September 13th, 2012 Editors are a hard-to-please bunch, and why shouldn??t they be? Most are bombarded with over a hundred queries each day, which they have to sift and sort all by themselves. How then, do you make yours shine from underneath the pile and step up your chances of landing an assignment? Here are some tips to win over editors with a striking query letter. Make a good beginning: Any correspondence beginning with Dear Sir/Ma??am will undo it for you even if you have pitched a brilliant idea. A generic greeting suggests that you have not cared to find out who you are writing to or worse, you have copy-pasted the same mail to many others. Not a good way to make a first impression. Almost all magazines and online publications contain a ??Note from the Editor?? page, which will not only tell you their name but also tune you in to their style and sensibilities. If you cannot find it there, call up the publication??s office and find out. Don??t waste their time: Make your query, crisp and to the point. A typical query letter is no longer than a page. Many writers make the mistake of including a long-winding introduction of themselves, their family, where they live and what they do. A If editors don??t find what they are looking for in the first couple of sentences, you are probably heading for their trash box. Cut straight to the chase and throw your idea as bait. You