Writing Query Letters That Work

Live attendance is not required: enrollees can watch the recording at any time after the workshop!

You’ve got a story written, and you’re ready to shop it around to editors and publishers. That means writing and sending query letters to editors and agents to introduce yourself and your book.

This makes the query letter one of the most crucial aspects of your career as an author. Your query letter is your one chance to make an impression on an editor or agent and to convince them to work with you. It can literally make or break your chances of publishing — because if it fails to impress, they’re going to put your book in the slush pile, and you might never hear from them again!

Fortunately, writing an effective query letter is something anyone can learn with a little practice — and that’s exactly what author and Baen editor D.J. (Dave) Butler is here to teach you. Join Dave in this information-packed workshop as he teaches you how to write a hard-punching query letter that you can use to sell your manuscript to agents and editors. Afterwards, submit a query letter for personal written feedback from Dave to make sure your letter is the best it can be!

Dave’s experience as a successful author, an editor for Baen, and as the acquisitions editor for WorldFire Press gives him the unique perspective of being on both sides of the query letter process. Don’t miss this priceless opportunity to learn from an expert how to craft a query letter that will sell your book!

Some of D.J.’s career highlights

Zoom schedule

Everyone enrolled in this webinar will receive a copy of the recording afterwards, so you can review it later in case you missed it.

• Saturday May 4, 2024 1:00pm US Central time — 2 hours

How this workshop works

This workshop is a live Zoom webinar. Sign in from anywhere in the world and participate live as the instructor conducts the workshop, with time for Q&A at the end.

Questions about this class?

We’re happy to answer any questions you might have!

• Contact us and a real person will get back to you ASAP.

About D.J. Butler

D.J. (Dave) Butler has been a lawyer, a consultant, an editor, a corporate trainer, and a registered investment banking representative, and he is now a Consulting Editor for Baen Books. His novels published by Baen Books include the Witchy War series (Witchy Eye, Witchy Winter, Witchy Kingdom, and Serpent Daughter), the Tales of Indrajit and Fix series (In the Palace of Shadow and Joy, Between Princesses and Other Jobs, and Among the Gray Lords), and Abbott in Darkness, as well as The Cunning Man and The Jupiter Knife, co-written with Aaron Michael Ritchey, and Time Trials, co-written with M.A. Rothman. He also writes for children: the steampunk fantasy adventure tales The Kidnap Plot, The Giant’s Seat, and The Library Machine are published by Knopf. Other novels include City of the Saints from WordFire Press and The Wilding Probate from Immortal Works. His novels have won the Whitney Award, the Association for Mormon Letters Award for Novel, and the Dragon Award.

Dave also organizes writing retreats and anarcho-libertarian writers’ events, and travels the country to sell books. He tells many stories as a gamemaster with a gaming group some of whom he’s been playing with since sixth grade. He plays guitar and banjo whenever he can, and likes to hang out in Utah with his wife, their children, and the family dog.

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