A query letter is not a performance. It is a working letter between two professionals, and in the UK it is usually read on a phone, in the gap between meetings, by someone deciding within seconds whether to keep reading. Your job is to make that decision easy. What is the book, who is it for, why are you the person to have written it, and what would you like the agent to do next? Get those four things onto a single page in plain, confident prose and you are already ahead of most of the pile.
What UK agents expect on the page
Most agencies ask for the same core: a short pitch, some detail on the book, a brief bio and a polite sign-off. The differences matter, though. One agent wants the first three chapters pasted below the letter. Another asks for a one-page synopsis instead. A third wants a set number of words as an attachment. Read the guidelines on the agency's own site and follow them exactly. Following them is the cheapest signal of professionalism you can send, and the quickest way to be filed under "not for me" is to ignore them.
The shape that works:
- Greeting. "Dear Priya Raman," spelled correctly. Not "Dear Sir/Madam", never "Dear Agent".
- Hook. Two or three sentences carrying the title, genre, word count and the idea that makes it a book.
- Book paragraph. Roughly 80–120 words: protagonist, what they want, what stands in the way, what it costs them.
- Bio. Three or four sentences, only what is relevant to this submission.
- Comps. Woven in naturally rather than bolted on at the end.
- Sign-off. What you have enclosed, a thank you, your name and contact details.
If the whole thing comes in under 400 words, that is a feature rather than a problem. Agents do not need the plot; they need a reason to read the pages.
The hook: earn the second sentence
Weak hooks describe themes. Strong hooks describe a person in trouble. Consider the difference:
My novel explores themes of memory, identity and loss, set against the backdrop of a changing coastal town.
When a marine biologist returns to the Norfolk village where her brother drowned, she finds his notebooks hidden in the house she has just inherited — and a village that would rather she stopped reading them.
The second version is not literary genius. It names a specific person, hands her a problem and suggests opposition. That is enough to buy the next paragraph.
Write your hook last, once you know what the book is really about, then read it aloud. If you stumble, cut. Watch for the usual openings: a rhetorical question, a dictionary definition, a claim that the novel "will appeal to readers of all ages". None of them help. Nor does announcing that you have always loved writing. The agent is interested in this book, not your origin story.
The book paragraph and the bio
The book paragraph
Keep it to four or five sentences and put the plot in order. Ada wants one thing. Something stands in her way. If she fails, she loses something she cannot get back. That last part — the stakes — is what separates a summary from a pitch. Effects, not just events.
Give the word count, genre and age category honestly, in the standard format: TITLE in capitals, then "an 84,000-word literary thriller". If the book is the first in a series, say so. And say whether it is finished, because for fiction UK agents expect a complete manuscript.
The bio
Three sentences are plenty. Publication credits, prizes, or a qualification that genuinely bears on the book. If you have none of those, say something true instead: you grew up in the town the novel is set in, you spent a decade doing your protagonist's job, you have completed a course with a tutor the agent may recognise. Mentioning three unpublished novels is worth including only if it shows you are no beginner.
If you have no credits
Do not apologise and do not pad. "This is my first novel" is a complete sentence. Then get out of the way and let the book paragraph do the work.
Synopsis or pitch: know the difference
The pitch in your letter is a shop window. A synopsis is the floor plan: present tense, third person, main characters named, and the ending included. No cliffhangers, no "the reader will discover". One page, the title and your name at the top.
Many agents ask for neither synopsis nor chapters until they have read the letter. Others want everything at once. Send what that agent asks for, in the format they ask for, and nothing more.
Comparative titles that do a job
Comps are shorthand for the shelf your book sits on. Two or three are enough, and the best ones are reasonably recent, recognisable, and similar in tone or readership rather than in plot. Explain the link in a few words: for readers of one book, with the atmosphere of another.
Steer clear of comps that are too big, too old to signal a current market, or drawn from film and television alone. Comparing your debut to a once-a-decade bestseller reads as naive, and claiming you have written the next anything invites a sigh.
Submission etiquette UK agents notice
- Follow the guidelines on the agency's site, not a template from elsewhere.
- Personalise the opening line — a sentence on why this agent, perhaps a client whose work sits near yours. Do not pretend to have read everything they have ever sold.
- Send one project at a time to each agent. Most accept simultaneous submissions to different agencies, but check, and say so if asked.
- Paste the letter into the email body unless told otherwise, and attach only what is requested, as the file type requested.
- Keep the subject line plain and searchable: "Query: TITLE, genre", or whatever the guidelines specify.
- Use a professional email address and a signature with your name, phone number and website if you have one.
- No gimmicks, no gifts, no phone calls, no nudging before the stated response time. If they say eight weeks and it has been twelve, one polite follow-up is fine. Then let it go.
- If a rejection comes, do not reply to argue the point. A short thank you is optional; silence is perfectly acceptable.
Response times vary from days to a few months. Keep a simple spreadsheet — agent, agency, date sent, what was requested, date of reply — and note anything useful before moving to the next name on the list.
Before you press send
Read the letter aloud once, then read it on a phone screen, because that is where it will land. Check the agent's name, the agency's name and your title against the guidelines. Confirm the word count. Make sure the letter does not contradict the material you are sending.
Then send it and get back to writing, because the next book is the best use of your time while this one is out on submission. A letter that is clear, specific and free of apology will not guarantee you an agent. It will, however, mean that the only reason you are turned down is the writing itself — which is the only thing you can do anything about.
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