build up their writing credentials in the literary magazine market.

4) Thank you

In closing, be sure to thank the editor or agent for his or her time and offer to send sample chapters (if not enclosed) or the complete manuscript. Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for convenience, and sit back and wait—or start working on your next submission.

Don’t want to write your own query letter? Since 1994, Writer’s Relief has been helping authors compose query and cover letters that get results.