The first thing to do in writing a query is to…not write the query yet. Give it some incubation time.
Rather than jumping into your query, take your time to force yourself to define–really define–the project.
Queries
How Not to Query an Agent
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
You know how you have a bad feeling before you even open an email? Last week I felt obligated to click on an emailed query even though I suspected reading the missive would be a waste …
Forget the Query Stage
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Last week, at the Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference, I was blown away by the number of fine writers with high concept books I found among first time attendees. It’s almost like they were secretly laboring in …
The Broken Query System
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Broken things drive me crazy. Just call me the Fix-it Fairy. If something is broken–be it an object, a person, or a system–I have trouble accepting the state of brokenness. I want it fixed.
Last week I …
Query Guidelines
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
It’s been over 100˚for so many days even my brain feels hot. (Next few days? 104˚, 101˚, 100˚, 101˚, 100˚, 104˚, 106˚, 105˚.) In spite of sizzling summer I thought I’d tackle the question of queries again.…
Agent Referrals
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
I am often asked by writers, What is the agent referral? How do I get one? Will it get me past the query? The answer to the last question is yes. Now let’s tackle the first two.…
Ditch the Pitch
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Many of you are preparing for upcoming writer’s conferences. Are you getting stressed about how to pitch your book to editors and agents? I’m going to suggest you ditch the pitch. Read on. . .
More writers …
Quiz Time— How to Get an Agent
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
You expected Janet Grant today, didn’t you? Janet let me have her blogging day so that we could do a two-day quiz. (And you thought you were through with finals forever.)
We’ve often said that members of …
Selling Tools
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
This month is the now famous NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. This is the month many around the world will be focusing on writing a first draft of their novel. I don’t want to pile more …
How Do You know Your Submission is Ready?
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
One of the most difficult things for a writer is to close the file on a book or a proposal and declare it ready. Almost as hard as prying it out of their clenched fingers at a …