For those readers of this blog looking for advice on how to write a query letter, you can do no better than to soak in the wisdom you've received this week from my fellow Girls. All of it is apt, spot-on and well worth listening to.
Me? I've never written a query letter that sold me a book. Seriously.
WONDROUS STRANGE was sold sans query. So - really - what the heck do I know about writing a query letter??
Well... I knew enough to write the one that got me an agent, and that was the most important thing. And the most important thing in that query, I know (largely because my agent has told me this), was my voice.
If there is one thing - one salient piece of advice I can add to the discussion - it is this. Your query must must must reflect your voice. Some people will tell you a query letter is a business letter and so it is. But it's also your art in small. You must make it reflect the work it represents - tonally, thematically, presentationally... somehow. It can never be just "here's what my story is about". For example, Maureen's letter oozes her voice - it's full of quirky, irreverent humor with heart. And even though Jillian talks of her query letter being pretty-bare bones, well, you still get a powerful sense of her precise, poetic way with words. Even just a few words.
My feeling about queries is, quite simply, the same way I feel about story. You can have the most intricate, intriguing, finely-wrought plot in the world but unless it's being populated by characters worth getting to know, I'm not going to care. Same thing with querying - you can have a really great premise for a story but unless you let me in on how your going to tell it, I'm not going to care.
Make an agent - or an editor - care. Make your query speak. Give it your voice.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Query Letters: Not My Thing
Unlike the rest of The Novel Girls, I hated writing query letters. In fact, I think I was terrible at it. It’s probably one of the reasons that it took me such a long time to get an agent. My first attempts at a query letter followed all the advice that Tracy and Maureen offered, but somehow I could never manage to get it right. The letter was nearly a page long – too long, I think, to really hold an agent’s interest, because I hardly got any good responses back. Then I read an article about query letters, and it talked about how they should be as short and to-the-point as possible. I think the article was in an old edition of The Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market. There was a short sample letter in there, too, and, still feeling entirely lost at query writing, I decided to copy the format exactly.
I started off with a short one-sentence paragraph that said that I was a fiction writer and that I had recently completed my novel, Even to the Edge (the original title of The September Sisters).
Then I had a short paragraph explaining my credentials – Here I listed that I had an MFA from The University of Arizona and also that I was a writing teacher. I also mentioned a big national fellowship I’d won, and I included a quote from the editor of The Atlantic Monthly. He once called my writing “awfully good” in a rejection letter for a short story I’d sent him. Though I included the quote, I of course, left out the fact that it was from a rejection letter!
Next I had a short, four-sentence description of the book, which read like this: “Even to the Edge is the coming of age story of Abigail Reed. Two months before her thirteenth birthday, her younger sister disappears in the middle of the night. Her mother and father retreat into their own private worlds, and Abigail is forced to face the missing space of her sister and growing up on her own. As her family world begins to fall apart, she strikes up an unlikely relationship with her neighbor's grandson, an eccentric boy, who like Abigail, is floundering in the world.”
And then I ended with another one-sentence paragraph that simply read: “If you are interested, I would be happy to send you the manuscript.”
Short, to the point, not that exciting. Looking at it now, I know I could've done a better job describing the book, but I have to say that with this letter I got A LOT of agent responses. Nearly every agent I sent this query to asked for at least a partial of the manuscript.
And speaking of trying to find an agent – here’s a funny story. A few weeks ago, I got a rejection letter from an agent for The September Sisters – in response to a copy of the manuscript I’d sent out in the summer of 2006 (a few months before I signed with my agent). Talk about a slow response time! I posted the letter on my personal blog and blogged more about it there. But I have to say, it was the first time a rejection ever made me laugh!
I started off with a short one-sentence paragraph that said that I was a fiction writer and that I had recently completed my novel, Even to the Edge (the original title of The September Sisters).
Then I had a short paragraph explaining my credentials – Here I listed that I had an MFA from The University of Arizona and also that I was a writing teacher. I also mentioned a big national fellowship I’d won, and I included a quote from the editor of The Atlantic Monthly. He once called my writing “awfully good” in a rejection letter for a short story I’d sent him. Though I included the quote, I of course, left out the fact that it was from a rejection letter!
Next I had a short, four-sentence description of the book, which read like this: “Even to the Edge is the coming of age story of Abigail Reed. Two months before her thirteenth birthday, her younger sister disappears in the middle of the night. Her mother and father retreat into their own private worlds, and Abigail is forced to face the missing space of her sister and growing up on her own. As her family world begins to fall apart, she strikes up an unlikely relationship with her neighbor's grandson, an eccentric boy, who like Abigail, is floundering in the world.”
And then I ended with another one-sentence paragraph that simply read: “If you are interested, I would be happy to send you the manuscript.”
Short, to the point, not that exciting. Looking at it now, I know I could've done a better job describing the book, but I have to say that with this letter I got A LOT of agent responses. Nearly every agent I sent this query to asked for at least a partial of the manuscript.
And speaking of trying to find an agent – here’s a funny story. A few weeks ago, I got a rejection letter from an agent for The September Sisters – in response to a copy of the manuscript I’d sent out in the summer of 2006 (a few months before I signed with my agent). Talk about a slow response time! I posted the letter on my personal blog and blogged more about it there. But I have to say, it was the first time a rejection ever made me laugh!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Query Letters: Not So Bad
I woke up this morning thinking it was Wednesday. And in my sleep-haze, was like, "What did I write about yesterday on the Novel Girls?" And then I panicked because I thought I missed writing about one of my favorite topics: Query Letters.
To some writers, that last sentence might be like saying, "I LOVE when my car breaks down!" or "Paying my credit card bill is the BEST!"
But, no. Seriously. I really like writing query letters. To me, there's something so satisfying in seeing my book--the piece I cried, laughed and screamed expletives at--summarized in a few paragraphs. It's like the cake is already baked, and I'm just writing down the recipe.
So let's get into the real meat of a query. Typically, the formula is this:
Dear Agent (Use real name here. And address it Mr./Mrs./Ms. With the fabulous invention that is the internet you can easily find out if someone is a man or woman.)
Opening Paragraph--brief. Can open with a hook or just state the word count/genre/book title. Like, in a sentence and stuff.
Hook Paragraph(s)--get into the real meat of your story. You don't have to give everything away, but make it interesting. Your query is like a commercial for your book. Make someone go, "Oooh! I want to read this!" One thing I found helpful was to look at back cover copy on published books. Your hook should read the same way. Or, just go to Amazon or another online retailer and read the summary copy posted. This section is usually 1-2 paragraphs.
End Paragraph--This is where you put any credentials, if you have them. Contest wins, other works published, etc. It's OK if you don't have any credentials. I certainly didn't. Trust me, creds aren't going to make or break your query.
And that's it! Now, there are two important things to keep in mind. The first is to write your query in the voice of your book. If your book is funny, your query shouldn't read like toaster oven instructions. The second is to follow the submission guidelines. Agents get so many queries a day, they're LOOKING for a reason (any reason at all) to say "No." Don't let an oversight like not pasting the first 10 pages of the book or whatever be the reason!
I'm someone who learns best by example, so I thought it would be fun if I posted the query that landed my agent. She's used it in a few query workshops at conferences. Here it is in all its 2007 Fabulousness, complete with original title:
Was It Planned?, 80,000 words and commercial women’s fiction, examines what happens when an unplanned pregnancy uproots a newly-married couple and their very obese, drag-queen cat.
When twenty-seven-year-old event planner and famous blogger/Internet Rockstar Clare Finnegan married her long-term boyfriend Jake, she didn’t mind moving out of the city. After all, a suburban existence didn’t necessarily equal domesticity, book club parties and a subscription to Martha Stewart Living. But, after a boozy weekend in Vegas, Clare discovers she’s pregnant and is thrown into a world where her paycheck goes directly to daycare and eating lunchmeat is equivalent to smoking crack.
During her transition from beer bottles to baby bottles, Clare juggles her two feuding best friends: Julie, an overweight nurse with trailer park roots who thinks she’s a cast member of Sex and the City and Reese, an affluent, stay-at-home mom who is quickly discovering why suburban women are the fastest growing category of drug users. Not to mention her teenage sister, whose reaction to the pregnancy is, “Your life is, like, over now. Have fun buying high-waisted Mom Jeans.”
Despite her initial shock, Clare welcomes the new changes but still ponders questions such as: “What the hell is a Diaper Genie?”; “What if I accidentally leave the baby somewhere inappropriate, like a Victoria’s Secret dressing room?”; “Why do most maternity clothes look like they were molested by a Bedazzler?”; and “How can I possibly have a child when all of my furniture is made of cardboard and from IKEA?”
Was It Planned? is my first novel. I’m twenty-seven and reside in Chicago with my husband. Ironically enough, shortly after completing this novel, I became pregnant and my first child is due this August.
Thank you for your time.
Good luck and may the Querying Force be with you!
To some writers, that last sentence might be like saying, "I LOVE when my car breaks down!" or "Paying my credit card bill is the BEST!"
But, no. Seriously. I really like writing query letters. To me, there's something so satisfying in seeing my book--the piece I cried, laughed and screamed expletives at--summarized in a few paragraphs. It's like the cake is already baked, and I'm just writing down the recipe.
So let's get into the real meat of a query. Typically, the formula is this:
Dear Agent (Use real name here. And address it Mr./Mrs./Ms. With the fabulous invention that is the internet you can easily find out if someone is a man or woman.)
Opening Paragraph--brief. Can open with a hook or just state the word count/genre/book title. Like, in a sentence and stuff.
Hook Paragraph(s)--get into the real meat of your story. You don't have to give everything away, but make it interesting. Your query is like a commercial for your book. Make someone go, "Oooh! I want to read this!" One thing I found helpful was to look at back cover copy on published books. Your hook should read the same way. Or, just go to Amazon or another online retailer and read the summary copy posted. This section is usually 1-2 paragraphs.
End Paragraph--This is where you put any credentials, if you have them. Contest wins, other works published, etc. It's OK if you don't have any credentials. I certainly didn't. Trust me, creds aren't going to make or break your query.
And that's it! Now, there are two important things to keep in mind. The first is to write your query in the voice of your book. If your book is funny, your query shouldn't read like toaster oven instructions. The second is to follow the submission guidelines. Agents get so many queries a day, they're LOOKING for a reason (any reason at all) to say "No." Don't let an oversight like not pasting the first 10 pages of the book or whatever be the reason!
I'm someone who learns best by example, so I thought it would be fun if I posted the query that landed my agent. She's used it in a few query workshops at conferences. Here it is in all its 2007 Fabulousness, complete with original title:
Was It Planned?, 80,000 words and commercial women’s fiction, examines what happens when an unplanned pregnancy uproots a newly-married couple and their very obese, drag-queen cat.
When twenty-seven-year-old event planner and famous blogger/Internet Rockstar Clare Finnegan married her long-term boyfriend Jake, she didn’t mind moving out of the city. After all, a suburban existence didn’t necessarily equal domesticity, book club parties and a subscription to Martha Stewart Living. But, after a boozy weekend in Vegas, Clare discovers she’s pregnant and is thrown into a world where her paycheck goes directly to daycare and eating lunchmeat is equivalent to smoking crack.
During her transition from beer bottles to baby bottles, Clare juggles her two feuding best friends: Julie, an overweight nurse with trailer park roots who thinks she’s a cast member of Sex and the City and Reese, an affluent, stay-at-home mom who is quickly discovering why suburban women are the fastest growing category of drug users. Not to mention her teenage sister, whose reaction to the pregnancy is, “Your life is, like, over now. Have fun buying high-waisted Mom Jeans.”
Despite her initial shock, Clare welcomes the new changes but still ponders questions such as: “What the hell is a Diaper Genie?”; “What if I accidentally leave the baby somewhere inappropriate, like a Victoria’s Secret dressing room?”; “Why do most maternity clothes look like they were molested by a Bedazzler?”; and “How can I possibly have a child when all of my furniture is made of cardboard and from IKEA?”
Was It Planned? is my first novel. I’m twenty-seven and reside in Chicago with my husband. Ironically enough, shortly after completing this novel, I became pregnant and my first child is due this August.
Thank you for your time.
Good luck and may the Querying Force be with you!
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Anatomy of a Query Letter
Wow, I almost forgot I had to post today! With family visiting over the weekend, I hadn't even fully realized it was Monday. But with this week's subject being one of my favorites, I'm glad I remembered it was my day!
Query letters, for those not in the know, are what writers use to hopefully gain the attention of an agent or an editor. I'm only going to talk about fiction query letters in this post, because I've never written a query for a non-fiction book or proposal. So, with that in mind, think of a query letter as an advertisement for yourself, but more importantly, for your novel.
Query letters should be short (no more than one page in length), to the point, but still give the reader a clue about your voice, the story itself, and some other basic information. While there are lots of different thoughts on how to create a query letter, I'm going to share the way I've always written them. That doesn't mean my way is the right way, but it is what I'm familiar with. :)
First impressions matter! Your first contact with a literary agent or editor will likely be your query letter. The letter should be single spaced, double spaced between paragraphs, in standard business letter format, one inch margins, and a readable 12 point font. Here’s what your query letter should contain:
1. Put your snail mail address, email address, and phone number(s) at the top of the page, followed by the date, and then the agent/editor’s name and address. If you are unsure of gender, skip the “Mr.” or “Miss / Mrs. / Ms.” and simply write “Dear FirstName Last Name.”
2. The first paragraph should include why you are querying this particular agent/editor, the title of your novel, the approximate word count, and the genre of your manuscript.
3. The second paragraph should be your hook, which is a one sentence generalization of your novel. Think high concept.
4. The third paragraph should expand on your hook, giving a little more information about conflict, motivation, characters, and the purpose of the story. If necessary, you can use two paragraphs to do this, but it shouldn’t be any longer.
5. The fourth paragraph should be a short bio, including prior publishing history (if any), contest finals/wins (if any), if you’re a member of any writing organizations, and any other pertinent information. Think short and sweet!
6. The last paragraph is your concluding paragraph. State that you can send the partial or the full upon request. If you’re including a synopsis or sample pages with your query letter (only do this if the submission guidelines stipulate so), mention this here as well. If you’re enclosing a SASE, this can also be here.
7. Close the letter with “Sincerely,” your typed name, and then your signature.
If you're emailing your query letter, then obviously, you won't be including a SASE, and you shouldn't attach pages or the synopsis unless the agent or editor states that attachements are okay. Instead, just copy and paste them into the body of the email.
Other than that, that's it! Again, the most important thing to remember is to follow the submission guidelines for who you're submitting to. Beyond that, just keep it simple!
Query letters, for those not in the know, are what writers use to hopefully gain the attention of an agent or an editor. I'm only going to talk about fiction query letters in this post, because I've never written a query for a non-fiction book or proposal. So, with that in mind, think of a query letter as an advertisement for yourself, but more importantly, for your novel.
Query letters should be short (no more than one page in length), to the point, but still give the reader a clue about your voice, the story itself, and some other basic information. While there are lots of different thoughts on how to create a query letter, I'm going to share the way I've always written them. That doesn't mean my way is the right way, but it is what I'm familiar with. :)
First impressions matter! Your first contact with a literary agent or editor will likely be your query letter. The letter should be single spaced, double spaced between paragraphs, in standard business letter format, one inch margins, and a readable 12 point font. Here’s what your query letter should contain:
1. Put your snail mail address, email address, and phone number(s) at the top of the page, followed by the date, and then the agent/editor’s name and address. If you are unsure of gender, skip the “Mr.” or “Miss / Mrs. / Ms.” and simply write “Dear FirstName Last Name.”
2. The first paragraph should include why you are querying this particular agent/editor, the title of your novel, the approximate word count, and the genre of your manuscript.
3. The second paragraph should be your hook, which is a one sentence generalization of your novel. Think high concept.
4. The third paragraph should expand on your hook, giving a little more information about conflict, motivation, characters, and the purpose of the story. If necessary, you can use two paragraphs to do this, but it shouldn’t be any longer.
5. The fourth paragraph should be a short bio, including prior publishing history (if any), contest finals/wins (if any), if you’re a member of any writing organizations, and any other pertinent information. Think short and sweet!
6. The last paragraph is your concluding paragraph. State that you can send the partial or the full upon request. If you’re including a synopsis or sample pages with your query letter (only do this if the submission guidelines stipulate so), mention this here as well. If you’re enclosing a SASE, this can also be here.
7. Close the letter with “Sincerely,” your typed name, and then your signature.
If you're emailing your query letter, then obviously, you won't be including a SASE, and you shouldn't attach pages or the synopsis unless the agent or editor states that attachements are okay. Instead, just copy and paste them into the body of the email.
Other than that, that's it! Again, the most important thing to remember is to follow the submission guidelines for who you're submitting to. Beyond that, just keep it simple!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Friends and family...
...are wonderful things, but they can really throw one's schedule out of whack!
Thus - apologies to readers and my fellow Novel Girls, alike, for my disappearing act yesterday - this Girl Friday had Good Friday off and, as a consequence, spent the day in a series of lovely get-togethers which left me nowhere near a computer!
So I thought I'd drop in for a quick post today to make up for it.
I have to admit, it was kind of a luxurious feeling. Slightly naughty, even! It was like I was playing hooky or something! I've been so very busy lately (who among us hasn't?!) that I had almost forgotten what it was like to just kick back and spend hours having lunch with people I haven't seen in ages. And then to follow it up with a evening of - well - kicking back and spending hours having dinner with an entirely different group of people I haven't seen in ages!
That, to me, is the best part of holidays - pretty much any holiday. They're defined by the people you get to spend them with. Most of my own family is out west and so I don't get to see them nearly as often as I would like but it was awfully nice to catch up with people who do actually live near me.
Especially on a day like yesterday where it seemed like the seasons had finally agreed to turn and this most reluctant Spring decided to tie on a festive crocus-bedecked bonnet and flounce around in a sunshine-drenched frock. Which is how an Easter weekend should behave if you ask me!
Have a happy one, everybody!
(Of course, if I still had any lingering doubts that it was, indeed, Spring - they will no doubt be put to rest tonight. When I will watch the Leafs play their last game of the season because they didn't make the playoffs... again. Next season, fellas, I promise - I won't mind if Spring seems to come along a touch late!)
Thus - apologies to readers and my fellow Novel Girls, alike, for my disappearing act yesterday - this Girl Friday had Good Friday off and, as a consequence, spent the day in a series of lovely get-togethers which left me nowhere near a computer!
So I thought I'd drop in for a quick post today to make up for it.
I have to admit, it was kind of a luxurious feeling. Slightly naughty, even! It was like I was playing hooky or something! I've been so very busy lately (who among us hasn't?!) that I had almost forgotten what it was like to just kick back and spend hours having lunch with people I haven't seen in ages. And then to follow it up with a evening of - well - kicking back and spending hours having dinner with an entirely different group of people I haven't seen in ages!
That, to me, is the best part of holidays - pretty much any holiday. They're defined by the people you get to spend them with. Most of my own family is out west and so I don't get to see them nearly as often as I would like but it was awfully nice to catch up with people who do actually live near me.
Especially on a day like yesterday where it seemed like the seasons had finally agreed to turn and this most reluctant Spring decided to tie on a festive crocus-bedecked bonnet and flounce around in a sunshine-drenched frock. Which is how an Easter weekend should behave if you ask me!
Have a happy one, everybody!
(Of course, if I still had any lingering doubts that it was, indeed, Spring - they will no doubt be put to rest tonight. When I will watch the Leafs play their last game of the season because they didn't make the playoffs... again. Next season, fellas, I promise - I won't mind if Spring seems to come along a touch late!)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Hunting for Matzoh
As I kid, I always found myself really jealous of my Christian friends over Easter weekend. They got to decorate eggs, have egg hunts, and get Easter baskets filled with candy. I remember walking through the department stores, seeing all the pretty Easter dresses on display and wanting one so badly for myself. Passover always felt, to me, like the Jewish “Easter equivalent” (because it’s around the same time of year), but as a kid, I felt like I was missing out.
Every year for Passover we went to a sedar at my parents’ friends house. (I saw it as a dinner without bread and with the always-disgusting gelatinous gefilte fish, and I hated having to go.) But after the Hebrew and the Passover rituals and the dinner, there was one part of the night that I remember as fun. Before we arrived for dinner, the people hosting the dinner would hide the Afikoman, which was basically a piece of Matzoh wrapped up in a towel. Then, after dinner, all the kids would turn the house upside down searching for it. Whoever found the Afikoman would get a prize. I know there is probably some religious significance to this, but at this point in my life, I couldn’t tell you exactly what it is.
But finding the Afikoman is what all the kids lived for on Passover. As soon as we arrived for the sedar, we would start plotting out where to look, and announce who was calling dibs on which rooms or which hiding spots. Sadly, I only won once. My sister, on the other hand, became the world-reknowned Afikoman champion, winning almost every year.
Okay, okay. So maybe we didn’t get to frolic out in the fresh spring air in our pretty flowered dresses, putting delicate pastel eggs in a basket. But we did, at least, manage to have our own fun, scouring the house for a piece of Matzoh.
Every year for Passover we went to a sedar at my parents’ friends house. (I saw it as a dinner without bread and with the always-disgusting gelatinous gefilte fish, and I hated having to go.) But after the Hebrew and the Passover rituals and the dinner, there was one part of the night that I remember as fun. Before we arrived for dinner, the people hosting the dinner would hide the Afikoman, which was basically a piece of Matzoh wrapped up in a towel. Then, after dinner, all the kids would turn the house upside down searching for it. Whoever found the Afikoman would get a prize. I know there is probably some religious significance to this, but at this point in my life, I couldn’t tell you exactly what it is.
But finding the Afikoman is what all the kids lived for on Passover. As soon as we arrived for the sedar, we would start plotting out where to look, and announce who was calling dibs on which rooms or which hiding spots. Sadly, I only won once. My sister, on the other hand, became the world-reknowned Afikoman champion, winning almost every year.
Okay, okay. So maybe we didn’t get to frolic out in the fresh spring air in our pretty flowered dresses, putting delicate pastel eggs in a basket. But we did, at least, manage to have our own fun, scouring the house for a piece of Matzoh.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Love = Loss = Love
Snowball 1996-2009
I lost my kitty cat yesterday.
She was nearly 13 and I had forgotten how hard it is to lose a pet. I have cried, even whaled over losing her. I loved her deeply. As I age something becomes ever so clear. If a person loves deeply, they hurt deeply. Loss is gut-wrenching, be it over a person or a pet. We have relationships with our pets. They become our family.
Easter in my house and my heart is about Love. A Love so great and so perfect that it could only be Divine. When I consider the losses in my life and how devastated they have left me, I am comforted and humbled by a God whom I believe so deeply loves all He created that he sacrificed His only Son to prove it. An act I would not be willing to do for anyone, anytime. No matter how many losses I experience on this earth, none will compare to His loss.
Happy Easter everyone. Halleluiah!
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