Queries

Lisa Cron taught me how to write query letters at the The Columbus Writers Conference, August 25, 2006.  I had been writing for thirteen years by that time, writing query letters for all of them.  No one had told me concisely how to write a query letter.  It’s no wonder I got so many form rejections in my early years.

The goal of your query letter: get the agent or editor to request the full manuscript.  Do this in as few words as possible.  (I'm a big preacher of cut the word count.) Agents and editors might laugh when they talk about the piles of mail they get, but it’s not really a joke.  Also, the shorter the letter, the more likely you’re not going to sabotage yourself.  Entice the agent/editor, selling is for later.

Always include the first five pages of your manuscript unless the agent/editor specifically stipulates not to.  You’re selling your writing.  Give them a sample.

OK, duh tips (taken almost verbatim from the notes Lisa Cron provided):

KEEP THE QUERY LETTER TO ONE PAGE!!!!!!

Spell the agent or editor’s name correctly.

Address it to someone specific.

Make sure there are no grammatical errors

Include your name, address, phone number and your e-mail address (yeah, you're probably e-mailing it to them, still put it in there)

Use active words

Make every word count

This is a business letter, not a personal one

Write in 12-point font.  Period.

Sign your letter

Tell the agent the word count of your manuscript, the title and genre

When you think it’s completely finished and ready to go, have someone who hasn’t read

            it before proof it for you.

Which brings us to the things you NEVER want to do:

Don’t refer the agent to a website to read an excerpt of your book or to check you out. 

Don’t be chatty, overly familiar, demanding or needy.

Don’t brag, boast or write in hyperbole.

Don’t send a picture of yourself.

Don’t apologize for anything, ever. (I actually have an agent friend that hates the word HOPE, so be cautious.)

Don’t include e-mail from friends, relatives or colleagues saying how much they like

            your book.

Don’t use cute fonts, colored paper/backgrounds or illustrations.

Don’t include a cover sketch.

Don’t send gifts, inserts, bookmarks or trinkets.

Don’t call your manuscript a “fiction novel,” it screams department of redundancy

            department, and even louder, amateur.

Don’t brag that your book is far better than the competition.

Don’t say that you’ve had your manuscript professionally edited.  (If you hire me, then you hired me.  The

            agent/editor doesn't care what my opinion is.)

Don’t list self-published books without specifying that they are self-published.  

Really, don't list self-published books, unless they’ve sold extremely well—and if so, definitely mention sales figures.  This means in the 1000's stratosphere.

If you're actually doing snail mail still, don’t FedEx your query or submission.  Unless your goal is to look
            like an amateur.

Don’t call the agent to introduce yourself first or ask to pitch your book over the phone. EVER.

OK, now this is me summarizing what the query letter itself should be.

A query letter should have four paragraphs.

1: Introduce yourself, your novel, genre, word count and put your one-sentence hook.  If you’ve met the agent or editor before, this is where to note it.  As I used to attend quite a few cons, I would always mention this.  (If I were querying Lisa Cron, I would say, Lisa, I met you at The Columbus Writers Conference, August 26, 2006.  I would that today, eight years later.) It tells the editor/agent you’re serious and what you’re doing to get your work out there. Also gives them personal contact in what is a business letter.

2: Synopsis, no more than four sentences, basic plot and characters.  I personally skip this one if the agent/editor asks for a synopsis separately.  The separately synopsis should never be over 500 words, no matter what some websites say.  Unless the agent/editor explicitly says so, one to two pages.

3: This is where you tell the agent/editor how awesome you are, i.e., I’ve published here, won X award, etc.  X award is not the English award from high school.  This is amazon.com Break-Through Novel Award. 

4: Thank the agent/editor for their time.  Offer to send the novel on their request.

Same applies to non-fiction, but I don’t really deal with non-fiction authors.

This is a basic mock-up of my current query letter.  I’m not as interested in publishing my work as I used to be, so I don’t use it as much, but I’m including it as an example:

Dear Mr/s. Agent:

I would like to submit my novel, THE BOY, for your review.  It is a new adult piece about a young man who is trying to create himself while denying the image the media has thrust upon him.  It is 100,500 words long. 

Jinsey, “The Boy,” spends the novel trying to understand why people are obsessed with him.  He let a famous photographer take some pictures of him as a teen, and year after year, for reasons incomprehensible to him, the image flourishes.  After a decade of trying to create an image autonomous of The Boy, he finally accepts that no matter what image the media tries to force on him, he is who he is. 

THE BOY was in the top 100 of the premiere amazon.com Break-Through Novel Awards in 2008.  During this competition, a review from Publishers Weekly compared the work to John Irving during his Garp-era and stated, “As a whole, this is a superb novel, populated with lifelike characters who reveal themselves through dialogue and showcasing the potential of the novel as a form of entertaining and artistic expression.” 

My work also appeared periodically with Consent Magazine from Winter 2000 through Fall 2005.  I’ve published with microhorror.com, numerous anthologies and have had artwork published with Eclipse.  I was a speaker at Marcon 2010 and was a content editor briefly with Crimson Frost Publishing in 2013.  I am now a freelance editor.  My current client list includes Michelle Fox.

Many thanks for your time.  I will be happy to send the full manuscript upon your request. 

Rachel Landis

and here I put my address, phone number and e-mail address.

Yeah, I used two paragraphs for the synopsis, but that's because THE BOY actually has an impressive review already attached to it.  This is OK in extreme circumstances.

Listless Questions

OK, I've touched on this before, but apparently I need to go over it again.  I edit a lot of romance, so this one is one of my least favorite “mistakes” in writing.  Romance is polluted with this.  Romance supposedly is working to showcase strong women, but nothing can undermine this faster than a set of listless questions.

Listless questions are evil because:

1. Authors who use them tend to think this is OK to do so ad nauseum.

2. Makes the heroine look weak because she’s constantly wondering what she should do, but it rarely shows her answering the questions or taking the reigns and doing it.

3. They slow down the story because they’re cerebral.  We’re in the character’s head, following their thoughts.  Action is almost always better than thought.

4. Yet another example of the character telling instead of showing.  (Questions are TALKing to/TELLing one’s self.)

I have been told more than once that this is a style and a conscious choice.  I would challenge these authors to be honest with themselves.  Listless questions are a habit.  If one character does it in one story, that’s a style choice.  Story after story after story for ten years?  Spew this mess to another editor.

Dear Author

Dear Author:

You do not have to take all, or even any of my suggestions.  It's your story.

I point out everything, and I mean everything, when I'm reviewing a WIP.  I do not generally put a positive or negative spin, as even the worst writing technique can work in the right scenario.

However, if you're not going to accept my expertise and advice, what's the point of having me read your work?