The Query
Ahhh, the query letter. A source of panic for many a writer.
Just because I've sold doesn't mean I've kissed the query letter good-bye either. My agent always asks me to write a pithy sales paragraph for new proposals because I know my stuff best. He tweaks it or may reject it outright and tell me to try a different angle, but he and I collaborate on the pitch--and it's very much like a query letter.
Having spent many years reading other people's queries when I worked in publishing, I learned which ones made me pay attention and which ones made me aim for the circular file.
Here is my do's and don'ts list.
DON'T. I may be in the minority here, because often books on writing will tell you to compare yourself to a famous writer or a popular book. "If you loved The Da Vinci Code then you will love My Great American Novel." This is only wise if your book can truly stand up to the comparison you've chosen to make. Most of the time the ones I've read can't. Think about it . . . you have now prepared the agent to open your package and curl up to a book that is just as good as one of the most successful novels of all time. I think it's great to be enthused about your book, but it's a risk that I have yet to see pay off.
DO . . . Better tactic? "I know you represent Author A, whose work I think is very funny. My chick lit novel also features a witty heroine, but Kate finds herself in over her head when she is hired to train a monkey for the circus. She globetrots to London with the monkey and finds herself embroiled in a murder scandal featuring the royal family. Hilarity ensues." Whatever. You get the idea. A milder comparison. Also shows you did your homework and know the agent represents work similar to yours.
DON'T. Please do not tell the agent or editor that your mom loves the book. While this seem like obvious advice, you would be shocked at how many writers will say, "My reading group of four fellow writers thinks the book has enormous potential." Um . . . four is not some magical number. They're your friends. They're supposed to think you have potential. I also know most of my agent and editor pals in NYC don't pay attention to small contests. I know it feels good to win one, but with one or two exceptions (such as the Golden Heart through the RWA), most agent know contests are often a small pool of entrants. It doesn't mean don't enter them . . . and I know (so please don't post angry comments) that sometimes a contest is judged by a really great editor--so definitely enter those. But listing a contest win of a tiny chapter of a writing organization in a town no one has ever heard of . . . is not really what will sell your work. And remember, you want your query to fit on one page--so each line and sentence counts!
DO. But go ahead and tell the agent if you have workshopped the manuscript with a well-known writing teacher, an MFA program, or something along those lines. My agent is always impressed by good MFA programs.
DON'T. Please don't say your book is difficult to describe. Don't say it doesn't fit into any genre. It is the most unique book ever written. Any of that. The bottom line is if YOU can't pitch it in 50 words or less, you can't expect an agent to.
DO. Hone your elevator pitch. That pithy pitch that will make an agent pay attention. Focus on the character--what makes them unique. Get some of the voice in there if you can. Focus on the central "wow" factor of your plot. Avoid discussion of themes . . . too esoteric for a query. People should be able to read the book and figure out the themes.
DON'T. Please don't tell the agent or editor that you are God's gift to writing. I can't tell you the astounding number of times I have read claims of such jaw-dropping arrogance. Maybe most of you reading this have moments of insecurity, but there are writers out there suffering from grandiose delusions. I read one that claimed he was "the next Steinbeck." And oh my God but he was not.
Okay, so that's my "off the top of my head" post on queries. Feel free to post your pitch if you want . . . or ask questions . . . or share thoughts.
Peace,
E
Just because I've sold doesn't mean I've kissed the query letter good-bye either. My agent always asks me to write a pithy sales paragraph for new proposals because I know my stuff best. He tweaks it or may reject it outright and tell me to try a different angle, but he and I collaborate on the pitch--and it's very much like a query letter.
Having spent many years reading other people's queries when I worked in publishing, I learned which ones made me pay attention and which ones made me aim for the circular file.
Here is my do's and don'ts list.
DON'T. I may be in the minority here, because often books on writing will tell you to compare yourself to a famous writer or a popular book. "If you loved The Da Vinci Code then you will love My Great American Novel." This is only wise if your book can truly stand up to the comparison you've chosen to make. Most of the time the ones I've read can't. Think about it . . . you have now prepared the agent to open your package and curl up to a book that is just as good as one of the most successful novels of all time. I think it's great to be enthused about your book, but it's a risk that I have yet to see pay off.
DO . . . Better tactic? "I know you represent Author A, whose work I think is very funny. My chick lit novel also features a witty heroine, but Kate finds herself in over her head when she is hired to train a monkey for the circus. She globetrots to London with the monkey and finds herself embroiled in a murder scandal featuring the royal family. Hilarity ensues." Whatever. You get the idea. A milder comparison. Also shows you did your homework and know the agent represents work similar to yours.
DON'T. Please do not tell the agent or editor that your mom loves the book. While this seem like obvious advice, you would be shocked at how many writers will say, "My reading group of four fellow writers thinks the book has enormous potential." Um . . . four is not some magical number. They're your friends. They're supposed to think you have potential. I also know most of my agent and editor pals in NYC don't pay attention to small contests. I know it feels good to win one, but with one or two exceptions (such as the Golden Heart through the RWA), most agent know contests are often a small pool of entrants. It doesn't mean don't enter them . . . and I know (so please don't post angry comments) that sometimes a contest is judged by a really great editor--so definitely enter those. But listing a contest win of a tiny chapter of a writing organization in a town no one has ever heard of . . . is not really what will sell your work. And remember, you want your query to fit on one page--so each line and sentence counts!
DO. But go ahead and tell the agent if you have workshopped the manuscript with a well-known writing teacher, an MFA program, or something along those lines. My agent is always impressed by good MFA programs.
DON'T. Please don't say your book is difficult to describe. Don't say it doesn't fit into any genre. It is the most unique book ever written. Any of that. The bottom line is if YOU can't pitch it in 50 words or less, you can't expect an agent to.
DO. Hone your elevator pitch. That pithy pitch that will make an agent pay attention. Focus on the character--what makes them unique. Get some of the voice in there if you can. Focus on the central "wow" factor of your plot. Avoid discussion of themes . . . too esoteric for a query. People should be able to read the book and figure out the themes.
DON'T. Please don't tell the agent or editor that you are God's gift to writing. I can't tell you the astounding number of times I have read claims of such jaw-dropping arrogance. Maybe most of you reading this have moments of insecurity, but there are writers out there suffering from grandiose delusions. I read one that claimed he was "the next Steinbeck." And oh my God but he was not.
Okay, so that's my "off the top of my head" post on queries. Feel free to post your pitch if you want . . . or ask questions . . . or share thoughts.
Peace,
E
Labels: query letters
posted by Erica Orloff at 9:11 AM
12 Comments:
AWESOME!!! Copying it down for later when I start to write these things.
I would post a pitch, but I am so far from being ready for that.
But awesome advice again... and again... and again.
I have to write the blurb for my pseudonym's stuff. Sometimes it feels like it takes me as long to write the blurb as it does to write a novella, no exaggeration. I have it way too easy when it comes to pitching, so I'm gonna be way over my head there, too. That's okay. New thing to learn!
So how much longer?
Oopsy, I mean, how much longer until you announce your new news?
ewoh:
Well, I took your advice to post some practical writing things . . . See? I listen. LOL!
E
Hi Spy:
Contracts supposedly going out this week. I never like to jinx it until I see it in B & W.
:-)
E
Spy:
And I usually have my blurb right off the bat. Somehow, it helps me remember why the heck I am writing the thing. LOL!
E
Great post, Erica!
Another no-no in querying, I think, is to make apologies. This is only my first novel, and I know it seems to start slow, but...
Your work should be its absolute best, and something you're fairly confident (but not cocky) about, before you start querying it. IMHO.
This is a hip (hook in progress) of my wip. Like Erica, I think it's nice to have a blurb as I write.
The son of man will send out his angels, and they will weed out
of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.
--Matthew 13:41
For obvious reasons of national security, you will rarely see The President of The United States and his Vice President together in public.
But, one bright August afternoon, during an election year, Air Force One and Air Force Two land at a U.S. Naval Air Station and taxi to designated spots on the tarmac. Our nation’s top leaders share a podium, briefly, to address the men and women in uniform.
Dozens of personnel are on high alert. Secret service snipers are positioned on rooftops, and military police have blocked all roads leading to and from the base. Security is, to say the least, tight.
But maybe not tight enough.
A powerful religious cult, with members in all walks of life, believes the Catholic Church is the Antichrist.
One of the cult members is a Naval pilot, scheduled to lead a formation of fighter jets in a flyby salute, and is willing to sacrifice his own life in what will look like a horrible accident.
One of the cult members is Speaker of the House, first in line for The Presidency, and--after a rapid-fire series of fabricated terrorist attacks against the U.S.--will wage war against The Vatican.
In a campaign he thinks will undoubtedly lead to the Armageddon prophesied in The Book of Revelations, the leader of this cult, a billionaire televangelist named Lucius Stone, will pave the way for the return of Christ.
Only one man, Amstel Blake, a young IRS Criminal Investigations agent, can stop all this from happening. Is he suffering from delusions, or is he really on to something?
Harvest Angels.
The only thing at stake is the world.
Jude:
Good luck with the book . . . . I think making something like that plausible is a sizable challenge, and that's the "magic" of writing.
E
This post has been removed by the author.
Thanks, Erica. I need all the luck I can get. :)
You know, the more I read my blurb...
I think I need to do some heavy revising on it, because it's really not honest to the book I'm writing. The book is much more about the characters involved, and not the actual assassination attempt. The cult's activities are more in the background, offstage, something of a catalyst, and I think I was just trying for a little too much Hollywood with that blurb.
I'll work on it. :)
"Somehow, it helps me remember why the heck I am writing the thing."
LOL, that's probably why I have to start over and read my story from the beginning, every other day! I really should try that next time.
spy:
Reading a paragraph--an exciting pitch--WOULD be shorter than reading the whole thing--LOL. But sometimes I start from the beginning, too!!!
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