What is your current level of experience in freelance work?
I'm looking for someone who has worked in the publishing industry and has experience writing and reading successful query letters or submission letters for literary or upmarket fiction. You might be a literary agency intern/assistant who sifted through the slush pile and wrote pitches for your boss, a Big 5 editorial assistant who read submissions coming in and wrote back cover copy, a current or former literary agent, or an editor/marketer/publicist at a Big 5 publisher or renowned small press. Your mission is to read a chapter-by-chapter *synopsis* (~4500 words) and *sample pages* of my upmarket novel and write a query letter FROM SCRATCH that A) avoids spoiling who the main character ends up with and B) is stellar enough to result in full manuscript requests from literary agents. (I will supply a bio and comp titles, and if it's helpful, I can also share past drafts.) Why? I suck at writing queries, and no matter how much I try with this one or how close I think I'm getting, I can't seem to nail the part of the query that tells the story details. And even though I'm actively querying another project right now, having a good query letter in hand for this manuscript will help clear my head to write the next book. ABOUT THE BOOK: It's the story of a post-pandemic same-sex relationship between a woman who very much wants a child and a woman who's never loved another woman before. Could be classified as literary, upmarket, women's fiction, LGBTQ+, or possibly upmarket romance; I'm currently planning to query it as upmarket but open to being persuaded otherwise. ABOUT ME: Experienced writer with awards, publications, MFA. Just no agent yet :) Thanks in advance for reading this! No need to pay extra connects to boost your proposal — I plan to review them all. If you make the shortlist, I can share sample pages to make sure the book is your cup of tea before you commit. BUDGET SHOWN IS A PLACEHOLDER. I had to put something. NO AI, please. I'm seeking the human touch here :)