The Right Fork

At some point in childhood or life, you progress from the kid table to the grownup table. You go to your first fancy event where you are presented with fingerbowls with floating lemon slices . . . and a plethora of forks.

For me, living in Bermuda and then traveling in Europe as a child, my parents made sure I had a basic fork education by first grade. They were very clear about the forks. Start on the outside, move your way in. Don't try to "keep" the fork for the next course--that's why you've got so many of them.

But in the end, you learn if you absent-mindedly "keep" a fork, the entire banquet is not going to erupt into a an explosion of pointing. You will not be banished.

So it goes with the query. I see a lot of "shoulds," and I've even seen discussion about this one agent who loathes the "Thank you for your time" closing. But I generally regard it as simply . . . learn the fork basics, but don't worry too horribly if you accidentally keep a fork. You're not dooming yourself. The basics--moving out to in--are have a hook, do your homework, make sure you get the fundamental information across like genre and main characters and plot. Then move out of the way and hope you get to eat at the grownup table.

Beyond that, like so much of publishing, there's actually a giant craps game going on in a small room adjacent to the banquet hall. So don't lose sleep over forks.

Thoughts? Care to share the opening line of your pitch for feedback?