Gini Graham Scott, founder of Changemakers Productions
Changemakers Publishing and Writing has become a conglomerate of writing, publishing, and marketing services with a team headed by Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D.
She has written and published about 200 books — 50 with traditional publishers, 150 through Changemakers Publishing.
She has also written and executive produced 6 film projects, which include 4 feature films, a pilot for a TV series, and a documentary, as a co-producer through Changemakers Productions.
Guidelines for Writing an E-Mail Query Letter
Keep your query short and to the point — ideally around 300-400 words, and no more than 500. Fill in the details as indicated, though put the letter in your own words. Also, don’t use bold type, underlines, or italics, since it is best to send out your query as a text message, which is most likely to be received and read, and the software we use will convert special fonts to regular type. Use CAPS for emphasis instead. And please no markup, review, or tracking features in your letter.
In the following template, the CAPS are instructions to fill in with your own information. Adapt the wording to make it your own.Subject Line: (HIGHLIGHT THE MAIN POINT OF YOUR BOOK AND BE SPECIFIC; THIS LINE IS VERY IMPORTANT. IT IS WHAT APPEARS IN THE BROWSER ADDRESS LINE, AND IT IS WHAT WILL GET THE EDITOR, AGENT, PRODUCER, OR OTHER RECIPIENT TO OPEN UP YOUR E-MAIL QUERY; IF YOU HAVE BEEN PRODUCED OR PUBLISHED NOTE IT HERE)
Dear ************: (THE EDITOR’S/AGENT’S NAME WILL BE FILLED IN HERE; IT WILL BE FILLED IN AUTOMATICALL; PUBLISHERS AGENTS & FILMS USES SPECIAL SOFTWARE TO FILL IN THE PERSON’S NAME FOR EACH QUERY)
[NONFICTION BOOK/NOVEL/SCRIPT) TITLE which is about (DESCRIBE THE SUBJECT AREA OR PLOT IN 25 WORDS OR LESS…POINT UP ANY BIG SELLING POINTS, SUCH AS MULTI-PUBLISHED AUTHOR, PRODUCED SCREENWRITER, FILM RIGHTS TO BEST SELLING BOOK, ETC. THIS SHOULD BE LIKE A LOGLINE. KEEP THIS TO 1-2 SENTENCES.
It features (DESCRIBE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BOOK IN 1-2 PARAGRAPHS; ABOUT 5-8 SENTENCES; HIGHLIGHT THE MAJOR SUBJECTS COVERED OR MAJOR PLOT POINTS; THIS IS LIKE A MINI-SYNOPSIS).
TITLE should be highly marketable in that (GIVE ONE OR MORE REASONS, SUCH AS “IT IS THE FIRST BOOK TO COVER THIS TOPIC FROM THIS PERSPECTIVE” AND DESCRIBE HOW YOU WILL HELP TO SUPPORT THE BOOK THROUGH YOUR OWN PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS).
(NOW WRITE A PARAGRAPH ABOUT YOUR EDUCATION, BACKGROUND, EXPERIENCE, ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS, OR OTHER FACTORS THAT SHOW WHY YOU ARE IN AN IDEAL POSITION TO WRITE AND PROMOTE THIS BOOK OR FILM.)
I would be happy to submit a (SYNOPSIS/PROPOSAL/SAMPLE CHAPTER/COMPLETE BOOK, COMPLETE SCRIPT) or other materials for your further consideration. I can also submit (MENTION ANYTHING THAT MIGHT HELP PROMOTE THE BOOK, SUCH AS PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS, LETTERS OF ENDORSEMENT FROM WELL-KNOWN PEOPLE IN THE FIELD, NEWS CLIPS OF PREVIOUS PUBLICITY, A LIST OF THINGS OU MIGHT DO TO PROMOTE THE BOOK, ETC.)
I hope you will be interested in pursuing (TITLE OF YOUR BOOK/SCRIPT), and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
COMPANY NAME IF ANY
YOUR ADDRESS
YOUR CITY, STATE
WEBSITE IF YOU HAVE ONE
YOUR E-MAIL
YOUR PHONE NUMBER