How Not to Personalize a Query Letter
I am a huge advocate of personalizing query letters. I’ve written about a querying strategy that relies in part on personalizing and I have another post on how to write a personalized query that wows agents. One could say I’m on a mission to stop you from using the shotgun approach and blasting out the same generic, cut-and-paste queries.
BUT it’s important to personalize the right way. It has come to my attention that too many authors are going about this completely wrong.
Remember, this is a professional letter. The purpose of personalizing is not to kiss up and it’s not to strike up a friendship or trick them into liking you. There is one purpose and one purpose only: To show the agent that you know the kind of books they’re looking for and that your book is right for them.
Opening with a random personal reference will not advance that cause.
Case in point. The other day, an agent mentioned on twitter that a huge number of writers open their queries with compliments on his adorable dog. So sweet! The challenge for this agent was that his beloved dog had just died, and the queries were making it worse.
Now, this agent seems like an incredibly nice person, and he didn’t fault the writers at all. He knows they had only the best intentions. Also, I don’t want you to worry about flukes like unintentionally bringing up a sad subject. What I want to point out is that even if his dog were alive and well, complimenting his dog will not help your query. You’re not selling pet grooming service and you’re not a friend seeing if he wants to meet up at the dog park. The topic is irrelevant.
Why not to make “personalized” about their personal life:
If you’re using a small personal morsel you’ve gleaned online in order to butter an agent up, know that other writers are going to play the same game, so this will not help you stand out.
By tossing in a random point of connection, you’re not demonstrating that you know what they represent or that you’re pitching them for a reason.
Worst of all, you’re missing an opportunity to showcase your book, which is the whole reason you’re even sending a query letter.
Put yourself in an agent’s shoes. Imagine you’re flipping through the sales pitches in your snail mailbox. Along with coupons for Subway and ads for mortgage refinancing, there’s a postcard for solar panels. “Cute dog,” it says. Then it tells you to buy their solar panels. What does one have to do with the other?
Sure your dog is cute and you love hearing it, but this isn’t going to get you to invest a fortune in something you may or may not be looking for. Now imagine also getting the same “cute dog” gambit on ads from the local painting company and the local car dealership. It starts to look disingenuous, right?
To be clear, the agent in question seems like a super kind person who is not accusing the authors of being disingenuous, but plenty of agents won’t be as gracious. Because guess what? Even if you truly do think his dog is cute, be honest—you’re using that in the hopes it will help you.
If someone is trying to sell you solar panels or a paint job or a new car, they should be telling you about what their product has to offer. Before you invest in solar panels, you want to know how it will benefit you—that you’ll save money in the long run or you’ll help the environment—not whether or not the company’s owner likes your dog or your hair or your smile.
You might be thinking that querying a book is nothing like sending fliers to homeowners, that I’m rude to compare the book you labored over for months and years to a run-of-the-mill ads. I want you to remember two things: First, those local business owners also invested their hearts and fortunes into their endeavors; Second, you’re asking an agent to make a huge investment of time and money into your book.
If an agent takes you on, they will spend years of their time and stake their livelihood on the gamble that your book will be a success. So first, you should invest your own time in your book’s success. Find out what books potential agents sell and show them how your book fits their tastes and interests.
This professional approach takes more effort than throwing in a one-off compliment, but your book is worth it!
*Photo credit: pexels-cottonbro
