Words have power. And never more power then when they are trying to convince an agent to keep reading.

There are so many sites giving advice on the perfect query letter. And although I have taken good stuff from many sites (including agents' websites), my favorite is Query Shark. A merciless eye and rapier pen mean every critiqued query (try saying those last two words five times fast), offers snippets about what is good, what is not. What flows. What to include. What to leave out. How to improve that opening pitch.

Essentially, from my reading, I have learned that the first sentence has to hook them in, convince them this is unique/exciting/sellable. This means crafting that first line can take weeks. What helped me gain perspective, after four hundred different versions which increasingly confused and depressed me, was the opinion of readers in my genre. And wow, they had a variety of them! Family, friends, kids, anyone in your circle, ask for their opinions. And if you get the same feedback from at least two - take it. Wrong word, right word, clumsy, flowing. Exciting, boring, unique, same old... (and you get the drift).

Then, when the first line is acceptable, you go through the second line, then the third, then the first paragraph, then the second (same process). And that's where obtaining feedback from people who have read your book is particularly valuable. They told me whether I had captured, in a couple of paragraphs, the essence of the book, or miserably failed. Oh, and that brings me to another point. There is NO POINT in asking for feedback / opinions if you don't want to hear them. You have to treat your baby like a stranger, and be grateful for whatever suggestions you receive. People take a risk in being honest with your work, so don't bite the hand that feeds you!