A Query Letter Draft

So even though I'm not yet ready to query agents, I'm going to get my query letter ready now. Y'know, because a good writer clearly puts effort into a query letter instead of, um, her NOVEL.

So...I've never written a query letter before.

The plan is to use AgentQuery to find twenty different agents that might like me. Or not hate me. Or whatever. (I'm going to look for agents who seem to represent both "Christian" fiction and mainstream/literary fiction, since I'm not sure whether or not this would be marketable as a Christian book. Or, y'know, at all.) I'll send them my query letter and then post all twenty (inevitable) rejections up here, in the order in which they were received. (In the event that I get a bunch of them returned at once, I'll space them out so as to hold your interest for a longer period of time. Oh, the cleverness of me!)

Here's what I'm thinking in terms of a query letter (mostly inspired by the sample query letters on a few agents' blogs, as well as the one given on AgentQuery):

Attn [agent]:

As I see you have an interest in representing both Christian and literary novels, I would like to submit my novel Heavenly Country for your consideration. It is currently complete at a succinct 75,000 words. [Note: this is what the query letter WILL say WHEN I have 75,000 words. Which will totally happen in the future. Maybe.]

When Rev. Simon Parr's wife Ada begins acting strangely in church, the Episcopal rector assumes she's just tired and stressed. But Ada soon reveals that she's hearing voices-- specifically, the voice of God. As his wife descends into what could either be madness or divine revelation, Simon begins to question his faith, his calling, and his marriage, and finds himself helpless in the face of his wife's struggles and his own misunderstandings-- especially when he discovers a terrible secret about one of his least favorite parishioners. Written in both prose and verse styles, Heavenly Country explores the nature of God and of human free will.

This is my first novel, but I have previously published many pieces of non-fiction, both in newspapers (like The Los Angeles Times, The Poughkeepsie Journal, and The Salem News) and in books (Barron's Guide to the Most Competitive Colleges). My senior thesis at Vassar College, a book of poems entitled In Vivo, received distinction from the English department in 2008. I live on the campus of General Theological Seminary in New York City with my husband, an Episcopal priest.

I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you so much for your time!

Best,
Philosophy Walker

What do you think?