Arya, great job finding an agent.
But this is nonfiction. There's a difference.
Fiction queries are written in a specific way. They have a set format, and agents who represent fiction want to see them that way.
Nonfiction queries, however, can be written a little more loosely. Although I do not have an agent, I got the acquisitions editor at the publisher interested in a very casually-written email. I currently have a proposal at a publisher for a nonfiction book I'd like to write that was requested from another informally-written email.
In other words, with nonfiction, you could very well get away with a query email that simply goes something like: Dear Agent, Since you represent current events/lifestyles nonfiction books, I'd like to tell you about the book I've written. It's a behind-the-lives book about high school students written by a high school student. What their lives are really like. The pains, the issues, etc. etc. etc. It's gritty, etc. etc. Below is a a sample chapter."
And the agent likes the idea of the book in the query letter (quite possibly because he just happens to be looking for something right at that moment), reads your well-written sample, and then asks for the proposal.
Unless you sent a cover letter, you sent only a proposal. Right away, the agent saw that it was professionally-constructed, read well, followed the correct format, and was interesting enough to ask you for more.
With nonfiction, it can be done that way. You're proof.
Fiction . . . . not so much. Fiction is entertainment. Nonfiction is information done hopefully in an entertaining way.
I'm still having trouble getting through it. Good luck though!
