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Six mechanical checks. No AI, no scoring magic — every rule is explained in its result.
What gets checked, exactly
- Length250–450 words
- Comp titlescomparison language present
- Housekeepingword count + genre stated
- Structure3–6 paragraphs
- Personalizationnamed greeting, no placeholders
- Clichésten known slush-pile tells
Every check is deterministic — the same letter always gets the same result, and each result explains the rule it applied. What this tool deliberately does not do is grade your premise or your voice with an AI; a pattern-matcher confidently scoring art is the kind of feedback that sounds useful and isn't.
The shape of a working query
- 1Hook + personalization. One line on why this agent, then straight into the story. No throat-clearing about how many queries they receive.
- 2The story, in two paragraphs. Protagonist, want, obstacle, stakes — written in the book's register, ending on the choice that drives the climax (don't spoil it).
- 3Housekeeping. Title, word count, genre, comps, series potential if real. One sentence, no apology.
- 4Bio. Publication credits, relevant expertise, day job if it informs the book. Two or three sentences; confidence over completeness.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should a query letter be?
The working convention is 250–450 words for the letter body — about one page. Under 200 words usually means the pitch is missing stakes or specifics; over 500 means it has not been distilled yet. Agents read queries in bulk, and respecting the form is itself a signal that you have done your homework.
What are comp titles and how many do I need?
Comparable titles ("X meets Y", "for readers of Z") tell the agent where your book sits on the shelf and that a market exists for it. Two is the sweet spot. Pick books published in roughly the last five years, in your genre, successful but not generational phenomena — comping yourself to Harry Potter signals unrealistic expectations, which is why it appears on this tool’s cliché list.
Do I need to include the word count and genre?
Yes, in one housekeeping sentence, usually at the start or end: "TITLE is an 85,000-word fantasy novel." It answers the two questions every agent asks before anything else — what is it, and is it a sellable length. Leaving it out forces the agent to guess, and guessing usually ends the read.
Why does personalizing the greeting matter so much?
"Dear Agent" or an unfilled "[Agent Name]" placeholder tells the recipient your letter went to a hundred inboxes unchanged. A named greeting ("Dear Ms. Rivera") plus one specific line about why you queried that agent — a book they represent, an interview, their stated wishlist — moves you out of the mass-mailing pile. Agents say this openly and often.
Will passing all six checks get my book requested?
No — and any tool that promises otherwise is selling something. These checks clear the mechanical reasons a slush reader stops in the first thirty seconds: wrong length, no genre, mass-mail greeting, cliché tells. What earns the request is the pitch itself — voice, stakes, and a story the agent thinks they can sell. The checker gets the mechanics out of the way so your pitch gets read.
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