Writing the PERFECT Query Letter

Let's talk today about that darn letter you all hate to write - The Query Letter! I know you all hate it because of the huge uptick I have seen (as well as other editors and agents) of the number of you turning to A.I. written letters. For those of you doing this, let me say that your taking that approach is probably the reason so many of  you are seeing an equal uptick of rejection letters, or more likely, no response from those editor and agents. So, with that in mind, let's talk about that perfect query letter.

FOLLOW THE RULES  I cannot stress this one enough. Do exactly what the editors and agents ask for. If they say to NOT include attachments, then don't. If they say send the first three chapters, do just that. You might feel you are helping them out by doing more, or you want to show them the "really good part of the story" but that approach will get an automatic rejection. If you can't follow the guidelines, you are demonstrating that the odds are, you will not follow the revision letters we send to you.

THE THREE PARTS There are three parts of that query letter and you need to include all of these parts. THE BASICS, THE BOOK, THE BIO

• The Basics include: title, genre, word count, the high concept and why you are contacting that editor or agent. You may include comps to other books, but make sure you explain why (see below under Show Don't Tell. Make sure you know exactly what your genre is. You will also note I am saying word count not pages you have written. 
• The Book is where you are going to tell us a brief summary of the entire novel. We need to know who the characters are, the conflict and the general plot (including the ending). Don't give us something such as "and along the way our character meets quirky characters and faces different obstacles and challenges) Come on. NO DUH!
• The Bio is where you tell us about you THE WRITER. If this is your first book, tell us what else you have planned or in the works. If you have been published in the past, tell us what you wrote, who published it, etc. If this book has won awards, tell us. If this book has been published before give us sales numbers (not reviews).

MAKE IT PERSONAL Make sure that you are talking directly to that individual editor or agent. Know what the like and showcase that. If you met them before, tell them when and where. Show us you have done the research. BTW, here is how we know you are using A.I. "I am pleased to share this story with you because of your extensive background in...[and then you tell us something we don't do].

SHOW DON'T TELL You have been told to do this in your writing so you need to do this here as well. When you talk about comparable book, then don't just give us names, explain why and how your book is similar. When you tell us why your book is a perfect fit for us, then explain why. 

ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL Every letter you write will be different. Do not just write, Dear Agent and then mass send it out to everyone. This connects back to MAKE IT PERSONAL.

Look, the query letter is just the same as a cover letter for your resume. This is where you showcase why you are the best candidate and why your story is the things we have to have. 

#MSWL PART TWO

 Yesterday, I posted about Manuscript Wish Lists. I figured, this is the time for me to post my #MSWL and the #Not my MWSL

#MSWL - YES!

• Category/Series writers - Specifically Harlequin: I am looking to find authors in ALL of the Harlequin lines. This includes:
• New authors who want to write for Harlequin
• Established authors at Harlequin who want to continue there AND explore other areas
• Historical romances set in 1920-1945: These stories need to be romance focused but have the feel of the time. Make sure you know your time.
• Romantic Suspense: Specifically cybercrime and white collar crime
• New Adult romance: I am really looking for stories that the 18-22 generation can relate to. 
• Contemporary Single Title: Stories should be 75K-100K and focus on characters that we would likely have as neighbors or colleagues. No excessive drama and not hyper trope focused.
• Women's Fiction: I want stories of again, characters that we would likely have as neighbors or colleagues. No excessive drama and not hyper trope focused. I want you to think UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN (the book not the movie) if it was fiction. These are stories of learning and understanding the world.
• Multicultural romances where the culture plays an integral part (see below for a twist on this). Think Sandra Cisneros

#MSWL - NO!

• Quit the "Rom Con in the style of Emily Henry" The market is saturated
• No sports romances
• No time travel
• Not a fan of "road trip stories"
• No band romance and followers "In the style of Daisy Jones and the Six.."
• Multicultural stories of drama. I am getting deluged with stories from India
• No Regency, Georgian of Victorian (thank you Bridgerton and Downton Abbey for swamping the market)

And finally, if it is not traditional romance and women's fiction, or items specifically on my NOT list found on my website, then DO NOT SEND IT!

Cruising in the Summer of 2027

 

Hey everyone! I am looking to put together a relax, refresh and writing trip for authors. Working with All About The Memories Travel, we are looking to potentially take a short trip to either Alaska or the West Coast on Princess Cruise Lines in the summer of 2027. 

No details yet. Just looking to see if people would be interested in going. The group will be no more than 20 people. Nothing majorly formal. Just a chance to hang out with other authors.

Send Scott an email at the agency if this sounds like fun and you might be interested. 

What Does #MSWL REALLY mean?

I love these lists. Authors love it when editors and agents start posting on social media their #MSWL. For those of you not in the know, MSWL means Manuscript Wish List. It is a moment when we all decide of what type of projects we are looking for. It is an insight for authors into our heads (which can be pretty chaotic at times). Unfortunately, too many authors are missing the mark when we post. Let's break this down.

First of all, when WE post this, here is what WE mean. This can be broken down into two potential areas. The first would be that dream world we live in. Maybe we just finished reading a stack of submissions that was truly depressing. In the middle of all this reading, we are screaming, "Don't these authors get it?!?!" So we get on the Internet and start screaming about the things we really want (and not the stuff we just read!). For me, I do find that I post in these moments.

The second reason we might post is simply we are finding a hole in our lineup of authors, this is especially true with the editors. Maybe they are finding that they need a few more romantic suspense authors writing about a specific twist. The market seems to be trending that way so let's make an all call and see what is out there. 

Now, here is where the authors are messing up. First they seem to think this is the ONLY thing we are looking for. Nope, it is just a quick highlight of a few things, but it is not limited to this list.

Secondly, a lot of authors seem to think when we post this, it is time to start writing that story. Again, this is a BIG no. When we post, it means we are looking for this NOW not LATER. The market is shifting so fast these days that we simply cannot wait. For you authors, this means, if your story is not done and what we are looking for right now, this is not your opportunity.

Finally, when we say we are looking for a specific type of writing, we are not saying that we want you to somehow "manipulate" your synopsis to make it look like what we want. Your story is what it is. End of story. You cannot simply argue your story is something different. This is the easiest way to get to a rejection.

In the end, pay attention to when we post and if it is right for you, this is your time. If not, don't worry, we will likely post later.

Investing In Your Writing

Learning to be a great author is not only going to take time, it will take a HUGE (and I mean HUGE) investment on your part. There are a few people out there who are inherently amazing when it comes to writing and telling stories. For others, this is a craft you will have to learn. I want you to think of your writing as any other career you want to take on. To be successful, you have to "go to school." Think of it this way... you go to school for 12 years in primary and secondary school. After that, you go to college (or a tech school) to learn your craft. This may be anywhere between 2-7+ years). That is an investment.

I bring this up today because there are a lot of authors out there who seem to think this type of investment is just too much. "Why can't I just write my damn story?" Well the answer is pretty simple. Unless you are one of those inherently amazing authors out there, you will simply not succeed.

So, what is that investment going to look like? In simple terms, you are going to have to invest time, and yes money, to be that great writer. This is not going to happen overnight.

Let's start with those conferences. I know you look at those and think "I would so love to do that but the cost is going to kill me!" Yep! You are right. Look at the expenses:

• Conference fee
• Transportation to and from the conference
• Hotel
• Food
• And maybe time off of work

I know that list is expensive, but it will be worth it. Yes, those hotels are expensive but they have to be to accommodate those great speakers and events. The hotel food is ridiculous when it comes to cost. And don't get us caught up in the discussion of airfare and gas prices.

But how else are you going to get that experience learning from the best and networking with people who can potentially advance your career?

I know some of you are thinking that there are cheaper conferences so why not go to those? Well, the answer is simple. You get what you pay for.

Now that we have the money factor out of the way, let's talk about time. I know some of you are eager to get that first book published immediately. Heck, you are planning on retiring from the income of that first book, right? Probably not. these successful writers you see out there are investing a lot of time. Not only that, they invested a lot of time before that first book was even written. This was not an overnight success story for most. They did not take short cuts. They took their time.

Let me explain it this way. When I was at last year's RWA conference up in Canada, I was sitting with the librarian of the RWA in the lobby. As we looked around the room, we were noting who the successful writers were. They were the writers who did not rush the process. They are consistent and are continually working. The ones we knew would not likely make it were the ones who were sitting by themselves or talking about how they were going to skip out on sessions to visit the local sites. Hmmm? Do you see what I mean?

I am just going to sum it up with a single statement I make over and over again. 

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS.

If you want to be good, invest in your writing, craft and career!

Why Digital First Publishing Might Not Be Your Route...

In the world of publishing, there are ton of ways we can get our book to the readers. One of those is a digital first publishing approach. There are a lot of publishers out there who offer this approach, and it is often VERY easy for a new author to finally get their book published. With that said, today, I want to discuss some reasons why you might not want to go this route.

First of all, I want you to do a little homework activity for me. Go to Amazon (or Barnes and Noble) and go to the digital books section (Kindle reads for example). Once there, find the genre you write and then do a search, sorting from Low to High in terms of prices. Now, study that list of books. What you will find are pages upon pages of books being offered for free, or pennies on the dollar. These authors are hoping that by setting the prices low, they will attract the audience they want, and then from there, will build up their readership.

This is actually an approach a lot of publishers will use to hype of some of their authors. Ahhh, but here is the catch. Did you see how many people are doing this? The list is endless. The point here is simple - you are a new author and you have to find a way to attract the attention of your first book amid all of these other people who are just self-publishing their digital books and flooding the market. This is not easy.

Now, let's go with the other angle and a reason to maybe think otherwise. These publishers can release A LOT of digital books each month. Remember, there is no printing costs here, just a digital file. But here is the problem. Each month, those prior month's books are taken down off of the companies advertising and the new round is up and running. 

So, how does this affect sales? Most digital authors will see a spike in sales during that first release. After that, sales tank horribly. And why is this? Out of sight, out of mind. Unless you have another book coming out the following month, and the month after that and so on, readers will forget you.

I want to circle back to the concept of "digital first." What this means is that IF your digital sales are AMAZING, the publisher may then decide to release your book in print format. This is, after all, what you were hoping for. But did you note how they decide? Sales numbers and not reviews. If you don't sell through the roof, they have every right to come back and say your sales did not warrant moving to a print format. 

Those people who have found success with this route often already have a follower base. They have an audience, or they may be published in a print format somewhere else. New authors simply do not have this.

I would also add that for many of these publishers, they DO NOT offer an advance. This means you have just spent months writing a story all for, maybe nothing. Ugh.

Just think about this before you leap. Is it an easy way to get published? Certainly. Will it help you with your career int he long run? That may be tough.