When you send an email to query an agent or publisher, or to pitch a podcast or book review, do you sometimes wonder whether your message disappeared into cyberspace because you did not receive a response? Did it end up in a spam folder? Is no response a “no”? Could your email address be the problem? If you’re using an account from AOL, Yahoo, or Hotmail, it may well be that your email was never received. If your address is associated with your website and hosted by a company with servers used by spammers there is a possibility your email address is blacklisted by the recipient. If you have never sent an email to a particular address before, there is a good chance you will receive a delivery failure notification or end up in a spam folder. Unsolicited email (a message from someone who has no previous email contact with you) runs the risk of refusal by the recipient. Once you have been whitelisted by the recipient (by using the reply button to a message they have sent you), you can rest assured your email is being delivered. And if you’re using Apple Mail you can relax as there tend to be fewer problems with their email applications. But how do you know where you email goes? You can take steps to make sure your email messages get delivered. Gmail is the most reliable method for business correspondence. Google Workplace (formerly known as G Suite) offers custom and secure business…

Who should you send a query letter to? Agents – If you are writing fiction, memoir, or a children’s books, you must have an agent who will represent your work to publishers. Publishers – If you are writing nonfiction or poetry, you can query the publisher. TIP: Research the agency or publisher. Visit their website and check their submission guidelines.   How do I find agents or publishers who will be interested in my book project? There are lots of useful sites which can help you identify the right agent or publisher for your writing. Here are some you may find useful. AgentQuery.com QueryTracker.net WritersMarket.com ManuscriptWishList.com Poets & Writers Guide to Literary Agents   Writer’s Market publishes two annual reference guides to finding agents and publishers you should consult. Guide to Literary Agents 2016 edited by Chuck Sambuchino includes sample query letters, informative articles, success stories, features on new agents, and listings for more than a thousand literary agents. Writer’s Market 2016 edited by Robert Lee Brewer includes far more than listings for book publishers. They also provide up-to-date information on consumer and trade magazines, contests and awards, lists of professional writing organizations, and timely articles related to the business of being a writer. Some of the best ways to find the right agent for book include looking at comparable books to yours and seeing who the publishers are and reading the acknowledgements to see which editors worked with the author and which agent, if any, represented their work. Attend…

ONE:  Your publisher or your publicist will need to send a query letter to the producer of the radio program. It’s much better to have someone else query for radio interviews on your behalf. But doing most of the work to assist your publisher or publicist in booking radio interviews will increase your chances significantly. And if you are a nonfiction writer, there is a chance a good query letter will lead to a booking.  You want to book radio interviews for the month before release and the six months to a year after a book has been released. Your query letter should contain four paragraphs. One, why you think you’d make a good guest on their show. This first paragraph means you need to do your homework on the radio program and host and audience to demonstrate you believe there is a good fit. Two, the premise of your book and the pitch for an interview. This second paragraph is short but the most important. It’s your Hollywood spiel, your elevator speech, your hook. The third paragraph is about why you and who cares and so what. The fourth paragraph includes your specs. Your book, title, subject/subgenre, publisher, availability of an Advance Review Copy and press packet, and your availability to be interviewed with contact information. I can’t say enough about the hook. That second paragraph needs to be tight. Convince the reader of the query that the story is current, timely, compelling. Anniversaries, current debates, related news. The…