The Writer's Alphabet - Q is for Query

Of course, Q is for query.  It has to be.  I know.  I know.  The word "query" is the single word that makes writers shake their fists, scream in fury and slam closed their laptops, tears streaming from their face.  Okay, maybe it's just me, but queries are freakin' HARD!  And if you review what there is on the internet on the subject, you'd still be reading a week from next Wednesday.  Let's just say there is a lot out there.  Every agent, editor and publisher have an opinion on what the best way to shape one is and if you try to adopt every suggestion, your query will be muddled, massive, and frantic.  The best way to create one is to study everything you can.....and then follow your own heart.

However, if that sounds crazy, its because it is. I think I have found a good way and I'll share it with you here.  It is by no means the only way, so take what you think might work for you and go from there.  Borrowing heavily from my seminar entitled Queries and Loglines and Blurbs, Oh My, this is my take on a query.

WHAT IS A QUERY?

A query is, very simply, a single page letter to an agent, an editor, a publisher, a magazine, etc., that introduces you and your book to the recipient.

There are many formulas that have worked: this is mine.


Break the query into four paragraphs:

• The Intro
• The Hook
• The Mini-Synopsis
• The Bio

In The Intro, you want to start with why you have chosen this particular agent/publisher/editor to query.  Is there a personal connection?  Same college?  Same town?  Have you read that he/she has asked for more middle grade/fantasy/techno-geek stories with animals and yours is exactly that?  Or have you met or heard them speak at a conference.  Make the first line as personal a connection as you can.

The Hook is harder.  You want to capture the agent's attention, not bore her to death with details.  Grab him from your first words by proving you are writing about something he has never seen before.  Some of the best hooks I have written and read are one simple line.  As an example, my most recent release is The Deadlies and this is the hook:  At Holly Hills Academy, being rich and pretty can be deadly. The Hook also very often becomes your logline, which also helps birth your pitch.  We'll go into both of those in an upcoming blog.

So, back to the mechanics of the query. With The Mini-Synopsis, you want to tell the main story arc of your novel about the main protagonist without giving away the farm.  Remember two key points here:  Agents love white space and brevity is key.  White space means don't have cluttered, crowded paragraphs.  And be as precise and tight as you can.  If you can say what you need in 20 words, you can do it in 10.  Focus on the journey of your main protag.  You may have an amazing subplot, but when it comes to the query, subplots need not apply.  Too many names, too many storylines, and you are too cluttered and clunky. Sleek and succinct is the name of the game.  Edit, edit, edit, and trim the fat.  Make that agent not be able to LIVE if they don't get their hands on your manuscript.  Force that full request because you teased so convincingly.

Finally, The Bio is about you and one fact: why YOU are the perfect person to have written your story.  You don't even have to have street cred or anything published at this point.  If you aren't yet published, tell the agent about how you are committed to your passion.  Attending conferences?  Belong to a writer's or critique group?  This is where that information can help.

Last but not least, for your closing, two rules are steadfast. ALWAYS thank the agent for their time, and ALWAYS mention that your completed manuscript is available on request.  This proves you have a fully-written book, and also that your Momma raised you right.  Both critically important to an agent and generally, in life.

Queries and Loglines and Blurbs, Oh My! - Series Part Four: What the Heck is a Logline, Anyway?

The first time I went to a writer's conference, my head literally swum with all the buzz words being bandied about.  At the time, my first book, Spellbound, was a much-handled manuscript, and two others were as well.  It wasn't even a series book yet, a single standalone title.  (See how much I didn't know back then?).

Anyway, I sat in on different workshops and found myself writing down all these words and catch phrases to look up later.  Two I heard often, after I'd figured out "Query", was loglines and taglines.  Elevator pitch came up as well.  I nodded sagely every time I heard one, then rushed to a corner to google the damn thing.  Even then, I thought the two were interchangeable, called something different maybe by different areas, like an East Coast-West Coast thing.  So not the case.

So, in Part Four of this series, I want to dispel the rumors and misinformation.  They are not the same.  I know.  I was shocked too.  Then, embarrassed when I realized how many times I had misused the terms.  Here are the proper Webster definitions:

Tagline:   

Web definitions

A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising.

Logline:

Web definitions

The story in one active sentence, focusing on the concept, main character and main conflict. Ideally in 25 words or less..

My Take: Tagline:  You know how Amazon used to ask you to choose specific words to describe your books?  Well, your publisher will still do this.  These are the "tags" or words that will call up your book every time someone puts them in an internet search.  Words such as YA, paranormal, witch, first love, and supernatural are all tag words that describe my first novel, Spellbound.  And here's a HUGE tip: those tag words should appear in the description of your book in your query. See how everything is annoyingly related?  The good news is if you master one concept, you can master all. The tag words integrate into the logline, which becomes part of your query from which you develop your blurb. If you are new to the publishing industry, you will hastily learn that these processes are almost the only way a new novel from a new novelist, gets published for the first time.  If you have been in the industry for awhile, you now know that these things are a necessary evil.  Either way, you have to get your head around them. Practice explaining your book to yourself in the mirror.  What words are you punching?  What words are you missing?  Oftentimes, a compelling logline will actually appear on the very cover of your book.  That was the case with my latest, The Deadlies.  My logline:                   At Holly Hills Academy, being rich and pretty can be deadly. My publisher printed it right on the cover!  Man, I better love it and be passionate about it.  Happily, I am!  And the first line of my query AND blurb just expanded on the idea:                   When Calliope Flood catches the unwanted attention of the prettiest and most privileged girls at her new school, she learns they are possessed of more than just good ole’ Southern charm; they are also possessed by the demons of the Seven Deadly Sins.  From the tagline "rich and pretty" is echoed in the blurb with "prettiest and most privileged", and the deadly part is expanded upon with the idea of being possessed by the seven deadly sins. So, here are my steadfast rules for Loglines: Give the main character an epithet: vengeful divorcee, struggling aspiring writer, etc. Identify your main character's mission and what he stands to lose if he fails Brainstorm words and phrases that conjure up your personal idea of your book Pick 25-30 that sound the most compelling and right NOW, pick 5-8 of those that sound even better Fashion a tight, 25-word pitch.  THAT is your logline. Okay!  Now get loggin'!

New Query is Out In The World!

As of today I have sent out six new queries for my third novel, The Ghost and the Guys.  I'm not sure about the title but I am sure that this novel is written so much differently from my first.  It's shorter and therefore I feel that it is tighter.  I know 35k words might seem lacking in some respects, but I read a query letter to Kristin Nelson with less words.  The tightness and general flow of my story led me to a logical conclusion.  If I stuffed more words in there for the sake only of the word count, I wouldn't be true to the story.

I chose my first six agents very carefully.  For one thing, I have something in common with all of them; a love of a certain band or artist, where they have lived or were educated, something that made them special to me.  I read on Nicholas Spark's site he did the same thing.  He chose agents based on personal reasons.  I made sure they represent my genre, however, the Young Adult and Middle Grade market.  Further, they all respond in a super reasonable period of time.  Some in less than a week.  That would be good since the conference is looming and I want to stump for The Ghost and the Guys while I'm there.  I'll take Spellbound, since it is like my firstborn, but "Ghost" is where I hope to get my break.

So, I'll sign off and hope to hear from the agents soon.  I'm perfectly ready to send off six fulls if requested! (cue dream sequence).