Tips on Writing a Query Letter

Query Letters That Worked! Real Queries That Landed $2k+ Writing Assignments

Kelly James-Enger earned $3500 from one article for Redbook.

Want to read the query letter that secured that lucrative assignment? How about the query that brought in $2800 from Woman's Day?

Judy Gruen's query landed a $3000 assignment from Ladies' Home Journal. Susan Eley's query to SmartMoney brought in $5000!

Bruce Farr's query to National Public Radio (NPR) brought in $2,000, Danny Glover's query to a technology magazine earned him two assignments totaling $8000, and Melissa Walker's query to Lifetime Magazine brought in $3000! And that's just a small list of the many query letters available in this volume!

In Angela Hoy's highly-anticipated new book, QUERY LETTERS THAT WORKED!, you'll find copies of real query letters that landed writing assignments worth $2K+ for national magazines, websites, and corporations. Don't delay! Start writing your own profitable query letters today!

Query Letters That Worked! Real Queries That Landed $2k+ Writing Assignments

This paragraph sets up the article. It's the teaser - the thing that makes the editor want to read more.

This is where you set the scene. For example, if your article is about your local state fair, spend the first paragraph talking about what you see around you.

This paragraph can become the first paragraph of your article so write it with that in mind.

There's no good answer for this. I wrote thirty queries before I landed an assignment. Some people write one query and get an assignment from that. It all depends on several factors, most of which you can't control. Just be consistent and stick to it. You'll succeed!

This paragraph talks about why the article is a good fit in the magazine. Talk about the readers and the demographic and why the article is something they will enjoy, learn from, etc...

You can start this paragraph by saying, "I understand that your magazine targets the 18-35 demographic. My article, Making a Career Change, targets all aspects of this demographic because ..." You get the picture.

Why are you the right person to write this article? This paragraph talks about that. Also list any places your work has been published.

If your article is about Oktoberfest in Munich, for example, this paragraph could start out - "When I lived in Munich, I made it a yearly tradition to visit Oktoberfest at least once during the festivities. In addition, I am a freelance writer and my work has been published in..."

You get the picture. :)

For the past few years, I've been writing solely online. And while this served me well while I did it, I've stopped (pretty abruptly actually) because I'm quite sick of it. So, I decided to ramp up my efforts to get published in magazines. I was experiencing success with it a few years back but it's been so long since I've focused on this, I feel like I am starting from scratch.

So, start from scratch I will! I vow to write 365 query letters by the end of this year. Do you think I can do it? That comes out to one a day - but in order to reach my goal I will need to get cracking!

One thing I've learned is that making a complete living writing queries is not entirely possible, at least for me. I have to supplement that with writing for businesses.

I learned of a writer who makes a Six Figure Salary as a writer and explains in plain English how to go about doing that. Six Figure Freelancer tells you exactly how you can increase your earnings and make a Six Figure Salary as a writer.