7 Things ChatGPT Can’t Tell You About Publishing: How to Make Your Query Stand Out—Elevate Universal Themes

Welcome back to my series 7 Things ChatGPT Can’t Tell You About Publishing.

In our first post, we covered the pitfall of grief-heavy pitches. Today, let’s tackle another common mistake I see in query letters and book proposals: relying too heavily on universal themes, without putting your personal spin on them. If you want to know how to make your query stand out, this is where to start.

Here’s the truth. When you’re drafting your query letter, AI can help you generate beautiful words like healing, authenticity, self-discovery, or coming home to oneself. But it can’t tell you what any reputable agent will: these phrases, without anything more, are exactly why your pitch may sound like every other manuscript submission in an agent’s inbox.

To be clear, universal themes are powerful: they connect us to the human condition. But when they’re presented without a distinctive lens, they don’t inspire curiosity. They sound generic; they lose our interest.

As I discuss in Get Signed, agents notice stories that balance the timeless with the timely. Yes, love, loss, and transformation will always matter. But what makes us lean in is the urgency of why this story, why now, told in a way only you could tell it.

Writers, remember: every story under the sun has been told. What makes an agent request your manuscript isn’t just the theme; it’s the way you frame it, the unique angle you bring. That’s what transforms a universal idea into a pitch-perfect proposal; that’s how to improve your query and attract agents’ attention.

Let’s take a look at a few examples across genres to help you get a better idea of just what I mean.

Memoir

• Generic: “This is a memoir about coming home to myself.”
• Distinct: After surviving stage IV breast cancer at 40, I set out on a 365-day experiment to confront fear head-on, through skydiving, delivering a stand-up set, even asking for a divorce. What began as a quest to rebuild my health became a radical reimagining of my marriage, career, and sense of self. Over time, I learned courage isn’t the absence of fear but rather the daily choice to live fully in spite of it.”

Prescriptive Nonfiction (Self-Help/Business)

• Generic: “This is a book about authenticity.”
• Distinct: “After interviewing 300 high-performing women across industries, I discovered a hidden cost of success: self-silencing at work. This book offers a research-backed framework for breaking that silence, equipping readers to advocate for themselves, increase their influence, and model a healthier culture of leadership.”

Fiction

• Generic: “It’s a love story.”
• Distinct: “In a futuristic colony where love is outlawed, two rebels risk everything to choose each other, igniting a revolution that could cost them their lives.

Notice how the generic pitches could belong to anyone. Meanwhile, the distinct versions tell me why this story matters and, in the case of nonfiction and memoir, why this author is the one to tell it.

Literary agents don’t reject “universal” stories, but we do reject interchangeable ones. If your pitch feels timely and specific, we lean in; if it reads like a cliché, it’s dead on arrival.

To make your pitch irresistible, ask yourself:

• What’s the most specific, high-stakes moment that illustrates my theme?
• What detail, setting, or perspective could only I bring to this story?
• Why should this story matter to someone reading it today?

Don’t abandon universal themes. Reimagine them.

Agents are hungry for book ideas that feel both timeless and timely. Give your pitch specificity, urgency, and shape, and you’ll transform something universal into something unforgettable, an idea that truly resonates with a diverse array of readers.

Ready to learn how to make your query stand out? Join our Book Publishing Accelerators Program to refine your pitch and your proposal.

Apply now: registration ends soon!