It is advice as old as time: If you want to make a good first impression, open with a joke. Public speakers, job interview coaches, and your Uncle Jack will all tell you that nothing succeeds like getting a laugh.
But does that same wisdom hold true for a query letter? I asked a few dozen agents, each with more than 20 years of experience in the industry, and I received a resounding “oh-please-for-the-love-of-all-thatis-holy-no.”
The consensus is that a query letter is a business communication and should be treated as a formal request.
“I don’t think authors should try to be funny in a query. This is a business letter, effectively soliciting a stranger to invest in your enterprise. You can be friendly and informal but keep
