I often find myself inundated with bad query letters while working on my query letter service. My goal with every writer is to highlight what needs to be highlighted and then send that letter out to get some positive responses. 99 percent of the time, it works. And here's why:

1. I sell the story in the first paragraph. A lot of people worry about putting together a proper greeting to agents and editors in the first paragraph and, while this is acceptable to do, it's not always the best approach. Especially with fiction. So instead, I'll start off with something like this:

"Tyler Leto had it all. Money and power trumped all else, but none of that could save him from the heart attack that sent his soul directly to Hell."

Why does this work well? Because my goal is to hook the agent in on the first sentence. Would a simple greeting have been as effective? Probably not.

2. In the second paragraph, I sell the heck out of the book. I compare it to bestsellers and then I tell the agent/editor exactly why this book will sell.

3. In the third paragraph, I close the deal by selling the author. The more information I can give, the more selling points I can offer, the more likable the story becomes.

And then the agents and editors reply, saying: "Yeah, I'd like to see this manuscript." And then the rest is in the writer's hands. But a great query letter will get your foot in the door, and sometimes that can be the hardest part.