Whilst your sample chapters will ultimately decide whether an Agent chooses to offer representation, the covering letter is also key to our understanding of you as an author and a potential client. It’s important that we get to know you as well as your book.
But what makes a good covering letter?
1. Addressing your letter to the correct person is important. We want to know that you have taken the time to really consider your submission. This starts with who at the Agency would be bested suit to represent your work. Rather than the standard ‘To Whom it May Concern’, or ‘Dear Sir/Madam’, have a look at the Agents that work for us on our website. You will see a list of the authors that they represent and a bit more about what it is that they’re looking for.
2. Include a one-line elevator pitch. This should be an attention grabbing sentence, which explain the hook and central plot of your novel. What makes your novel stand out from the crowd?
3. Include a short blurb. We want to know about your novel, but what we don’t want is a repeat of your full synopsis. What are the most important details you want to get across? Who is your central character? Where is it set?
4. Include any other important details about your book. Do you envision the book as part of a series or a standalone novel? What genre would you categorise it as? What is the word count? Who is your target audience? References to any comparison titles are a great way of showing how you would position your book in the market.
5. An author biography. At our agency, we work very closely with our authors, so it is important that we get a clear picture of who you are. What is your motivation to become an author? Do you see this as a one-off book or the start of a new career? Why are you drawn to writing? How did you come up with this book idea? Do you have any particular authors that you identify with and admire? We also want to know about any writing competitions or awards that you have won, along with any other interesting facts about you.
6. Finally, we want to know why you have chosen our agency. Are there any authors that we represent as an Agency that you would consider your work to align with? Perhaps this is the reason that you chose Darley Anderson over another Agency. This is the time to tell us why.
Other advice
Please don’t assume that a single line asking us to read your work is sufficient for a covering letter. This is a chance for you to champion your work. We want to see the passion and enthusiasm that made you to submit to us.
A good cover letter is short, snappy and draws in the reader hook, line and sinker.
This information should be no longer than an A4 page. And we’re not talking wide margins, size 9 font and single block of text. It’s not that that we’re being lazy. This shows us that you are focused on your goal. That you’ve considered the facts and given us the exact information that we need.
The Checklist
1. Who are you sending it to?
2. One-line Elavator Pitch
3. Blurb
4. What is the genre and target market of your book?
5. More about you and your writing career.
6. No more than one A4 page
We hope that this will help to give you a better sense of what we look for in a covering letter. If you have questions or want to know more then let us know in the comments or via our twitter or instagram.
All the details about where and how to submit can be found on the Darley Anderson Agency website and the Darley Anderson Children’s Agency website.
https://www.darleyanderson.com/submissions
http://www.darleyandersonchildrens.com/submissions
