<aside> 🌸 Here are some query-writing advice links + an example query letter!
Note: my query letter will probably look different from yours, because it was a request from a pitching contest, but otherwise, follows the same conventions!
</aside>
Dear Kelly:
Thank you so much for liking the #DVPit pitch for my 60,000-word YA rom-com, OUT OF HER LEAGUE! Saritza Hernández also liked my Tweet during the event. For your reference, the pitch was:
SHE GETS THE GIRL x #YA TED LASSO
Who better to help with girl advice than a locker room full of teenage boys? Nina is starting to realize—literally anyone. But the baseball team might just be her only shot at getting the girl of her dreams. #DVPit #OWN #LGBT #ROM
Seventeen-year-old type-A lesbian Nina Townsend has spent her entire life being perfect. Maintaining stellar grades and being student council president isn’t easy, but she’s spent the last four years creating an image she’s proud of. She can’t give up now. The only thing she doesn’t excel at, though? Getting her long-time crush, the kind-hearted and optimistic August Miller, to like her back.
But after a disastrous encounter in the science lab with August, a chemistry experiment, and an emergency shower in front of the entire class, it becomes clear that Nina isn’t equipped to get August’s attention alone—and there are no better teachers than the star players of her high school’s baseball team. Offering the help of her father, a former pro player himself, in leading them to victory, all Nina asks for in return is lessons on how to get the girl.
So, Freddy Hyde, the gay captain of the team, comes up with a plan: with the help of his friends, Freddy offers to make Nina an expert on dating girls, using the experience he has from being in the closet, including makeovers, flirting lessons, and even fake dating. But as the charade goes on and Nina grows closer to August, she must decide if coming out as a lesbian is worth ruining the comfortable life she’s spent so long perfecting—especially if it risks outing Freddy too.
OUT OF HER LEAGUE will appeal to fans of the “getting the girl” mission in Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick’s She Gets the Girl, the queerplatonic relationship in Kelly Quindlen’s Late to the Party, and the TV show Ted Lasso. Like me, Nina is a fat lesbian with anxiety, and I drew inspiration for her character and story from my personal experiences.
During #DVPit, editors from Delacorte, Viking Children’s, Razorbill, Atheneum, LBYR, Dial BFYR, Disney-Hyperion, Penguin Workshop, and Bloomsbury Children’s all expressed interest in seeing OUT OF HER LEAGUE once I’ve secured representation.
I recently parted ways with my former agent, but this book has never been on submission. I’m Jennifer Rofé's assistant at ABLA, and when I’m not writing or making myself prone to dehydration, I’m probably taking photos of my adorable cat Sylvie.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I’ve included the first three chapters in a document attached to this email. I look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,