Courtesy, to an agent, consists of not wasting their time.
The basic format's easy, really, and if the hook for your story doesn't get the agent's attention, they're probably not going to read far enough to see your name -- they'll just toss it back in the SASE and into the outgoing box. No SASE, and it just gets tossed.
Dear [agent]:
I am seeking representation for my [genre] novel, [title].
[hook goes here]
I appreciate your time and consideration, and would be more than happy to send you a partial or the full manuscript. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely, [your name] [your email and/or ph#]
That last paragraph is a little awkward, it's just off the top of my head, but the point is: get to the point, which is the hook, close quickly and politely, and off it goes. ;-)
At least, that's what I've always done -- and although still seeking Agent Right, I have gotten compliments on my queries in the past. (I'm not kidding: little notes on the bottom of the form response that said things like, "you write a great query!" ...which sort of helped given it was a rejection. Eh, well.)
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Date: 2007-01-23 11:42 pm (UTC)The basic format's easy, really, and if the hook for your story doesn't get the agent's attention, they're probably not going to read far enough to see your name -- they'll just toss it back in the SASE and into the outgoing box. No SASE, and it just gets tossed.
Dear [agent]:
I am seeking representation for my [genre] novel, [title].
[hook goes here]
I appreciate your time and consideration, and would be more than happy to send you a partial or the full manuscript. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
[your name]
[your email and/or ph#]
That last paragraph is a little awkward, it's just off the top of my head, but the point is: get to the point, which is the hook, close quickly and politely, and off it goes. ;-)
At least, that's what I've always done -- and although still seeking Agent Right, I have gotten compliments on my queries in the past. (I'm not kidding: little notes on the bottom of the form response that said things like, "you write a great query!" ...which sort of helped given it was a rejection. Eh, well.)
Good luck!