The Editor's Crowded Desktop
Every successful magazine writer knows that writing great query letters is in many ways the heart of the job. The link between good ideas and paid writing assignments is the well-written query letter that grabs an editor's attention and refuses to let go.
Most magazine writers spend a good deal of time crafting their query letters. A lot of writers will spend a day writing queries only to “stick them in a drawer” for a night or two, then take them out, read them closely, and decide whether or not they are actually worth sending to editors. That's how important query letters are. Just as you have a process for writing great articles, you should have a process for writing great query letters.
Even the most seasoned magazine writers send query letters to their editors. Yes, they may be shortened versions of the real thing after the writer and editor have developed a longstanding relationship, but all writers earn their livings by pitching stories. If you stop sending queries, then you will stop earning an income.
Why do query letters have to be so fabulous? Because editors are bombarded with them the same way that Yankee Stadium is pelted with Jason Giambi's home-run hits: repeatedly and without fail. Receiving query letters is a certainty part of every editor's day. For some editors at the biggest, most prestigious magazines, though, receiving
No matter how careful you are in your wording, no matter how great your story idea, your query letter will end up in the pre-existing and ever-growing stack on the editor's desk. You need to make sure it stands out by grabbing the editor's attention, keeping the editor's attention, and making the editor want to take a chance on your story.
And you must do all of that within a single page, and within the widely accepted format that allows editors to scan query letters quickly.
