[QCrits] Query letter: The View From On High 73,800 words.

Below is my latest developed standard for my query letter. When I say standard, I mean I am going to use this structure but tailor it to each agent, which should require more than a bit of sentence restructuring. Overall, this is the format I feel best explains my work. It has been heavily revised based on information gathered from forums and blogs. Any insight would be useful. Thank you

Dear Ms. Agent,

I am writing to submit to you The View From On High, an adult speculative literary novel complete at approximately 78,380 words. The novel interrogates power, leadership, and the failures of systems built in the name of the “greater good.”

In a hidden war that has shaped human history, The View From On High follows immortal commanders whose purpose is to guide humanity toward harmony. Over the centuries, ideological differences have fractured their ranks and stalled their mission, turning the guardians into rivals.

At the center of the story is Collin Schaffer, a battle-hardened commander reeling from a catastrophic defeat, and his deputy, Victoria Perry—his moral counterweight and closest ally. When Victoria is ordered to lead a critical operation to ensure that a preordained girl becomes the President of the United States, a betrayal within their ranks becomes the prelude to a full-scale civil war. Bound to their mandate but divided by ideology, Collin and Victoria will have to maneuver through friends and foes using only their wits, their swords, and a shrinking circle of those they can trust. As they go down their separate yet parallel paths, Collin desperately tries to hang on to the rules that define him. Victoria, meanwhile, pushes to eliminate ideologies she believes are poisoning both humanity at the Empyrean, regardless of the cost.

I am reaching out to you because of your interest in fiction driven by strong ideas, a clear voice, and narratives that explore large-scale conflict through character choice rather than spectacle.

Likely to resonate with readers of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth trilogy, The View From On High, blends real-world history with speculative fantasy to examine ideology, authority, and the cost of protecting society.

The View From On High is my debut novel. I am a veteran of the Iraq War, an experience that directs my novel’s exploration of power, leadership, and moral compromise. I also have an academic background in history, sociology, and philosophy, which shapes the themes.