QUERY(n) – the letter a hopeful author sends to an agent or editor with the express wish of getting the manuscript off their desk and onto someone else’s publication schedule.
The query is an essential part of the publication process even for Indie Authors, it’s also one of the more misunderstood parts of publishing.
What The Query Is Not:
– a resume
– a summary
– a synopsis
– a snippet
– a tell-all
– a letter of desperate pleading
What The Query Is:
– a short teaser
– a paragraph about genre and length
– a bio if you have one
Nothing more and nothing less.
Let’s go over the parts…
THE BLURB- is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the back-of-book blurb that entices the reader (in this case an agent) to read. If you are an Indie Author you better perfect your blurb writing skills because this is what will make or break you. Authors who go with a press have a professional helping write the blur, indie authors only get one shot with a reader. So learn how to do it right.
Start by looking at blurbs for your genre.
Agent Samantha Rose has already died once…and knows the exact date she’ll die again.
Having taken down a terrorist organization bent on traveling through time to overthrow the government, Sam figured she was done dealing with the unbelievable. Finally out of backwater Alabama, she’s the senior agent in a Florida district, and her life is back on track.
Until a scientist is found dead. And then an eco-terrorist. And then a clone of herself…again.
As the pieces start to fall together, they paint a picture that seems to defy everything we know about time and physics. But the bodies are all too real, and by partnering up with Agent MacKenzie once more, they might just figure out what’s going on. And when.
Del hates Christmas. As a child, she spent too many Decembers on the streets after her parents abandoned her. As an adult, the enforced family focus, the clients who see the holidays as an excuse to get gropey, and the mistletoe her well-meaning colleague Maureen hung over her work desk just seals the deal: December sucks.
If only it could stay Halloween for a couple of months instead. Del loves the excuse to slay monsters, the spooky atmosphere—and of course, the werewolves. Because everyone knows werewolves make the best lovers… Pity they’re not real.
When Maureen conjures up a list of eligible bachelors for the holidays and insists Del take her pick, Del does the only reasonable thing: she lies. And when nosy office Grinch Rafael Kane asks who the lucky fellow is, Del announces it to the whole office: she’s getting a dog.
So now, the first item on Del’s holiday to-do list? Find a dog. Fast. Because if she doesn’t, nothing will protect her from Maureen’s list of Miami bachelor rejects.
A charming, sensual romance for everyone who believes in found families, happily ever after—and werewolves.
Evil Overlord in training? Check.
Successfully hidden the true depths of her powers for four years so no one kills her? Check.
Graduating at the top of her class from the Evil Overlord Academy so she can acquire her castle? …Uncertain. And Mercury loathes uncertainty.
If that smarmy git Deviran beats her for first place, Mercury needs to rethink her plans. Because the Tumul Tuos castle belongs to her. No matter what it takes to convince everyone else.
Comic fantasy for fans of Terry Pratchett that will leave you laughing, crying—and questioning everything you ever thought you knew about ferrets.
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
All of these are 2-3 paragraphs that hint at what happens in the opening chapters of the book.
The blurb doesn’t tell you everything. It doesn’t give away the ending. It sets the tone, names at least the main character, and sets the opening stakes of the book. It’s a teaser, nothing more.
The focus shifts depending on the genre. For SF crime fiction like CONVERGENCE POINT the focus is on the murder. In romance you focus on the relationships. In fantasy you focus on the quest. Your genre dictates word choice and framing. If you don’t know where in the bookstore your book would go, it’s not ready for a query letter. Read books in several genres. Read your book again. Figure out what your target audience looks like and market to the genre they buy in.
If you aren’t sure how a query should read, go to the nearest bookstore and read the backs of all the books in your genre to get the cadence. Then read through the backlog of
QUERY SHARK and see how these things get edited.
THE STATS – Again, fairly self-explanatory. When the agent or editor reads the query and likes the blurb they need to know the genre and length. If you have comp titles, throw those in too.
A good stats paragraph would be something like “ARTIFICIAL CONDITIONS is a science fiction novel complete at 90,000 words that will appeal to fans of Ann Leckie’s ANCILLARY JUSTICE.” That’s all you need.
What the agents are really looking for here is the word count (not the page count). You need to know what’s expected for the genre you are querying in.
500 – 1000 ~ Picture Books
1,000 – 10,000 ~ Short Story
10,000 – 30,000 ~ Novella For Genre Fiction
20,000 – 55,000 ~ Middle Grade
40,000 – 60,000 ~ Upper Middle Grade
55,000 – 80,000 ~ Young Adult
75,000 – 100,000 ~ Standard Genre Fiction (thriller, mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, UF, ect)
85,000 – 120,000 ~ Epic Fantasy
There’s obviously some overlap in word count and readership, but know who wants what.
A ‘zine isn’t looking for a novel, they want your short stories.
A small press putting out a call for novellas wants more than 5,000 words and less than 50,000.
A traditional publisher does not want an epic fantasy that’s 50,000 words, they want double that.
Write the story the way you want to tell it and then send it to the right market for the length.
THE BIO – This is optional for new writers. Go ahead and mention past awards if you have them, writing groups if you belong to a good one that puts on conventions, or anything that will tie into the novel.
“I live in South Florida and have a degrees in literature and computer engineering.”
Once you have publication credits, you can post them, but you really do not need them. Good writing is good writing, published or not.
DO NOT – tell the agent how much your mom loved the book, how you have always dreamed about being a published author, how you know in your heart this will make you a millionaire. None of that matters. This is a business deal, you are selling a book not trying to find a soulmate.
GENERAL ADVICE –
When you write the query keep in mind that a lot of agents are going to read on their phones, grab their interest first, talk about yourself last.
Dear Agent,
BLURB
STATS
BIO
Sincerely,
Your Name
DO:
– double-check the submission guidelines before sending
– have your book finished, edited, and polished before querying
– have a new project to work on
DON’T:
– respond to rejections
– get angry because no one loves your books
– vent in public places about a bad rejection
– pay someone to send a query
– pay anyone to publish your book (in traditional publishing the money goes to the author… do not pay reading fees, editing fees, or publication fees unless you are an indie author)
– query the same book after a rejection
– give up because the book isn’t getting picked up
After that… your best bet is to have a great book. A good query can’t do anything if you’re turning in bad pages. Make sure you run them through a local writers group, past a beta reader, or find an online critique group like CritiqueCircle.com (which is where I started ages ago). You never want to send out a manuscript without someone else reading it first. You need a battle buddy in the query trenches, and you also need someone to look at the book and tell you when you’ve spent sixteen pages too many describing fruit cake.
Other Resources For Querying Authors:
#MSWL – this Twitter hashtag is a good place to find what literary agents are looking for. Don’t respond on Twitter. This is just the catalog you can browse.
Query Tracker – a website for keeping track of queries, agents, and finding out response times. It’s a little dated but mostly accurate.
Manuscript Wish List – a website where you can browse agents. It leans heavily towards newer agents and YA, but it’s an excellent resource overall.
Agent Query – a website that lets you sort agents by genre repped, what kind of query they like, ect – this is my favorite website for agent hunting.
Writer Beware – does something sound fishy? Got a gut feeling the agent asking for your book is more a scam? Check Writer Beware.
