query letter

[CrimsonMaiden]

What exactly is a query letter in relation to an erotic publisher? I thought the purpose of a query letter was to give a brief synopsis of your story to see if the publisher would be interested, but then in one publisher's submissions guidelines, they ask for:

a) your full name, a pseudonym if used,
b) a query letter,
c) a brief synopsis, subject or genre,
d) the first chapter,

In this case... what is supposed to go in the query letter?

 

[3113]

What exactly is a query letter in relation to an erotic publisher? I thought the purpose of a query letter was to give a brief synopsis of your story to see if the publisher would be interested, but then in one publisher's submissions guidelines, they ask for:

a) your full name, a pseudonym if used,
b) a query letter,
c) a brief synopsis, subject or genre,
d) the first chapter,

what is supposed to go in the query letter?

In this case... (a) Your name/pseudonym and (c) synopsis if very brief including genre/subject.

The query letter introduces you to the publisher/editor and tells them what you write. You should say: "Included please find a synopsis (if synopsis is separate page) and first chapter of --Name of story--tell them genre (type of erotica) and how long it is (how many words). Mention how long you've been writing erotica, how many other stories you have in other types of erotica.

If the synopsis is short, then include that in a quick paragraph. So, you'd say, "Included please find the first chapter of the BDSM story--Name story--a short story about a woman lost on an island with four men....."

It should be a very short letter. It's a way for the editor/publisher to see if they want to check out the synopsis and then the first chapter. If you say in your letter that you specialize in BDSM erotica, they may be very interested or not interseted at all.

If they read what you wrote and like it--but it's not right for what they're doing now (it's too long, say), the letter lets them know you've other stories and they may ask for them.

Does that help?

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

Does that help?

Yep, thanks.