Kayla wants your query to an agent to be as irresistible and delicious as a cupcake is to a toddler. Like a well-made cupcake, a query has a couple of important parts: Intro; Summary; and a Bio.
A quality query starts with the email subject line: For Kayla, please put the title of your story in the subject line, not just "children's book" and include the genre for extra appeal.
The Intro should contain the manuscript's basic info like genre and word count, as well as why you are querying that particular agent. Intros should also include a one or two-sentence pitch summarizing your manuscript (see Eddie Gamarra's session for a whole session on how to craft a pithy pitch), and HOOKS.
Kayla uses Dragons Love Tacos as an example showing what on the surface seems to be just a funny silly book still has deeper themes, something editors are looking for in all picture book manuscripts.
Kayla also covers pitches, bios, and gives examples of excellent summaries for both picture book and MG/YA queries in addition to this handy breakdown of what to include in your summary:
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