I’ve been on AgentQueryConnect, QueryShark, and a shebang of online searches.

Here’s what I’ve learned about Query Letters:

1. begin with the protagonist by name and his/her conflict, sans the backstory

2. show what choices the protagonist has and what is at stake; from what I can see, it’s something akin to a logic formula: if _____, then _____

3. make it intriguing to an Agent 

Here’s what those of us trying out our queries know about query letters:

1. they’re painful

2. some say it’s worse than writing the book though writer jank finds that unbelievable

3. some of the rules contradict each other, e.g. don’t start with a question / you may start with an enticing question

4. it is easier to learn Farsi in its archaic form

5. #4 is not true