What's the Difference Between a Query Letter and a Cover Letter?

Sheesh!  Trying to find this information proved to be challenging even for the almighty GOOGLE.  However, with our powers combined we formed, no, not Captain Planet, but a powerful team with the answer to this ever puzzling question.

Here's some information from a website that I think said it best:

What's the difference between a query letter and a cover letter? Author and instructor Alexis O'Neill uses an overhead projector to aptly demonstrate the difference. She pretends to shake her own hand casting a silhouette of a handshake. That's a cover letter. Meaning, "Hi, here's my manuscript." Then she traces a question mark. Meaning, "Hi, would you be interested...?" That's a query letter.

(http://www.scbwisocal.org/kitetales/query.htm)

So to put it simply, a cover letter is very short and concise and literally something you put over the rest of your submitted materials (e.g. query letter, synopsis, sample pages/chapter, etc.).  The cover letter should be in the format of a standard business letter.  This website has a few decent samples:

http://www.fictionforum.net/writers/articles/cover-letter-format-124.html

A query letter is a single page letter, single spaced, with spaces between the three main paragraphs.  The first paragraph should be your hook and generally contains a bit of narrative about your story to entice the reader.  The second paragraph usually runs a bit longer than the first and provides the main plot points of your work.  Some agencies want to know how the plot is resolved by the end of this paragraph so be sure to read each agency's specific guidelines and requirements.  The third paragraph can be a short blurb about yourself or your writing career/credentials, but whatever you write make sure that it ties in with what you're submitting.  For instance, don't talk about being a 40-year-old mother of two unless the book has something to do with that.

There's a lot of information out there.  Some people are confused about the difference and so the information might seem confusing.  One website described a cover letter with the exact specifics of a query letter, which prompted me to investigate further.  My advice is to research research research and then research some more until you feel confident enough with the information you've gathered.


Note:  There's also a difference between submitting materials to an agent versus submitting materials to a publisher so be sure to look for those specifics also.  Again, read the submission guidelines and criteria of the agency you are submitting to carefully and thoroughly.

 Best of luck to you all!

(Recommended reading:  Writer's Market 2010: Novel and Short Story Writers)