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Their Books Got 190+ Rejections. Then This Changed Everything.

Alyssa Matesic

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MORE WRITING AND PUBLISHING ADVICE:
My Query Letter Formula That Got Book Deals
My Query Letter Formula That Got Book Deal...
Everyone Loves This Genre. But No One Is Writing It.
Everyone Loves This Genre. But No One Is W...
You Sent Me Your Query Letters…They ALL Would Get Rejected
You Sent Me Your Query Letters…They ALL Wo...

SUCCESSFUL QUERIES THAT BROKE THE RULES
00:00 Intro
01:24 Query Letter 1
04:35 Why it works
07:57 Rules that it breaks
11:15 Query Letter 2
14:16 The strengths
16:36 What I would change

ABOUT ME:
My name is Alyssa Matesic, and I’m a professional book editor with over a decade of book publishing and editorial experience. Throughout my career, I’ve held editorial roles across both sides of the publishing industry: Big Five publishing houses and literary agencies. The goal of this channel is to help writers throughout the book writing journey—whether you're working on your manuscript or you're looking for publishing advice.

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20 Comments

@AlyssaMatesic Creator 11 hours ago Pinned

Where are you in the querying journey?
Order my querying guide (with more examples of successful query letters)! 💌 https://amzn.to/46xIHhp

@robynsnest8668 11 hours ago

Finally, good examples and not a list of what-nots

@AdamDustin 11 hours ago

This is now the only "writing" channel I follow. Started with around ten. Great and helpful content. Ordered the book too. Keep it up.

@Jurgelor 10 hours ago

I always love how she portrays writing and the publishing journey as an achievable and worthwile thing to pursue. Writing can often feel like climbing a mountain, especially when you have few people to share your struggles with, but after watching her videos I always feel like I'm slightly closer to releasing my dream book into the open. Thank you for putting out your guides!

@GloriousRAT 3 hours ago

The R.A.T. is here... Great stuff as always Alyssa... Querying is a marathon not a sprint. I've told dozens of aspirants that very thing. For my part, I queried 12 agents each week for nearly two years, Yes I did personalize each letter. What did it for me was expanding my search criteria. I started off only querying agents who wanted Fantasy/Fantasy Adventure. The agent that I signed with was the first Upmarket agent that I queried. Who knew?

@gudrun5531 8 hours ago

The first example really leans on its good writing and is a refreshing change, like the back of a book. It's like a tiny piece of the book itself. It makes me want to lean into my creativity when writing a query letter rather than a stilted list of what needs to be included. I'll keep this in mind for the future!

@andeeharry 7 hours ago

''Learn the rules of the game, to break them like a pro'' Famous quote said by many

@RandomThoughtInc 5 hours ago

Can you please potentially consider making videos with longer more detailed examples of well written paragraphs/chapters in various genres?

@xChikyx 11 hours ago

ngl, I feel agents are so unnecessary

@evakuhlbornefelt34 1 hour ago

I like the comps better after, it makes you more open to the story. Comps after lets it slide into where it fits after you already have an unbiased taste of the story.

@BatshevaDueck. 8 hours ago

this was wonderful! Thank you! I'd be super interested to see this play out in other genres as well. For example, what does a successful fantasy query look like, especially when youre trying to juggle intrigue, while still making sure the agent understands your new magical world that may have all these new terms and magical jargon? I'm writing a fantasy novel, so would be super curious to see how some recent fantasy writers pitched their stories!

@SDACMG-lorax 11 hours ago

Thank you, Alyssa. Really appreciate your writing advice :)❤

@Terravid_Official 5 hours ago

Thanks Alyssa for being so to-the-point with your tips and tricks! It has helped so much!

@Warstub 4 hours ago

None of my books line up with what's being published today. I still put the likes of Catcher in the Rye, Trainspotting, and Dostoevsky in my comparable books and authors, because that's exactly what my novel aligns with. People still buy those books and those authors, so I see that as relevant, especially considering my novel is literary rather than upmarket.

@fkhrchr0298 6 hours ago (edited)

I'm querying 30+ agents and until now 4 rejections. I know writers out there had much more number than mine. Thanks for the video Alyssa 😊

@NikhilSuresh-e2j 2 hours ago

This video is especially helpful. Had I read these letters on query tracker,I would’ve wondered about the length and details in the blurb section.
There are too many names in The first query. And the last line almost reveals the plot. The abusive step father knows something about the disappearance of the boy. For me that’s too much of a reveal. The blurb is almost a synopsis.
I loved the voice in the second letter. But I felt even that was a bit too long.
But then as Alyssa says, the industry is subjective. Rules are guidelines and must not suppress your creativity.

@Turtlesism 2 hours ago

The second query was extremely compelling. That convinced me to see what book it could be and see if I can find it.

@myribstellmesheslying 3 hours ago

The second one is so interesting I lowkey need to read the book.

@LethalBubbles 6 hours ago

the good one makes me think I'm overthinking it. Like I'm not writing for me here. But the the part that's weird is how it doesn't seem obvious that it's "good". It feels cliche to me in a way that feels like what I see as "sappy melodrama".