1. DON'T SEND YOUR CV OR RESUME
Most agencies don't care about your Saturday job selling Greggs pasties when you were a student. Instead, include the most relevant personal details in the main letter. Try and confine them to a paragraph though - they don't want your autobiography. Unless you're Prince William, in which case they probably do.
2. MAKE IT A PAGE
Covering letters should be as concise as possible, preferably under a page long.
3. DESCRIBE YOUR NOVEL
Try and sell your novel in one or two sentences. Start with a one sentence premise and then a one sentence plot summary. Generally agents want to sell novels they want to read, so try and grab their attention in as few words as possible.
4. DESCRIBE YOUR MARKET
Be clear about who your novel is aimed at. Where does it fit in with the market? Who are your target readers? Get familiar with the correct phrasing by reading trade publications such as The Bookseller. For instance, my agent describes my novels as 'commercial young women's fiction'.
5. REFERENCE OTHER AUTHORS
Name authors who you feel fit with your style of writing but you should say how your novel is different.
6. GET ENDORSEMENTS
And not from your mates! If you can get endorsements from any writer contacts you may have then go for it and include them in your letter.
7. FIND THE AGENTS NAME
Don't go for 'Dear Sir/Madam' or your letter will have a very short journey to the wastepaper bin.
8. RESEARCH THE AGENT
If you research the agent you are sending to, you can give a valid reason why you feel they would be relevant.
9. STICK TO FACTS NOT OPINIONS
Don't tell them you've written a literary masterpiece - even if you have. Agents like to make their minds up for themselves.
10. TELL THEM ABOUT WHAT'S INCLUDED WITH THE LETTER
Tell them how long the enclosed manuscript is. Ideally, you want to send the first three chapters and hope they ask to see more. When it comes to first contact - whether it's your letter or the manuscript itself - less is definitely more. If you haven't finished the novel yet tell them how far you've got to go, both in words and time.
Ten tips for your covering letter