How I Got a Book Deal + My Successful Query Letter

Earlier this year, I signed a book deal with Quill & Crow Publishing House for ONCE UPON A SONG, my Gothic fantasy retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen. Getting a book deal has been a dream of mine ever since I was a pre-teen and it finally came true after 10+ years of writing and almost 1.5 years of querying.

Like for so many writers, my querying journey was long and exhausting. In October 2022, I sent my first batch of queries for ONCE UPON A SONG. Looking back, I know neither my query letter nor my actual manuscript were truly ready at this point. Still, I don’t regret starting my journey when I did. As someone querying for the first time, I had a steep learning curve ahead of me. I did get one full request but it ended up receiving a form rejection.

In December 2022, I was accepted into the #WriteHive mentorship program which was an absolute game-changer for me. I highly recommend aspiring authors check out what mentorship programs are available to them as this is one of the best opportunities to learn and grow. I pressed pause on querying to work on revisions with the guidance of my mentor Lauren T. Davila. I particularly focused on amping up the Gothic atmosphere – up to this point, I didn’t pitch my book as Gothic fiction. Narrowing in on my book’s genre and target audience was another extremely important step for me.

In April 2023, I participated in #PitMad on Twitter and received two agent likes (which are basically an invitation from the agent to query them). Pitch events like #PitMad, #MoodPitch or #QuestPit are a great opportunity for writers, not only to attract agent interest but even more so for community building and practicing how you pitch your book.

In May, I officially reentered the query trenches with my revised manuscript. The following months were some of the hardest of my journey. I received a lot of rejections, including a form rejection on a partial request. I started to lose faith in my story. This is unfortunately an all too common experience for querying writers. No matter how prepared you are, rejection gets to you and unless you are the exception, you will collect many rejections. What helped me during this time was following along with the journeys of other writers and diving into a new project – EPOCH, my epic fantasy.

In August, I got a personalized response from one of the #PitMad agents in which she explained why she didn’t quite connect with my sample pages. Her detailed, actionable feedback allowed me to revise my first chapter and implement some major improvements. I am so grateful that she took the time to provide her advice and I genuinely believe that this is the reason I have a book deal today. A little disclaimer: the reasons agents reject a query can obviously vary greatly and often boil down to individual taste so you shouldn’t blindly incorporate their feedback. Still, they are professionals for a reason and can offer a great perspective on your pitch and pages.

The responses I received after making these changes gave me new hope as my request rate significantly went up. Around this point, I also began submitting to small presses. Up until then, I had only queried agents but for my epic fantasy I was researching this option and I came to the conclusion that it could be a great avenue for my Snow Queen retelling as well. One of the small presses I submitted to was Quill & Crow Publishing House.

In late 2023/early 2024, I received four more requests, one of them from Quill & Crow. With their focus on Gothic fiction and dark fantasy, I knew they could be the perfect fit for ONCE UPON A SONG.

And then, I got the offer. Am I embarrassed to admit that I literally fell to my knees? Yeah, a little. It was a surreal moment. Part of me still can’t believe that ONCE UPON A SONG is going to be a real book.

So what are my takeaways from my querying experience? In the end, a lot of it comes down to patience, persistence and a dash of luck. In total, I sent out almost 100 queries. It’s a hard and frustrating journey so my advice for querying writers is to build a support system, distract yourself with new projects and to not give up. For me, the joy of actually getting that book deal made all the doubt and rejection worth it.

The Query Letter that Sealed the Deal

Dear Quill & Crow Team,

Welcome to the Hôtel de Neige. Let yourself be swept away by its grandeur and glamor but beware – the cold may swallow you whole.

When lonesome waitress Ana lands a job as a singer at the prestigious Hôtel de Neige, she believes it to be the beginning of her fairytale. Yet she soon finds that in those eerie halls, the line between Cinderella story and Gothic nightmare blurs. Sinister dreams cause her to sleepwalk, a ballerina makes ominous threats, and a phantom in white haunts the hotel – and Ana.

When Ana discovers that the hotel’s last singer lost his life under mysterious circumstances, she needs to decide if happily-ever-after is worth it. She knows she cannot trust her secretive colleagues or the charming but elusive hotel manager, Dimitri. All Ana ever wanted was to belong but at the Hôtel de Neige that may mean never leaving again.

ONCE UPON A SONG is an adult Gothic fantasy which reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen. It merges the dark mystery of Roshani Chokshi’s The Last Tale of the Flower Bride with the seductive romance of Adalyn Grace’s Belladonna. The manuscript is complete at 78,000 words.

I studied English & American Studies with a minor in Business Administration at the University of Mannheim and currently work in Human Resources. Originally from the south of Germany, I now live in Larnaca, Cyprus with my partner and our cat Tabasco. ONCE UPON A SONG was inspired by my love for fairytales, musicals and all things magical. The manuscript was chosen and revised for the #WriteHive mentorship program.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Best regards,

Nadine Bells (she/her)