Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Kate Duffy, Kensington editor, has died
Here is a lovely piece about Kate's impact on a writer she didn't know or publish.
Monday, September 28, 2009
The next set of questions to ask prospective agents
Most of the places that list questions to ask prospective agents are intent on helping writers avoid scammers and bad or ineffective/marginal agents. That's all valuable info (and if you have not read it, go do so at once), but I hope most of this blog's readership will know enough know to avoid those pitfalls.
What's less common, but occurring more frequently with the rise in number of agent is: questions to ask when you're deciding amongst a less-motley crew.
Perhaps you have offers from several reputable, experienced agents. What do you do then, other than rely on gut instinct? (and sign with FPLM, of course!)
Here are my suggestions of questions to ask.
One answer is not better than the other; it's information that might help you figure out what you want in an agent and agency, and thus how to select from among several good agents.
1. How long does the agency representation last?
Many very reputable agencies offer contracts for a specific period of time (six months, one year.) If the book doesn't sell, or you want a new agent, you're free to leave after the time period.
Our agency takes a different course: we grab you for what we're hoping is life--a long and prosperous relationship. That means we're generally not interested in one-offs. If this book doesn't sell, we work with you to figure out what the next book will be.
Both courses of action are perfectly legit. You should know which you prefer, and you should ASK before you sign on the dotted line.
2. Is the agent a sole practitioner or part of an agency?
Some of the very best agents in the biz fly solo. I'm pleased and honored to consider them colleagues and friends, and I refer prospective clients to them knowing they would be in excellent hands.
If you're considering a sole practitioner, ask what the plan is if the agent dies or becomes disabled. This is probably one of the most difficult questions to ask. It sounds morbid. It sounds AWFUL. Yet, I get queries from prospective clients who've lost their agents through death or disability, and boy oh boy, that's not much fun either.
Solo practitioners are perfectly legit. But, you should know which you prefer, and you should ASK before you sign on the dotted line.
Our agency is of course stuffed with a baseball team of agents. If I get eaten by a shark tomorrow, you'll still be a FinePrint client, and you'll discover just how fabu the rest of the team is.
3. Is your agent in this for the long haul?
Experience is great, but if you're considering an agent with lots of experience, it's entirely kosher to ask if they intend to retire soon. This is almost as bad as the death question, but again, it's better to KNOW than assume.
And if your prospective agent is new to the game, remember this is a tough business to make a living in, and burnout in five years isn't uncommon. ASK about their experience.
4. Does your agent really want to be a writer?
I'm going to get an enormous amount of flack for this, so I'll preface this by saying: I represent agents who are writers; agents who are writers work at our agency; I've got NO problem with agents who write.
However, scratch a writer with a day job and you'll find someone who would rather be writing full time. That's just the godiva's honest truth.
I'm not saying you shouldn't sign with an agent who also writes, but if it is something that bothers you, ASK FIRST.
5. What's the subsidiary rights set up?
Does the agency have a sub-rights director or agent? An in-house film agent? A marketing person? A publicity person? Increasingly these are jobs handled in-house. Does the agent you're considering have that? If not (such as a sole practitioner) with whom does s/he work? ASK.
6. Does your agent maintain an electronic presence?
For some prospective clients this is not a plus. I tell all prospects about my blogging and tweeting. I don't want any of them to be surprised. And if you think an agent who blogs and tweets isn't working hard enough for her clients, you'll want to ask before you assume an agent doesn't blog or tweet. ASK.
7. Is the agent hands on or hands off?
An agent should know this about him/herself. And his/her clients will know for sure. ASK.
(this was added in the comments column, and it's a good thing to know)
What's less common, but occurring more frequently with the rise in number of agent is: questions to ask when you're deciding amongst a less-motley crew.
Perhaps you have offers from several reputable, experienced agents. What do you do then, other than rely on gut instinct? (and sign with FPLM, of course!)
Here are my suggestions of questions to ask.
One answer is not better than the other; it's information that might help you figure out what you want in an agent and agency, and thus how to select from among several good agents.
1. How long does the agency representation last?
Many very reputable agencies offer contracts for a specific period of time (six months, one year.) If the book doesn't sell, or you want a new agent, you're free to leave after the time period.
Our agency takes a different course: we grab you for what we're hoping is life--a long and prosperous relationship. That means we're generally not interested in one-offs. If this book doesn't sell, we work with you to figure out what the next book will be.
Both courses of action are perfectly legit. You should know which you prefer, and you should ASK before you sign on the dotted line.
2. Is the agent a sole practitioner or part of an agency?
Some of the very best agents in the biz fly solo. I'm pleased and honored to consider them colleagues and friends, and I refer prospective clients to them knowing they would be in excellent hands.
If you're considering a sole practitioner, ask what the plan is if the agent dies or becomes disabled. This is probably one of the most difficult questions to ask. It sounds morbid. It sounds AWFUL. Yet, I get queries from prospective clients who've lost their agents through death or disability, and boy oh boy, that's not much fun either.
Solo practitioners are perfectly legit. But, you should know which you prefer, and you should ASK before you sign on the dotted line.
Our agency is of course stuffed with a baseball team of agents. If I get eaten by a shark tomorrow, you'll still be a FinePrint client, and you'll discover just how fabu the rest of the team is.
3. Is your agent in this for the long haul?
Experience is great, but if you're considering an agent with lots of experience, it's entirely kosher to ask if they intend to retire soon. This is almost as bad as the death question, but again, it's better to KNOW than assume.
And if your prospective agent is new to the game, remember this is a tough business to make a living in, and burnout in five years isn't uncommon. ASK about their experience.
4. Does your agent really want to be a writer?
I'm going to get an enormous amount of flack for this, so I'll preface this by saying: I represent agents who are writers; agents who are writers work at our agency; I've got NO problem with agents who write.
However, scratch a writer with a day job and you'll find someone who would rather be writing full time. That's just the godiva's honest truth.
I'm not saying you shouldn't sign with an agent who also writes, but if it is something that bothers you, ASK FIRST.
5. What's the subsidiary rights set up?
Does the agency have a sub-rights director or agent? An in-house film agent? A marketing person? A publicity person? Increasingly these are jobs handled in-house. Does the agent you're considering have that? If not (such as a sole practitioner) with whom does s/he work? ASK.
6. Does your agent maintain an electronic presence?
For some prospective clients this is not a plus. I tell all prospects about my blogging and tweeting. I don't want any of them to be surprised. And if you think an agent who blogs and tweets isn't working hard enough for her clients, you'll want to ask before you assume an agent doesn't blog or tweet. ASK.
7. Is the agent hands on or hands off?
An agent should know this about him/herself. And his/her clients will know for sure. ASK.
(this was added in the comments column, and it's a good thing to know)
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Why Sorche Fairbank is a brilliant agent
Three years ago Sorche sold my favorite book of the year, Matthew Frederick's 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School. I'm not an architect, I have no visual smarts whatsoever. On the other hand, I love to look at beautiful things. This book is that. I carried it around with me for months. I love that book passionately.
Then Sorche told me about her next great find: Bent Objects. Here's the video trailer about it.
And here's a picture from the book, if you can't see the video: Zombie Nuts!
The author of Bent Objects didn't write a query. He sent Sorche (godhelpus) a link to his site. And she looked at it. And she was able to see past all the "don'ts" right to a fabulous book. That's what makes her a brilliant agent.
Her ability to imagine what the book will be is one of the things I most admire and respect about Sorche. Not to mention she's smart and funny and has great literary taste.
If you're making a list of agents to query, you'd be selling yourself short if you didn't add Sorche to the list.
Here's her website just to get you on the right track.
Then Sorche told me about her next great find: Bent Objects. Here's the video trailer about it.
And here's a picture from the book, if you can't see the video: Zombie Nuts!
The author of Bent Objects didn't write a query. He sent Sorche (godhelpus) a link to his site. And she looked at it. And she was able to see past all the "don'ts" right to a fabulous book. That's what makes her a brilliant agent.
Her ability to imagine what the book will be is one of the things I most admire and respect about Sorche. Not to mention she's smart and funny and has great literary taste.
If you're making a list of agents to query, you'd be selling yourself short if you didn't add Sorche to the list.
Here's her website just to get you on the right track.
Barbara Poelle is on the loose!
My most beloved slithery colleague Barbara Poelle is roaming the conference world in the next couple weeks. You can catch the two of us in Myrtle Beach and Boston. She'll be the one working. I'll be the other one.
If you've got a chance to meet with Barb, here are some questions you'll want to be SURE to ask.
If you've got a chance to meet with Barb, here are some questions you'll want to be SURE to ask.
As usual, Ed Anon gets it exactly right
If you want your book to be entirely under your control, then that's what self publishing is for. If you want your book to have the benefit of a team of people who know the industry and how to sell books, that's when you submit it to publishers.
I can't tell you the number of queries I get that specify what the book should look like, the trim size, the layout, and often the cover. I can't tell you because those queries don't even reach the query bin, they're pretty much instantly rejected.
The brutal reality of publishing is that the contract you will sign when I sell your book gives the publisher complete control over all those things. I can often negotiate the phrase "with consultation, approval not to be unreasonably withheld" into the contract, but in the end, the publisher decides what the book will look like.
Monday, September 21, 2009
There is no out of town opening any more
Years ago stage plays opened in New Haven to work out the kinks before hitting "the real deal" on Broadway. Josh Logan has some wonderful anecdotes about opening out of town in his marvelous memoir Movie Stars, Real People, and Me.
Opening where the critics weren't close at hand was also a welcome idea.
Those days, thanks to the internet, are gone forever.
What does that have to do with you?
If you keep a blog, and you post about your submission travails, I get to read it along with everyone else. Particularly if you link to your blog in your query letter. If you have a handy little category labelled "agents" "editors" "submissions" "rejections" you BET I'm going to read those.
So, tonight, I now know a query I was considering has been rejected elsewhere, AND what the author's response to that rejection was.
I urge you, caution you, warn you, beg you: there is no privacy on the web. Post it, and the world knows it.
Opening where the critics weren't close at hand was also a welcome idea.
Those days, thanks to the internet, are gone forever.
What does that have to do with you?
If you keep a blog, and you post about your submission travails, I get to read it along with everyone else. Particularly if you link to your blog in your query letter. If you have a handy little category labelled "agents" "editors" "submissions" "rejections" you BET I'm going to read those.
So, tonight, I now know a query I was considering has been rejected elsewhere, AND what the author's response to that rejection was.
I urge you, caution you, warn you, beg you: there is no privacy on the web. Post it, and the world knows it.
Thank you Charlaine Harris!
Charlaine Harris discovers Eric Stone:
SHANGHAIED is simply wonderful. This mystery by Eric Stone is the first I’ve read in the series, and I have say you probably shouldn’t start with this one.
I’m going to go back to the beginning of the series, THE LIVING ROOM OF THE DEAD. Stone is a wonderful writer, and he lived and worked in modern Asia, so he’s got the goods.
Stone’s private eye, Ray Sharp, has an associate: a Chinese-Mexican dwarf named Lei-Yue Wen. Ray and Lei-Yue have a fascinating relationship; their interactions show the deep affection in which they hold each other.
*and others = the inimitable Dana Cameron
Boston Noir Edited by Dennis Lehane.
Akashic, $15.95 paper
In the best of the 11 stories in this outstanding entry in Akashic's noir series, characters, plot and setting feed off each other like flames and an arsonist's accelerant.
These include Lehane's own “Animal Rescue,” about a killing resulting from a lost and contested pit bull; John Dufresne's “The Cross-Eyed Bear,” in which a pedophile priest is caught between the icy representative of the archdiocese and one of his now adult victims; and Don Lee's “The Oriental Hair Poets,” which charts a literary feud that escalates into a police case.
Two populations that define the city for outsiders—the elite WASP “Brahmins” and the hundreds of thousands of college students surging through to earn their degrees—appear only in passing.
While Lehane expresses the fear in his introduction that Boston is becoming “beiger,” less tribal and gritty and more gentrified and homogenized, this anthology shows that noir can thrive where Raymond Chandler has never set foot. (Nov.)---Publisher's Weekly
Friday, September 18, 2009
You owe me
There's an interesting post over at Rachelle Gardner's blog about an author who parted company with an agent only to get a bill for the hours she'd spent working on the proposal.
In her usual nice way Rachelle did not just leap up and say "you gotta be kidding me."
She left that for me.
You gotta be kidding!
Agents (legit agents anyway) work on spec. We take on projects with the idea we can sell them. I've put YEARS into working on proposals with clients. I'm not naming specifics; that's not really fair to single out specific books or clients like that but there are books on my sold list that took a lot of work. Books I'm damn proud of.
On the other hand, once a book goes out on submission, it's not quite spec anymore. I've had clients fire me while a book was on submission (other agents have too, I discovered when I called around flummoxed when it happened to me.)
I later learned this client was calling editors directly about the book I'd submitted. There's a clause in the author/agency agreement that says a client will owe a commission to the agent if the book sells to an editor OR a PUBLISHER within six months if the agent did the initial sales pitch.
Would I have held my former client to that agreement? Damn right I would have.
The only reason the client even knew which editors to call was because I'd told him where the book was being sent and to whom. For him to sell it direct, bypassing me, simply wasn't ok with me.
A lot of how rigid I am about enforcing that clause has to do with how the author chose to part ways with me. I've given some authors a written release from the clause, after I've tried my hardest to sell a book, thinking if they can sell it on their own, they did something I couldn't and they should reap the reward.
On the other hand, if I'm in the middle of submitting a book and working hard on it, a client who pulls the plug just to save a commission, or in a fit of pique with me; no exception.
This is all spelled out in the author agency agreement I offer prospective clients. Funny thing is though: this agreement is silent on how much you owe me if you part company before a book goes out on submission. That's cause it never actually crossed my mind to put in a clause that says "you don't me anything unless the book is sold."
In her usual nice way Rachelle did not just leap up and say "you gotta be kidding me."
She left that for me.
You gotta be kidding!
Agents (legit agents anyway) work on spec. We take on projects with the idea we can sell them. I've put YEARS into working on proposals with clients. I'm not naming specifics; that's not really fair to single out specific books or clients like that but there are books on my sold list that took a lot of work. Books I'm damn proud of.
On the other hand, once a book goes out on submission, it's not quite spec anymore. I've had clients fire me while a book was on submission (other agents have too, I discovered when I called around flummoxed when it happened to me.)
I later learned this client was calling editors directly about the book I'd submitted. There's a clause in the author/agency agreement that says a client will owe a commission to the agent if the book sells to an editor OR a PUBLISHER within six months if the agent did the initial sales pitch.
Would I have held my former client to that agreement? Damn right I would have.
The only reason the client even knew which editors to call was because I'd told him where the book was being sent and to whom. For him to sell it direct, bypassing me, simply wasn't ok with me.
A lot of how rigid I am about enforcing that clause has to do with how the author chose to part ways with me. I've given some authors a written release from the clause, after I've tried my hardest to sell a book, thinking if they can sell it on their own, they did something I couldn't and they should reap the reward.
On the other hand, if I'm in the middle of submitting a book and working hard on it, a client who pulls the plug just to save a commission, or in a fit of pique with me; no exception.
This is all spelled out in the author agency agreement I offer prospective clients. Funny thing is though: this agreement is silent on how much you owe me if you part company before a book goes out on submission. That's cause it never actually crossed my mind to put in a clause that says "you don't me anything unless the book is sold."
Amen to that!
Why Agent Honesty is Overrated -I couldn't agree more with agent Kristin Nelson.
and just for an added bonus, here's screenwriter Josh Olson on Why I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script.
and just for an added bonus, here's screenwriter Josh Olson on Why I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Add this to your list of must read blogs
Literary Rambles
Here's what I like: It's succinct. There's a list of upcoming posts (that shows me there's going to be updates, and entices me to come back.) There's a good blogroll (I'm always on the hunt for other industry blogs.)
Here's what I like: It's succinct. There's a list of upcoming posts (that shows me there's going to be updates, and entices me to come back.) There's a good blogroll (I'm always on the hunt for other industry blogs.)
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Dr. Dinosaur signing today!
Here's your chance to meet Dr. Lucy Hornstein, author of
DECLARATIONS OF A DINOSAUR: 10 Laws I've learned as a Family Doctor.
This is not only an important book to read during this national discussion about health care reform, it's pretty damn hilarious as well.
she's at the Chester County Book & Music Company (that's in PA for those of you of you not in the area!)
Saturday, September 12, 2009, 1:00 pm
DECLARATIONS OF A DINOSAUR: 10 Laws I've learned as a Family Doctor.
This is not only an important book to read during this national discussion about health care reform, it's pretty damn hilarious as well.
she's at the Chester County Book & Music Company (that's in PA for those of you of you not in the area!)
Saturday, September 12, 2009, 1:00 pm
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Neener neener Waldo!
Remember my ill-fated "trip" to Alaska?
(I'd link to the post but I'm getting used to this new little netbook computer the size of a cowboys' bandana...and about the same weight!)
Well, I MADE IT to Colorado for the writing conference here~~
YAY!!
And guess what! The delightful (and brave!) Megan who volunteered to pick me up, brought a sign with a SHARK on it! Yes we got pictures!
And some guy named Joe Finder turned up. I think he might be a writer? I'll have to google him and see.
(I'd link to the post but I'm getting used to this new little netbook computer the size of a cowboys' bandana...and about the same weight!)
Well, I MADE IT to Colorado for the writing conference here~~
YAY!!
And guess what! The delightful (and brave!) Megan who volunteered to pick me up, brought a sign with a SHARK on it! Yes we got pictures!
And some guy named Joe Finder turned up. I think he might be a writer? I'll have to google him and see.
Query Status update 9/10/09
All queries received as of this moment have been answered.
Those answers are one of three possible things:
1. Sorry, not for me.
2. I received this and I need more time.
3. Send the full
If you queried me and did not receive an email back with one of those replies here's what to do:
Query Letter Diagnostics.
If you intend to send me a query, you should wait until 9/21.
I'm away from my office until then.
Those answers are one of three possible things:
1. Sorry, not for me.
2. I received this and I need more time.
3. Send the full
If you queried me and did not receive an email back with one of those replies here's what to do:
Query Letter Diagnostics.
If you intend to send me a query, you should wait until 9/21.
I'm away from my office until then.
Monday, September 07, 2009
They aren't on your Best of list? Means you haven't read 'em then
The University of Chicago Press is re-issuing the Richard Stark novels. If you write crime fiction, you can't call yourself well-read in the field unless you know these books. In fact, I think I may give prospective clients a written test to make sure they know what jugger, handle, and heeled all mean to Parker.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
I love top 10/20/40 lists of novels and books
Lee Child (I think he's a writer?) has his Top 40 books of all time in the Telegraph this weekend.
How he managed to overlook Gone With the Wind, Noble House, or The Thorn Birds is beyond me, so maybe I'll messenger them over to him so he can see what he's clearly been missing.
You'll notice he also didn't list In Cold Blood. I am really surprised by that. I read it a LONG time ago, and it still chills me to the bone.
And, where oh where is The Great Gatsby? (I'm sorry but Tom Clancy AND John Grisham may be fine genre writers indeed, but to mention them and NOT Fitzgerald??)
How he managed to overlook Gone With the Wind, Noble House, or The Thorn Birds is beyond me, so maybe I'll messenger them over to him so he can see what he's clearly been missing.
You'll notice he also didn't list In Cold Blood. I am really surprised by that. I read it a LONG time ago, and it still chills me to the bone.
And, where oh where is The Great Gatsby? (I'm sorry but Tom Clancy AND John Grisham may be fine genre writers indeed, but to mention them and NOT Fitzgerald??)
Adam Eisenberg has another reason to grin!
You'll remember Adam Eisenberg, author of A DIFFERENT SHADE OF BLUE.
He had a lot of fun at one of his recent signings.
I'm delighted but not surprised to see his book on the bestseller list at Seattle Mystery Bookstore!
Trade paperback
1 - Adam Eisenberg, A Different Shade of Blue, Behler
2 - Steig Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Vintage
3 - Luis Castillo, Echoes of Time, Tigress
4 - tie
Sheila Simonson, An Old Chaos, Perseverance Press
Barbara Cleverly, Folly Du Jour, Delta
Joshilyn Jackson, The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, Grand Central
Tana French, In the Woods, Penguin
8 - tie
Curt Colbert, Seattle Noir, Akashic
David Benioff, City of Thieves, Plume
IJ Parker, Convict's Sword, Penguin
Debra Ginsberg, Grift, Three Rivers
Charles Finch, The September Society, St. Martin's
Michael Buckley, Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-tale Detectives, Amulet
Hot TEA!--updated
Gary Corby gets a spin in the spotlight at Julia Buckley's Mysterious Musings!
And in case you missed seeing this, Gary has a guest post about leaving things OUT of the book over at Pixie Central!
And in case you missed seeing this, Gary has a guest post about leaving things OUT of the book over at Pixie Central!
Your invisibility cloak isn't working!
I was tweeting with one my twitter pals the other day and she made the comment:
"After reading some of the comments on querytracker it's like writers somehow assume it's magically shielded from agent eyes"
I was quite struck with that because for all my blather about "the internet is public" sometimes it's VERY hard to remember that.
I fall afoul of it myself. My rather ..ahem.. mordant and sarcastic sense of humor goes over well with clients who are used to me (I hope anyway!) but when I comment on their blogs I need to remember it's not just clients reading those pithy phrases. Their moms are too. Or their kids. Or their spouses. Or just their friends who don't know that "batshit crazy" is what passes for a compliment around here.
I was reminded of this again tonight when, in trolling around the internet, I came across this post about a talk Wendy Loggia, an editor at Delacorte gave at SCBWI about why manuscripts or books are rejected:
It's item #4 that made my hair stand on end:
Before you have an agent though, you're on your own, and remember, agents google too.
You're not invisible, no matter what the guy selling the cloak at Platform 9.5 said to you.
"After reading some of the comments on querytracker it's like writers somehow assume it's magically shielded from agent eyes"
I was quite struck with that because for all my blather about "the internet is public" sometimes it's VERY hard to remember that.
I fall afoul of it myself. My rather ..ahem.. mordant and sarcastic sense of humor goes over well with clients who are used to me (I hope anyway!) but when I comment on their blogs I need to remember it's not just clients reading those pithy phrases. Their moms are too. Or their kids. Or their spouses. Or just their friends who don't know that "batshit crazy" is what passes for a compliment around here.
I was reminded of this again tonight when, in trolling around the internet, I came across this post about a talk Wendy Loggia, an editor at Delacorte gave at SCBWI about why manuscripts or books are rejected:
It's item #4 that made my hair stand on end:
The writer seems like a difficult person to work with. Wendy always Googles an author’s name before offering a contract. She says she may be prompted to change her mind about signing up an author if they share too much information in their blog, if they tend to blog a lot about how hard writing is, if they blog about being rejected many times, if they publicly bash a book she’s worked on, or if they bash a colleague in the business who is her friendI keep a close eye on my client's blogs and tweets and Facebook pages, and your agent probably does as well. This is why.
Before you have an agent though, you're on your own, and remember, agents google too.
You're not invisible, no matter what the guy selling the cloak at Platform 9.5 said to you.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Despite the cover and title, I'm buying this book
The reason I'm forking over cold hard cash is the copy in the catalog:
In the spring of 2007, a brilliant computer programmer named Hans Reiser stands accused of murdering his estranged wife, Nina. Despite a mountain of circumstantial evidence against him, he proclaims his innocence. The case takes a twist when Nina's former lover, and Hans's former best friend, Sean Sturgeon, confesses to eight unrelated murders that no one has ever heard of.
At the time of Sturgeon's confession, Stephen Elliott is paralyzed by writer's block, in the thrall of Adderall dependency, and despondent over the state of his romantic life. But he is fascinated by Sturgeon, whose path he has often crossed in San Francisco's S&M scene. What kind of person, he wonders, confesses to a murder he likely did not commit. One answer is, perhaps, a man like Elliott's own father.
So begins a riveting sojourn through a neon landscape of false confessions, self-medication and torturous sex. Set against the backdrop of a nation at war, the declining year of the Silicon Valley tech boom, THE ADDERALL DIARIES is at once a gripping account of a murder trial and a scorching investigation of the self."
And a blurb from Roddy Doyle clinched the sale: "You don't just read THE ADDERALL DIARIES, you fall right into them...It's a brilliant book."
I'm perplexed by the choice of cover and title for this book but that's a topic for another day!
Friday, September 04, 2009
Something to remember if you "hate queries"
I don't hate query letters.
I don't hate them even a little.
Query letters work just fine and dandy for me. I meet a lot of my clients for the first time in the incoming queries.
I turn down more good, and publishable, stuff than I say yes to.
What that means is anyone who proposes to change to something/anything else has to show me how it will either save time, or create some other efficiency for ME. ME, not you. ME.
The only person who suffers when a query is "bad" is the writer. If anything bad queries make it easy to click "here's your hat, don't let the door bang your keister on the way out" button.
I realize the ways of literary agents are not supremely logical, and can seem arcane, and mysterious. I figure if I talk about how it works, otherwise befuddled writers might be able to craft a query for a book I'd really like to read. Win/win.
But I'm not looking to change the query letter system at all.
It works just fine for me.
I don't hate them even a little.
Query letters work just fine and dandy for me. I meet a lot of my clients for the first time in the incoming queries.
I turn down more good, and publishable, stuff than I say yes to.
What that means is anyone who proposes to change to something/anything else has to show me how it will either save time, or create some other efficiency for ME. ME, not you. ME.
The only person who suffers when a query is "bad" is the writer. If anything bad queries make it easy to click "here's your hat, don't let the door bang your keister on the way out" button.
I realize the ways of literary agents are not supremely logical, and can seem arcane, and mysterious. I figure if I talk about how it works, otherwise befuddled writers might be able to craft a query for a book I'd really like to read. Win/win.
But I'm not looking to change the query letter system at all.
It works just fine for me.
If it can be gnawed, you will won't you?
My post earlier today, in which I extolled the virtue of actually telling me what your book was about in the query letter has generated some interesting, if befuddled, comments.
For starters, let us all remember that pages (ie the requested 3-5 pages) are NEVER sent in an attachment. NEVER. If there is an exception to NEVER, the guidelines will say so very very specifically. The default form is to include the pages in the email. When in doubt, include in the body of the email.
Thus, when I rant about "Did you send a couple quick sentences about yourself and then say, here are the first couple pages attached below? Yes? Form rejection"
and you think I mean the pages should be in an attachment, you're focused on the WRONG THING.
This post is about describing your book; the problem is that you've only said a couple quick sentences.
Get it?
What I'm asking for is what I've ALWAYS asked for: more than a cursory "here's my 50,000 word novel about agents who eat queries for breakfast, pages below"
Get it?
The guidelines are not designed to trip you up, fool you, challenge you or make you feel stupid. The guidelines are supposed to help you. Don't over analyze, and don't obsess.
And if you got a form rejection, and you re-read your query and you can't figure out if you didn't describe your book in two paragraphs, well, maybe you should invest some time over at QueryShark.
And, no, I'm NOT caught up on my queries at all. I will tell you when that happens. In fact, I may take out an ad in the damn New York Times and pay for the Empire State Building to be wreathed in pink (for the octopus of course) it will be such a happy day.
For starters, let us all remember that pages (ie the requested 3-5 pages) are NEVER sent in an attachment. NEVER. If there is an exception to NEVER, the guidelines will say so very very specifically. The default form is to include the pages in the email. When in doubt, include in the body of the email.
Thus, when I rant about "Did you send a couple quick sentences about yourself and then say, here are the first couple pages attached below? Yes? Form rejection"
and you think I mean the pages should be in an attachment, you're focused on the WRONG THING.
This post is about describing your book; the problem is that you've only said a couple quick sentences.
Get it?
What I'm asking for is what I've ALWAYS asked for: more than a cursory "here's my 50,000 word novel about agents who eat queries for breakfast, pages below"
Get it?
The guidelines are not designed to trip you up, fool you, challenge you or make you feel stupid. The guidelines are supposed to help you. Don't over analyze, and don't obsess.
And if you got a form rejection, and you re-read your query and you can't figure out if you didn't describe your book in two paragraphs, well, maybe you should invest some time over at QueryShark.
And, no, I'm NOT caught up on my queries at all. I will tell you when that happens. In fact, I may take out an ad in the damn New York Times and pay for the Empire State Building to be wreathed in pink (for the octopus of course) it will be such a happy day.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Feeling Rejected?
If you've queried me recently (as in after the last time I'd cleared out my incoming query mailbox) and received a form rejection, take a good look at your query letter.
Does it tell me about the book? I don't mean you tell me "it's amazing" or "it's a page turner." I mean, did you tell me who the main character is and what the conflict is or the choices the MC faces?
No? Form rejection.
Did you tell me enough about the book that I could see I might want to read it? In other words did you write a PARAGRAPH about what the book is about?
No? Form rejection
Did you send a couple quick sentences about yourself and then say, here are the first couple pages attached below?
Yes? Form rejection
The good news? If you try again, and I mean you REWRITE that query letter and tell me what the damn book is about and send it again, I'll read it. DO NOT MENTION this is another query.
I make no apology for form rejections if you don't tell me what the book is about and I'm not tolerating any crap about it in the comment column.
I figure I've done my part by telling you there's a problem and identifying the solution.
Does it tell me about the book? I don't mean you tell me "it's amazing" or "it's a page turner." I mean, did you tell me who the main character is and what the conflict is or the choices the MC faces?
No? Form rejection.
Did you tell me enough about the book that I could see I might want to read it? In other words did you write a PARAGRAPH about what the book is about?
No? Form rejection
Did you send a couple quick sentences about yourself and then say, here are the first couple pages attached below?
Yes? Form rejection
The good news? If you try again, and I mean you REWRITE that query letter and tell me what the damn book is about and send it again, I'll read it. DO NOT MENTION this is another query.
I make no apology for form rejections if you don't tell me what the book is about and I'm not tolerating any crap about it in the comment column.
I figure I've done my part by telling you there's a problem and identifying the solution.
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