Think about this. You are an editor at a busy publishing firm. You receive hundreds of queries a day! It is your responsibility to find and recruit fresh new talent to write articles. As an editor you don’t like to be irritated. When a query is opened , many writers s shoot themselves in the foot right off the bat by being an irritant!. A query can be troublesome for you, the editor, and a possible detriment to new writers. When an editors view of a writer is lowered because of a query letter, the result is lost earnings for the writer.
As an editor, you have probably developed a guideline for query submissions and have that document published some where that is particularly high profile. You probably have spent a great deal of time crafting these guidelines so that query writers do not waste their time or yours submitting inappropriate articles that will be rejected . It is a major irritant to have to read and respond to queries that are so far off the mark that you have to wonder if the writer has seen your publication at all! It makes it so much more easier for everyone when a writer has a clear idea of the readership that is being targeted.
Another thing that irritates many editors is the lack of simple courtesy and manners. This is business and a professional manner is required. Don’t treat your editors as you might your old friends from high school. If you want me to think of you as a professional , please act like one. Do not send an article that has not been spell-checked and proof read. It is almost disrespectful to the art to submit an article with misspellings and grammatical errors..
Most importantly, query letters should be an indication of your self. Your creativity and experience in life should shine through your words. It is the quality that will sell and make your query responses more positive and financially rewarding.