A lot of people spend many hours agonizing over the perfect query letter, crafting a hook that is certain to draw the reader in and make them want to read the sample, if not the entire manuscript. I’ve done this myself and I think it’s a worthwhile effort. The thing that’s confusing me a bit at the moment, though, is a sudden surge in query letters that leave it open to interpretation whether the authors are trying to sell fiction or nonfiction. Is this one a very clever hook into a novel about alien abduction written from the perspective of the abductee or an account of the author’s abduction by aliens? Was that one a smart introduction to a political thriller or the author’s manifesto?