Query letters

To those of you who are trying to get in contact with a major publishing body, you are going to have to familiarize yourself with the concept of the query letter. Basically, the query letter is a short letter that you send to promising publishers that gives them a overview of you as a writer. It should include highlights of your work, your preferred genre, how long you have been writing , any awards you have received and so on. They should be written in the most professionally manner, as the way you write the letter is going to be a reflection of your overall writing ability.
One bit of advice I may give is to not try to sound desperate when writing one. Most publishers are indeed condescending to say the least(especially to up and coming authors who have no real-world connections). Just as you would in any regular job interview, the point is to give the impression that you are confident in your work but, when it all comes down to it, completely indifferent to their possible rejections.
I, myself, don't really put that great of an emphasis on them to be honest. In my younger years I spent countless hours preparing them and sending them out to several promising agencies. In the long run, I learned that it was me, and me alone, that determined my success or failure. Not some overly exaggerated publishing company. Still, the need to know about them remains.