Thank the Shark for this one...

Agent, Janet Reid (AKA: Query Shark), had a post today with notes on her upcoming Writer's Digest Conference (tomorrow). I think they are worth repeating. I thought I knew everything there was to know, but she had a couple of tips that hadn't stuck out to me before. So, here you go... 

Janet: "I'm slated to attend the Writers Digest Conference tomorrow, Saturday, 1/22/11 here in NYC. I'll be on the agents panel in the morning (and trying to keep a civil tongue in my head since I'm sure someone will be live-tweeting!)



In the afternoon I'm leading a workshop on Effective Query Letters. Here's what I'm going to say:

1. Electronic queries are the norm. Pay attention to the DIFFERENCE in format required in e-queries:

a. Address NOT at top


b. Importance of a subject line


c. No cc; no bcc; no "Dear Agent"


2. Single biggest problem in queries is they do not convey what the book is about.


How to fix: Circle EVERY verb in your query letter. Strike out all forms of AM, BE, WAS. What's left? Are they words that convey choice? Conflict? Stakes? If NOT, you'll want to revise


3. Don't waste words or space. Focus on the book. Everything else is secondary.

4. Never apologize for being new. Never apologize for sending me a query. Never apologize for not knowing something. You are not a beggar. Treat yourself and your work with the respect you deserve.



I'm also going to talk about how to pitch when you meet agents face to face, as conference attendees will on Saturday afternoon.

How to Pitch:

1. Don't be afraid. The only agent who will actually eat you is chaperoned, and been warned to behave herself.

2. Tell me three things up front:


a. The novel is finished.


b. the word count is X


c. What category you think it best fits (TWO words at the most here)


3. Tell me the main characters name (if you have a sweeping family saga, or a high fantasy with a gazillion characters pick the main character who appears FIRST in the book), and what choice or decision s/he must make. This takes no more than 25 words.



Then stop talking.



The agent will ask you questions.


You answer them. Keep your answer brief.



DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES do the following:


1. say "let me give you the backstory" or "you need to know this" Focus on the choice the character makes and what happens on page one.

2. Memorize and recite your pitch


3. close your eyes and recite your pitch


4. Don't ramble. Keep your answers short. This is a conversation, not a lecture.


5. Panic. All agents except that sharkly one who is being chaperoned for your protection are very nice people who are glad to see you. Smile and say hello.


I promise, it's just that easy.


If you havn't visited Janet's Query Shark blog, and you are nearing or ready to work on your query, check it out! She has a list of do's and don'ts that are very helpful and you can even submit your query to her for 'critique' before submitting them to the agents on your list. Follow the guidelines, though, because it's hard to get onto her list. You must be very very polished and even then she tears into your query like, well, a shark =).

Note: she doesn't take YA manuscripts for herself, as an agent, but will critique YA MSs.

Query Letters. AAAAAH!

So after, what? A million year haitus from the web, I am finally back. Yes, here I am. Still alive and kicking, somehow.

I've finished the, whatever, 10th (?) revision/editing of my book, WHAT THE WORLD FORGOT. Now it is on to the query...I hope. And this part, seriously, if it doesn't scare you out of your pants and make you lose bodily functions of some kind, then you are probably dead. And that's okay, you can star in your own Vampiress sitcom or play a background zombie in the next Halloween movie. But I don't talk to zombies or vampires, they are just too scary...like query letters. So, to the rest of you out there struggling just like me, I am talking to you.

I find that the best way to get rid of the 'Query Blues' is to be prepared. Now, that may not stop you from popping tranquilizer pills every four hours, but it will help you write a better query. I for one have a plan.

After researching query after query, advice columns, books, and watching as other query letters are being torn apart, eaten, and digested by people who 'know', I decided what helped me more than reading a bunch of notsogreat ones, was to find letters that actually worked, that landed an agent. Just like reading published books in your genre helps you to write a better novel, I think reading query, good query letters helps, too. Now I know these are hard to find, but they're out there. Type 'Query Letter' into google and you'll find 'em.

One of the best places I have looked was Nathan Bransford's site. He has a few great queries posted there and tells you how and why they work for him. Not only is this post (and his other posts about query writing) insightful, but they are just gosh darn entertaining! Mr. Bransford cracks me up! I could read anything he writes all day long.

Now, other than being inspired by others, you really should know what goes into a query letter. I personally have written about a million of these. All very different. Each time you write one you find different ways of expressing your story, and the shorter you make this, the better. I remember in the old days when I wrote a few, thought they were great because I read the instruction manual and that seemed to be good enough. Now, I got a few people ask for fulls from me, but I think I could have done better. I never found representation (which is good because my book really sucked at that point)

So, do this with me peeps. Practice practice practice...then practice some more, read good queries and then let that baby go in hopes that it will land a superb agent.

Right...

Now I just need to take my own advice... =)

read, study, read, study, write, read, study, read, study, write ... repeat...