Query fever

Not a lot of queries. Just one.

I want to pitch an essay idea to Writer's Market/Poet's Market (yes, I'm feeling a little ambitious). This means I have to write a pitch, a query letter.

I looked up pitch letters on the Internet. I received many results about pitching in baseball. I am still traumatized by my experiences trying to play softball in fourth grade (I was told to play catcher, and I couldn't get that mitt to work). The only time I pitched, playing with friends in the park, a line drive hit me in the leg (my bad-knee leg). So my personal pitching experience is not great.

Could this be where my anxiety comes from? Or is it just wanting to be good and feeling like I don't know enough about what I'm doing? I've already written up a bunch of notes for the essay, but it's just the pitch that's puzzling me, worrying me.

And the deadline is coming up.

Have you written pitch letters? Query letters? Any tips?