Let's work on those queries

I think it is time again to give you all a quick reminder of the appropriate query letter. Really, this isn’t rocket science but a poorly done query is the easiest way to being rejected. I need to also add that in no way is an excellent query letter going to land you a contract. It will potentially provide you the chance to send a full instead of a partial to that editor or agent, but it will not land you that contract. Sorry to break it to you.

 

First off, a query letter is a business letter. It is that cover letter you attach with your resume when you apply for a job. The rules are in no way different! I should also note that even with an e-query, the rules will still apply so you can’t go and try to find a loop hole here either.

 

THE HEADING Although this might seem insignificant, it is still one of the first things we see when we open that letter or email. Make sure that the name is accurate, spelled correctly and has the appropriate title. If the editor is an Executive Editor, make sure to use that title. They have earned it and they deserve it. Make sure the address is also correct. Although it is in the envelope, it is just one more of those areas that can get you. I am really stressing this point because many of you draft one letter and think it will work for everyone. Now, while the body of the query might stay the same, too often, writers will screw up and use that blanket query letter and forget to change the information for who it is going to. This is a bit embarrassing when you submit to Erika Tsang and you still have it addressed to Kate Duffy. Woops.

 

THE BODY We are talking three paragraphs here. No rambling, no personal information, no “witty” comments to make it look like you are a fun person to work with. It has to be professional.

The first paragraph, (I will have to say that many people have slightly different opinions here but it won’t be off by much) should contain the basics. This would include the high concept, the title, the word count, and the genre. I know in queries that come across my desk, I value that information early on. I am logging your information into my database and that is the first part of the material I include before I even decide on seeing more or not.

 

The second paragraph should give us a sense of the characters and the conflict. This is not meant to be vague and mysterious. Save that for the cover flap information. Now understand I am not talking about the theme of the story because that simply doesn’t us anything. In other words, “this is a tale of epic love lost in a sea of turmoil and strife.” Huh? Get to the point. Give us the hero, give us the heroine, give us the conflict.

 

THE UNIQUENESS AND THE CONCLUSION So this part can come in one or two paragraphs, depending on what you have. Give the editor something in the final stages of the letter to show why you are so cool and why we need to not only read your manuscript, but sign you immediately. If you can, provide an author that this might be similar to, but make sure that you A) don’t set your sights too high and claim to be an equal to that ultimate writer; and B) have a comparison that really works. Telling me that your writing is similar to Jennifer Cruise and Kresley Cole. When you do this, the only thing running through my mind is Bob’s song from Sesame Street… one of these things is not like the other…

 

In this section, it is also important to show us in some way that you are a forward thinking writing. Do you have additional works. Where do you see yourself being in 5 years and such.

 

CONTACT INFORMATION This may seem silly but please remember to provide us accurate contact information including your name. If you write under a pseudonym, that’s fine, but make sure to provide us your real name as well.

 

THE WORDING Just a few things here and these are in no particular order. Please don’t use first person plural hero. “Our hero…” Hey, it isn’t my heroine. This letter needs to be neutral. This is not a time to be funny. This makes you look like a jerk. Don’t be overly cocky. Hey, unless you are a multi-million dollar writer, you don’t get to act like a diva. No personal information. Don’t degrade yourself – show confidence.

 

Again, this is just meant to be a reminder. I don’t know how many times I read a query letter and never even want to pick up the manuscript and look at it. The person simply turned me off from the beginning.

 

O.K. Have a great weekend! I have opening night tomorrow of Midsummer Night’s Dream so I might not be checking in. Remember also for all of you northwest writers, if you are in the area this weekend and next, and you want to pitch your story to me, catch me after the show. Bring the pitch package of the synopsis, first three chapters and a SASE with you in one folder and we can chat after the show. You can get more information about the show at www.manestagetheatre.com

 

 

 

 

Scott C. Eagan

 

 

What do you want? Make it known.

This one is really going out to all of the published (or soon to be) authors, however, I do think a lot of this extends to all of the writers out there.

I hear a lot of time, either sitting at conferences, or reading on line, about authors that are frustrated when things simply did not go as they had planned, or that they simply wondered why they didn't get something. In many cases, this is not a matter of an editor or agent playing favorites, or someone not doign their job; it is, in many cases a simple case of lack of communication between two people.

As a writer, it is important that you keep that line of communication open between you and your editor and you and your agent. Have a concern? Express it. Have an idea? Express it.

I talked to one writer at a conference and she was complaining about her latest book cover. She hated it. There was simply nothing right about it down to the characters that had wrong hair color and in outfits that didn't even match the period she was setting the story. Did she tell anyone? No. Not her agent, not her editor. But she was given the chance to do so. In the end, this was a big mistake.

How about if your editor frequently comes out with an anthology and you are wondering why you aren't in the anthology? Did you tell anyone? Does your agent know that you have an interest in this so that he or she can push for it with the editor?

You have to understand editors and agents are not mind readers. We have to assume things are fine if you say nothing, or even worse, if we ask you something and you tell us it is all fine, just because you either don't want to hurt someone's feelings or that you feel it might make someone angry. THe worse they can say is no, but if you do it politely and professionally, there should be no problems.

Scott

A Word on Word Count - Blog - Caren Johnson Literary Agency

A Word on Word Count - Blog - Caren Johnson Literary Agency: "A Word on Word Count
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 4:39PM Caren Estesen Share Article 1 Comment

I've been noticing a trend with the recent queries coming to my inbox. The average length for manuscripts seems to hover around 115,000 words (I'm not including a few people who've said their word counts are 150,000 words or higher; at that point I'm just not going to consider the book unless the idea is really spectacular). Longer books have been a growing trend for a while now and while I'm a huge fan of books like Twilight, Harry Potter and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, not every story needs or should be told in 100,000+ word formats.

There are certain categories that feature longer books and an editor doesn't bat an eye if I say it's on the long side (anything over 110,000). These are typically women's fiction and commercial fiction. However, genre fiction (at least in romance and mystery) and YA doesn't do as well for me in longer formats if I can't justify the length. I think the reason for the eyebrow raise is healthy skepticism on the part of the editor as they wonder if the story is going to have a saggy middle or tons of beautifully descriptive passages that do nothing to move the novel forward. I've learned to do the same eyebrow raise when I'm taking on new authors. Is this something I'm going to have to spend six months (rather than six weeks) working with the author on to get that story tight and that arch just right? I find myself gravitating towards the shorter stuff, not because it's necessarily better, but because the author exercised some restraint and that's harder to do.

Now there are definitely longer books out there and I'm not suggesting that authors need to follow an arbitrary word count for their books. But the days of selling a great idea and having an editor work on it with you to shape it into a fabulous book are long gone. Agents don't have that kind of time either (at least I don't). So while you may have the urge to write long, you have to make sure that your book is as perfect as it can be. This may be easier to do with a standard sized book rather than a supersized one and that can be a factor in your road to publication.

The Information Is There and There Are No Exceptions

It must be something in the air. There has to be.

 

I should warn you, this is a rant, but at the same level, it is designed to not simply let me vent, but to continue to guide people down the pathway toward publishing.

 

Over the last several weeks, I have seen an increasing trend toward people submitting manuscripts to Greyhaus Literary Agency that fall into two categories. Either they are submitting stories that don’t fit what I am looking for, or do so and then reply after receiving a rejection that they believed their writing was somehow different. In the past, I used to receive something like this, maybe once a month. But lately, I am talking about submissions that are numbering up to 10 a day. I can’t take it anymore!

 

Let’s start with submitting stories that don’t fit the house or agent. This really is an easy one, but yes, it does take work on your part. Your life is even easier with the rise of internet presence of the editors and agent. It is up to you to get out there and research exactly what the individual is looking for. This means going to their website. READ. Yes, you have to READ and READ all of the information. It is there! I honestly think that some writers are simply clicking on some email link out there for the agent you are looking for, and submitting without reading anything. It has to be. Why else would I have people submit cookbooks, biographies, how-to books and children’s books to me when the information is right there on the website. REPRESENTING ROMANCE AND WOMEN’S FICTION. This does not mean that I specialize in that, but look at anything else. It means what it says. To add to this, there is information both posted directly on the website and in a “How To Submit” folder that walks a writer through all of the steps and the exact things I need.

 

But wait, there’s more, and this is the one that is really confusing me. Editors and agents do have guidelines as well for word count. At Greyhaus Literary Agency, it clearly states 75,000 words. This is also found on the submission guideline page and even more explicitly on the ONLINE SUBMISSION FORM. And still, I have people using the form, who have to enter their word count in a box, next to the space that says a story has to be 75,000 words with word counts as low as 20,000. Arrrgggghhhh!!!!!! I even had someone this last week insert in their query how sites such as St. Martins and Ballantine don’t have word counts so it must mean they are open to everything. Huh? These are single title houses.

 

And then there are those that seem to think their writing is the exception. This one floors me but here is the scenario. Someone submits a story that is not the genre I represent, such as a historical non-fiction story about their grandmother. I reply back that this is not what I want, and yet, they still reply to that. The comment I get is, “I did go to your website and saw that you only represented romance and women’s fiction, but I assumed you would be so blown away by my story that you would open your mind and expand your horizons.” What? This is like going to a Chinese restaurant and ordering Mexican food because you felt the restaurant should expand their line. Hey people, we won’t do it.

 

Here’s another one. I had someone Tweet me about 2 weeks ago wondering how they were to submit a project to me. O.K. so the first question I had running through my head is why not research that person and not rely on a Tweet, but I will skip that part. I told the person to check out the website (which I did give in the Re-Tweet). I told this person that if they felt their project was something I was looking for, then they should submit. They did and they used the Online Form…

 

They submitted a non-fiction story about their recent missionary trip…

And they marketed it as a Contemporary…

 

Huh?

 

O.K. I understand it has to be contemporary since it happened in the last several years, but I am really missing the rest of it.

 

Editors get the same thing. Many single title houses clearly state that stories can not be submitted without an agent. I just went to the Random House Publishing site and found how to submit to them. It took me 30 seconds to do this and here is the direct quote:

 

How do I submit my manuscript to Random House?
Like most big publishers, Random House only accepts manuscripts submitted by an agent--the volume of materials we receive is just too large to accept unsolicited submissions.

 

So, does this mean you can still submit to them without an agent? Um, no! I don’t care if you think your story is the next Great American Novel, so don’t! And if you do, please don’t run around and tell everyone your book is in consideration at Random House, or that you received a rejection from them. If you get any response, you are dang lucky.

 

Now, I will admit that there are some agents out there that are really vague in terms of what they acquire. In my case, I try not to be, but yes, there are those that it is a bit confusing. In those cases, you have to dig deeper. Ask questions. Email them and ask if they represent your genre. If they don’t then you are done with them. Deal with it and move on. And yes, if you find that no one will take your 20,000 word manuscript on Chinese History and the use of hot peppers, then maybe this is telling you something about your book!

 

O.K. I think I can go get a cup of coffee now.

 

Scott C. Eagan

 

 

Blogging Today

Will be guest blogging today at the South Carolina Writers Workshop Blog site. Come on by and say hi!

Forced Writing

One of the comments I find myself making time and time again with submissions deals with a forced story. I thought that I would take the time today to briefly talk about what I meant by that comment.

 

Essentially, when I see a story that appears to be forced, it deals with numerous issues including the fluency of the story, the language and certainly the storyline. It isn’t always one thing or another, but the general tone of the story is one that seems to struggle off the page instead of simply falling into my lap. Remember that you want the reader to really whiz through your story. Not rushing it per se, but just wanting the story to keep moving and not wanting to stop reading. A story that is forced, however, is one that takes more concentration to read, and one that really stops and starts.

 

Let’s deal with the fluency and language. When we deal with this issue, the easiest way to describe it would be how well the story wants to be read out loud. There is a musical nature to things. The adverbs and adjectives the reader uses are natural and ones that the everyday person would be dealing with. I see this one more than anything in romance novels. Sometimes a writers has worked so hard for that “perfect” word to describe a color of a dress that in the end, it hurt the flow of the story. Look, why not just call it a purple dress. Now, I am not saying to dumb the story down, but keep in mind, how does the story sound when read aloud. Of course there is the other side of this. Sometimes writers have struggled so hard to get those words to sound “magical” off the page that it becomes almost arrogant and egotistical. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of contemporary poets describing the metaphors in their poem about their pet gold fish Spike. Don’t go overboard.

 

The final area deals with the forcing of characters. I think many writers struggle so hard to find a “great conflict” for a story that they put together characters who both would never get together, but come off as cartoonish. I had a story submitted to me several years ago about a heroine similar to Paris Hilton who is a) walking down a dark NY Street by herself at nighttime; b) stops to talk to a homeless person; and c) falls in love with this guy for who he is as a homeless person. Now, is this a story that really deals with people? Sure. We always find relationships built around complete opposites and yes, we do want to see people appreciated for who they are and not what they look like. BUT… a) Someone like a Paris Hilton is not likely to be going anywhere without a limo and a posse; 2) helping someone like this would not be personal, but would likely be a check; and c) those two getting together? Heck, if that is the case, I might have a chance with some of those movie stars. The key is, don’t force the story just to create action and just to get a story. Find something natural.

 

I have tried to say this before, but I would rather have a great simple story without all of the complications of extensive plots than a story with no depth but a lot of action. Think BEFORE SUNRISE here and you get the idea.

 

Off to have a simpler day.

 

Scott C. Eagan

 

 

Guest Blogging at South Carolina Writers Workshop

Will be guest blogging here tomorrow. Come on by and have a chat!

 

http://southcarolinawritersworkshop.blogspot.com/

 

 

Scott C. Eagan