A query letter is used to ask a publisher to consider reviewing your book or story. Many electronic publishers don’t require query letters; if your story fits their guidelines on genre, content, and word count, then they want to see a synopsis and excerpt, or in some cases, the full manuscript.
Don’t write a query to see if a publisher will take a story that contains a scene of questionable content. What might seem questionable to you, because you’ve never written so explicitly before, may be commonplace to the publisher. Many times they can’t comment on the scene you’re referring to until they read your manuscript, because it may work in the context of the story. Familiarizing yourself with what the company publishes will eliminate most of these queries.
If a publisher requests a query
