Query Letters

Why are query letters so darned hard? Writing a novel is child's play compared to writing a query letter. Could it be a right brain-left brain thing? Probably not, but, it certainly is a whole different animal and requires a completely different set of skills. This is a job for a salesman. My father was a salesman, and he wrote advertising copy. If he were still alive, I could probably ask him.

I'm no salesman. As a child, I took paper routes to get out of the house. I didn't care about the money and hated asking customers to pay. I also hated school candy sales for the same reason. I guess I didn't get that gene from my father.

Maybe, the next time you pick up a really awful book, check out the back cover and ask yourself, "I wonder if this guy (or gal) can really write one hell of a query letter?"