Should You Personalize Your Query Letter?
To personalize or not to personalize? It’s much simpler than you think.
“Should I personalize my query letter?” I get asked this question a lot. In almost every interaction I have with querying writers, they always want to if their query letter is personal enough or if they need to include something more personal so that they stand out.
How personal should you get in a query letter?
Not that personal! It’s still a business letter. Personally, I don’t care if there is a personalization in the query or not. I’ll admit that it’s always nice to see someone mention a podcast I’ve been on or my newsletter resources, but I don’t pay any less attention to queries that lack personalization. I consider all queries in my inbox and put thought into each one. So I will say that for me, it’s not a make or break. I’m mostly interested in the pitch. Most agents will likely say the same thing.
But I can tell you why I like getting a personalized query when I do get them. A personalized query shows me two things:
That you’ve done your research on who I am and my work.
It gives me further insight into why you think I would be a good fit for you.
I will also say this: It’s always better to not personalize a query than to say something that isn’t true. It’s not a good look to personalize for the sake of personalizing. It’s easy to tell if this personal connection you’re referring to is cut from all your other queries. I’ve had queries that mentioned my “long track record”. I’m a new agent! I haven’t announced any deals yet. Something like that is a clear giveaway that you either haven’t done your research on me, or you’ve copy-pasted the same query to all agents without checking through your work.
If you want to personalize your query letter, here are a few easy ways you can do that:
“I’ve listened to you speak at X”
“I’ve taken your workshop on Y”
“I follow you on Instagram and find your posts on X, Y, Z helpful”
“I also love [insert shared interest that relates to your project]” For example, if the agent publicly talks about their love for apothecaries and you’re writing a book set in an apothecary.
“Because you’re looking for books that [insert wishlist item that corresponds to your book]”
“I saw your wishlist call out on [insert social platform] asking for [Y] and I think my book…”
“I’m a big fan of [insert book or author the agent represents] and was inspired by their work in writing this novel…”
It’s very simple, really! What personalization should do is let the agent know where you came across their work and why you thought of them as a fit for your book. It’s not meant to be a compliment-fest. It’s actually somewhat similar to personalizing your cover letter for a job application.
At the end of the day, a well-crafted pitch matters most, but a thoughtful personalization in your query letter can make an impression and show that you’ve taken the time to understand the agent—just make sure it’s genuine and relevant.
