Here is a query letter I used to pitch an article idea to Relix Magazine. I have no idea how to write query letters. I'm not sure what is the most effective method of selling an idea to an editor, so I told the editor a story. I was hoping to show the editor what he would be getting if he hired me. I didn't get the job, but I was invited to "stay in touch, and pitch again". I think that is a positive response. At least it's a better response than I expected. The editor could have given me one of the pat answers like, "Thank you for your ideas, but we don't think your writing style would be a good fit for our magazine." Translation, "You stink on ice." Let me know what you think.

Dear Editor,

I know that Relix is a sponsor, but if you do not have coverage in line for
this year's Gathering of the Vibes (GOTV), please consider me for the
story. I've been a loyal GOTV attendee since that brutal experience at
Red Hook Farm in 2001. I remember they were carting the unwitting
Tribe across arid farmland, to some hellish destiny, in tractor-guided
livestock cages. The desert-like heat and dust and dehydration
intermingled to create an overall feeling of doom. We waited for hours,
half-crazed from the elements, for some relief and maybe a little
music. Instead, we got the backlash of a tornado that touched down a
mile away.

A murmur of dissension and breaking of rank to head to the nearest
bar started to broil among the dissolute, but for the majority of us
our spirit was not broken; we had signed on for the whole trip. We
stayed and brought up the sun with Buddy Miles and Ray Manzarek during
a gripping tribute to Jimi Hendrix, Janice Joplin and Jim Morrison.
Strangefolk and Steve Kimock opened our eyes to the burgeoning wave of
jambands that was at full crest and just about to break. Les Claypool
was building the Frog Brigade and polishing his tribute to the
progressive rock of the 1970s. There was an overwhelming energy, amid
the calamity and wreckage, that promised a surge of great music over
the next few years. How could we miss it?

This modestly coherent rambling is an example of my writing style.
If you like it, please view my resume below and read the CD reviews
that I have attached. The reviews were published in Score! Music
Magazine in 2007 and 2008. The most recent review, Painkiller Hotel's
"Black Roses," was praised by the Score! review editor as a "righteous
review." She went on to say, "I was smiling the whole time I was
reading it."

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your time.