3 Things to Remember When You Query

As I look up various agents online, I get this strange feeling that I’m playing duck-duck-goose. Here’s an agent that might be suitable – duck. Here’s another one that could work - duck. This one looks like a great match – goose! 

In kindergarten the goose always gave chase. With agents it is much less certain, but you can improve your odds by putting your best foot forward with your query.

 

Here are three things to remember when crafting your query letter. 

Out of All the Others, I Chose You 

Writers approach agents every single day. Some will have done no research beyond finding an e-mail address. These are the people who query an agent who only represents children’s authors for an adult cozy mystery or a thriller. 

Others will have put a bit more effort into it. These are the writers who skim a market listing and see that this agent represents mysteries. They then assume that the agent will want a cozy when she only represents hard-boiled detective stories and police procedurals. 

To demonstrate that you have really and truly done your research, tell the agent why you are approaching them. “I saw on Twitter that you want stories set in 15th century Mongolia.” “Your Manuscript Wish List indicates that you want to see more STEM picture books.” Don’t claim a connection that you don’t have, but do let the agent know why you think they are a good fit. 

How Is Your Manuscript Unique? 

Perhaps even more difficult than showing why you chose the agent is figuring out which information to include about your manuscript. All too often, we resort to the kinds of phrases we hear in movie trailers. “This is a story of one woman’s fight against big government and corporate corruption.” “A fantasy epic to rival Lord of the Rings.” 

That approach just doesn’t work in a query. One problem is that we already have Lord of the Rings. The other problem is that these kinds of statements are too general. 

Instead you need to show what makes your story unique. Your character is struggling to get a toxic waste site downwind from her neighborhood cleaned up, but government regulations and lobbyists stand in the way. That’s much more specific. 

Cut the Clichés 

Since you only have one page for your query letter, it is going to be tempting to use written shortcuts. Be careful when you do this, because it is easy to fall into using clichés and overused phrases. 

What falls into this category? Referring to your nonfiction character as a national treasure. Other worn phrases include sordid underbelly, uphill battle, low-hanging fruit, or a drop in the bucket. 

Keep it short, but keep it meaningful.

Many agents post their query letter preferences online. Explore to see what you can find, then take the time to write a letter that explains why your story is unique and why this agent out of the many you have researched is a good match for your manuscript. Do this and maybe the Goose will give chase!

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of over 27 books for young readers.  To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog, One Writer's Journey.

The next session of her new course, Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work will begin on September 6, 2021).  Coping with rejection is one of the topics she will cover in this course.

Sue is also the instructor for  Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults (next session begins September 6, 2021) and Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults (next session begins September 6, 2021). 

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6 comments Agents, how to query, query letter tips, query letters, Sue Bradford Edwards

Three Traps to Avoid in Your Cover or Query Letter

I’m not going to tell you that writing a query or cover letter is a breeze. But it doesn’t have to be as difficult as we so often make it. We worry about font and headers and our signature and oh so many other things. If we don’t get everything absolutely perfect, we seem to believe, the editor is going to reject our work. 

I wouldn’t use Zapf Wingdings, but I don’t think font is going to be what makes an editor say no. Still there are traps you should avoid in your cover or query letter.  

Getting Too Personal. Often an agent will tell writers to let them know if there is a personal connection. Why are they the right agent for you? Did you meet this person at a conference? Or perhaps you read their Tweet about looking for humorous picture books that feature twins. If you read a Tweet, obviously you follow this person on social media and that’s okay, but don’t get too personal. I once heard an agent say that she was approached by a writer who mentioned where the agent’s children go to school. It only took one observation to go from being a good researcher to being creepy.

The Next Jodi Picoult. When you present your work, some agents ask for comp titles. What books would you compare your book to? It won’t do you any good to say that readers of Jodi Picoult will love your book or your character is the next Harry Potter. Don’t pick the authors or books that have been on the New York Times best seller list and just about everyone can name. Instead show depth of knowledge and that you really know the field. I won’t compare my mystery to the work of Agatha Christie but perhaps I will mention Molly MacRae’s books.

I’m Unpublished. You know the paragraph where you list your publishing credits? If you don’t have any, don’t point it out. Instead, talk about other things that make you the ideal person to write this particular book. It is for fourth and fifth graders and you’ve taught fourth grade for 10 years. It is set in Ancient Mesopotamia and you have a master’s in Biblical archaeology. You won a Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators work-in-progress grant.

A cover or query letter is your first opportunity to connect with an agent or editor. Avoiding these three traps (and Zapf Wingdings) will help you make a good impression.

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of over 25 books for young readers.  To find out more about her writing, visit her blog, One Writer's Journey.  Sue is also the instructor for  Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults. The next session begins  May 4th, 2020. 

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3 comments cover letter mistakes, cover letter tips, query letter tips, query mistakes, Sue Bradford Edwards

5 Tips for Submitting Your Work: Help From an Editor

I'm a writer, as you all know. But I'm also an editor for WOW!, High Hill Press, and my freelance business. Because of this editing experience, I've learned a lot about submitting writing work, from both sides. So here are my 5 tips to follow when you're ready to submit a manuscript to a magazine, publisher, or literary agency.

1. Research the publisher, publication, or agency.  Usually, I get queries from writers who have visited the High Hill Press website and researched which editor to send their manuscript to. That's the thing. No longer do you have to guess what a magazine or literary agency is looking for. Most likely, you can find information on a website or blog, on Amazon or Indiebound.org, that tells you what types of books or stories this place is looking for and has published in the past. You can also use the online archives or "Look Inside" feature on Amazon to read samples. 

2. Know something about the editor/agent. This takes number one another step further. Most editors and agents have either a blog, website, Twitter account, Facebook page, or Goodreads account, where you can find out more information about this person (including how to spell his or her name) than you ever could before. If you're writing a dystopian horror young adult novel, and you love a certain editor, you can Google his name, see if he has ever worked on something like this or wants to, with a 30-minute research session. But you should not contact an editor or an agent through these sites to pitch your work! You can interact with writing professionals on these sites as a writing professional--that's it (unless they invite you otherwise). 

3. Learn how to write a query letter. This tip probably should have been number one, but first you need a list of places to send your work (number 1 and 2), and then you need to write a proper query letter. Honestly, sometimes, I'll open a query letter for High Hill Press, and I have no idea what the story is about when I finish reading the query. I'm not tough either--I give everyone a chance (this is the writer in me). Query letters have three paragraphs: a hook, a basic plot summary (including genre & word count), and your bio paragraph or why you are the one to write this book. THAT IS IT! Take the time to write a good query and get it critiqued by writers you know. Then send it out. Go to this link for help: http://www.agentquery.com/writer_hq.aspx

4. Know your own work. You know your work. You've been sweating over it for years now. But do you know how to describe your book in two to three sentences that make someone want to read it? Well, you need to. This is the hook. This is what goes in that first paragraph I was talking about in number 3 above. When someone asks you, "What's your book about?", this is the answer. For example, here's the answer for my book, Caught Between Two Curses, when I'm now asked what it's about: "It's about a 17-year-old teenager living in Chicago whose boyfriend is pressuring her to have sex. She thinks this is her biggest problem until her uncle falls into a coma because of a curse on her family. This curse is connected to the Curse of the Billy Goat on the Chicago Cubs, and she's the key to breaking both curses." 

 

5. Know your strengths and weaknesses. As a writer, you probably know that you're fantastic at dialogue but need help with sensory details in your description. But what about your strengths and weaknesses at pitching your work? Even if you decide to self-publish, you have to know how to sell your work to others. So, what are you good at? What do you need help with? How can you get this help? For example, I'm terrible at writing a query letter for my own work (I know that's ironic, right?). But it's a weakness, so I always write one and have my critique group help me with it as well as enter any free query contests. But a strength of mine is grammar and editing, and so I know my manuscript is pretty close to perfect in that area (my critique group has seen it too), and so is my query letter and synopsis. Don't assume you're good at everything or bad at everything--you aren't. Get help where you need it, and help other writers with your strengths.

I hope these tips are helpful. If you have another to add or an experience to tell us about, please do! We learn from each other. 

Besides an editor, Margo L. Dill is also a children's author and writing instructor, both online and in-person. This fall for WOW!, she is teaching a class that helps writers figure out their career in writing for children from their personal goals to submitting their work. Find out more about this class (which starts on September 3) and others in the WOW! classroom.

photo by Pink Sherbert Photography (www.flickr.com)

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3 comments basic query ideas, High Hill Press, Margo L. Dill, persistence in submitting writing, query letter tips, submission process

The Great Book Synopsis Dilemma

Surely, one of these books would have an example of the perfect book synopsis!

I swear sometimes if it weren’t for grant applications and writing conference deadlines, I wouldn’t push myself to complete tasks related to selling my fiction. I know it sounds crazy. When you’ve poured your heart and soul into creating the perfect story and spent countless hours revising, you should want to complete any and all steps necessary to make sure your book gets noticed. Right?

Wrong.

The problem is, for me at least, developing a story idea is enjoyable. Trying to come up with an elevator speech and one-page query letter or synopsis? Not so fun. For me, personally, I think I struggle with the mere thought of condensing the gist of an entire book into one or two pages.

This past weekend, I was preparing pages for an upcoming manuscript query I’ve paid for at an upcoming SCBWI Conference. Polishing up the first ten pages for submission? Easy Peasy. Writing a one-page synopsis on said submission? Not so easy for some reason. My voice of reason husband kept repeating the same phrase over and over(“You need to come up with a positioning statement for the book!")to which I simply growled and laid my head upon my desk. I couldn’t figure out if I should lean more toward writing something that sounded like book jacket copy or a straightforward condensed synopsis of the book. Finally, I ended up with a combination of both that I think worked pretty well.

I found this great post by Jane Friedman on the basics of writing a synopsis. Of course, I found it after I already sent my submission off, but those are the breaks. I feel like I probably didn't explain all my characters and their conflicts as well as I could have but in this case, I had a limited word count. A few months ago I had to write a synopsis of a middle-grade novel I'm working on and was able to summarize each chapter of the book, which helped me tremendously.

I wanted to share my story with everyone here as validation that this is something many writers struggle with. Yes or no? Is it crazy that I stress out about query letters and book synopses? Am I overthinking the process? Is it foolish for me to spend time thumbing through books on the writing craft trying to find the perfect example of what I’m looking for? Help!

Renee Roberson is an award-winning freelance writer who loves to blog about books, movies, music, celebrity gossip and writing at Renee's Pages.

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4 comments Book synopsis, query letter tips, Renee Roberson, SCBWI, writing deadlines, writing dilemmas