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Anatomy of a Good Query Letter

My query letter for JACOB WONDERBAR

May 4, 2011 by Nathan Bransford82 Comments

Before I get to my query letter, let me answer two questions I’m asked often: Yes, I needed an agent even though I was working as an agent at the time, and yes, I had to send out query letters the old-fashioned way. I sent queries out to seven or eight agents, some of whom […]

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Filed Under: Nathan's Books, Query LettersTagged With: Anatomy of a Good Query Letter, How to Write a Query Letter, Jacob Wonderbar

Example of a good query letter III

July 20, 2009 by Nathan Bransford149 Comments

Rock Paper Tiger

Not only is Lisa Brackmann’s debut novel Rock Paper Tiger to die for, but when she originally contacted me she wrote one of the best query letters I ever received when I was a literary agent. (Frequent readers might also know Lisa as blog commenter Other Lisa). Rock Paper Tiger went on to be published […]

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Filed Under: Query LettersTagged With: Anatomy of a Good Query Letter, How to Find a Literary Agent, How to Write a Query Letter, literary agents

Example of a Good Query Letter II

May 31, 2007 by Nathan Bransford57 Comments

You wanted it you got it. Below you’ll find an example of a query that tickles the old partial-requesting region of my brain, the very powerful section of gray matter that manages to overrule the part of my brain that says, “But you already have 12 partials and 2 fulls in your inbox!! What are […]

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Filed Under: Query LettersTagged With: Anatomy of a Good Query Letter, How to Write a Query Letter, query critiques

Example of a good query letter

November 30, 2006 by Nathan Bransford47 Comments

I originally posted this example of a good query letter back when I was a literary agent, and the lessons still apply today. So let me dissect this really good query letter and extoll its virtues. Let us all learn from Emily Conrad, who was both gracious enough to send me a good query letter and […]

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Filed Under: Query LettersTagged With: Anatomy of a Good Query Letter, How to Write a Query Letter, query critiques

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About Nathan

Hi, I’m Nathan. I’m the author of How to Write a Novel and the Jacob Wonderbar series, which was published by Penguin. I used to be a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. and I’m dedicated to helping authors chase their dreams. Let me help you with your book!

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How to Write A Novel
Cover of How to Publish a Book by Nathan Bransford
Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapo
Jacob Wonderbar for President of the Universe
Jacob Wonderbar and the Interstellar Time Warp

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