I take queries through and referral only and am open to queries one month of the year, from January 1 st through January 31 st. I do this because I value giving personalized feedback as often as possible—and as I look for science fiction and fantasy, among other genres, I receive many hundreds of queries in that month! It takes me some time to read and respond to each query individually. The query letter itself should, generally, be concise and capture the intrigue of your book. Show me the irony. Make me fall in love with what could happen. Show me that you are confident in what you’ve written. N.B. There’s no need to tell me what an amazing writer you are, or that I’ve never seen anything like your project before. I understand where this inclination comes from, but I need to find out just how amazing and distinctive your work is for myself, through your writing. 9. Do you have any specific