Persist and Publish

What the members of P&P are currently reading:

2005

P&P Reading List.htm

Below are various articles and examples to help you with writing your query letters.

Title	Document
Writing a Query Letter	CRAFT_Writing query letter.htm
Writing a Short Synopsis	CRAFT_Writing short synop.htm
Article on Queries	ARTICLE_Nobodys Query.htm
Emailing vs. Snail Mailing Queries	ARTICLE_Emailing Queries.htm
Article on Queries	Query Article.htm
Article - Alex Keegan	Query_Alex Keegan.htm
Article - Crawford Killian	Query_Crawford Killian.htm
Critique of a Query Letter - Jenny Bent	Query_Critique Jenny Bent.htm
Sample Query Letter	Query_Sample_Letter.htm
How to Get an Agent's Attention	ARTICLE_How to Get an Agent.htm
Query Gallery	ARTICLE_QUERY_A RO GALLERY.htm
An Inside Look at a Literary Agent's Life	ARTICLE_Inside Look Agent.htm
Carol's Querying Tips	Carols Querying Tips.htm

By following these simple but effective suggestions, you can greatly improve your chances of publication.  Many editors will not even read the first paragraph of a manuscript that doesn't meet these requirements:

1. Use at least 12-point font.  Any smaller size fonts will strain the eyes of editors, causing them to focus more on thier need to squint than on the quality of writing in front of them.
2. Pay attention to spelling and grammar.  It may seem like old advice, but it is amazing how many manuscripts, query letters, and e-mails still have a plethora of misspellings and incorrect grammar.  Remember: spell checking and grammar cchecking computer programs do not always catch every error.
3. Limit your query letter to one page.  It may seem difficult, but that's because it is.  Spend a good amount of time on the query.  This letter will make the most lasting first impression on the editor if done correctly  (or worse, if it is done incorrectly).
4. Use heavy paper.  Twenty-pound stock works great for manuscripts and query letters.  For an editor, a flimsy piece of paper can often represent a flimsy manuscript or query.  Heavy paper is often easier to handle than lighter paper as well, which benefits the editor if he or she accepts your manuscript.
5. Double space your manuscripts.  For the same reason that editors prefer larger fonts, they also prefer double-spaced manuscripts.  For one thing, it is easier to read.  Second, it is easiery to make notes with the added space.
6. Make sure your manuscript covers the right subject for the right editor.  Publishing houses are often very specialized.  They make a good business by knowing their clients. 
   

It irks me when I see books and workshops with that title because there is NO ONE PERFECT QUERY.

There's the best pitch for YOUR novel, unique to your novel, and beyond that, there's the best way to pitch YOUR NOVEL TO THIS PARTICULAR AGENT.

I've done some unconventional things in my queries. As Rebecca pointed out in one of her posts, it must get pretty boring for agents to see the same business letter query over and over. So far, everyone of my queries has been different both in the way I've pitched it and how I try to appeal to the particular agency. For instance, I posted before how I opened my letter to one agent with the opening paragraph of my novel. That may have caused a moment of confusion. i didn't put it in quotes or anything, just started off with "Mama got my name..." The agent probably thought I was talking about myself at first. i hope she figured out before she got to the next paragraph that said "That's the opening.." that it was in fact the opening. Most of the books will tell you not to try anything like this, but it worked for that one time. I'm not suggesting that you write wierd letters, just that you really think about how can I sell this novel to this agent. I used the one paragraph opening because the agent wanted query letters only, nothing else and it was the only way to show her my writing. I've seen some books that say to send a page from the novel even if they ask for just a query letter, but I was able to work it out with the paragraph.

Here's a couple of things I think we need to think about when writing our queries in addition to the usual--telling briefly what the novel and the main conflict is as well as who the main character is. We need to convey a sense of excitement about our novel. If we aren't excited about it, why should anyone else be? That needs to come across some how. I stole a line from Amy Rennert that I am using in most of my queries--This is a novel that matters and then I give the statistics about kids raised by grandparents (I know that's not usually the way to pitch fiction) and then I give some information about my own personal experience and why it makes me someone who should write this novel.

The other thing is we need to convey why we feel this agent is the best one to represent our novel. This can range from--and I've used all of these--

"By the way, I loved Maisie Dobbs."

"I enjoyed reading the interview Michael Neff did with you."

"I am impressed with your agency’s success handling literary novels and hope you will consider representing The Sun Cut Flat."

I'm debating whether to use the lyrics to the Bob Dylan song that The Sun Cut Flat comes from in the opening in my letter to Joe Regal. It may be a bit over the top, but what has me thinking about it is the fact that before becoming an agent, he was a musician.

I think we have to look carefully at why we are sending to this particular agent, why we feel she/he may be able to do a good job with our particular book and we need to convey that.

Just some of my thoughts on this tedious and time consuming process.

Carol

Posted by Carol on Wednesday, 9 March 2005, at 8:03 a.m.

Here is a discussion from the P&P Group on the Story Worthy Question, that came up during our Pitch Week.

The Story Worthy Question