What A Query Means To Me..

Monday, January 3, 2011
Let's face it people, writing query letters, is a grueling part of the writing industry. Some excel at it, others don't.

In my opinion, query's are your gateway into the literary world. And this is why...

A query letter is a publisher's/literary agents first impression of your writing talent and capabilities. This is your opportunity to show them what you're really made of. When writing myself, in the past, sometimes I'd re-write my query several times before hitting that send button. You want to make sure your query is in the utmost perfection before it is being read by your peers.

What I'd like to see in query's:

I want to be wowed. Make me want to read your book. Not in the sense of YOU believe that your book is better than everyone else's( speaking from an author's POV we all believe that about our manuscript's.) You don't need to tell me how fabulous your book is. If it's fabulous, your work will stand out on it's own.

Also, make sure your query is flawless. What do I mean by that? Free of all mis-spellings, typo's, and grammatical errors.

I promised myself along time ago that I would never be one of THOSE writers/literary agents. What do I mean by that? I mean that I will never not help anyone. If anyone needs help with a query or an answer to any question, I will provide the best answer possible.

I know that ficton writing is a subjective business, but I've been YOU. I've spent hours upon hours working on my manuscripts, query's, and everything else that comes with this business.

Good Luck with all of your writing endeavors!

Cheers!

3 comments:

  1. Sarah said...:

    It's easy to get caught up in all the advice about what a query should and shouldn't be. There's so much information online and it seems like each agent prefers something a little different.

    As I worked on my first query drafts, I think I lost sight of what you wrote here. "Make me want to read your book." In the end, isn't that what it is about? Making the reader want to know more?

    And.... draft eighty-two!

    :)

  1. Lola7384 said...:

    What I should of said was: Show me, don't tell me.. Don't tell me in the query that your book is great.

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