Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Here is a good example of you do talk about the query process

There have been some examples of what NOT to do here on the blog recently.


Here's one that works well.

It works for a couple reasons:

1. it's funny

2.  the tone is bright

3. there's not a single word of complaint in it

4. it's got some good solid tips for writers in the query process

5.  It's funny.

And one of the things I like is that it shows you do get to break all the rules sometimes, and the query police not only don't show up at your house, if you write well enough you get an hour in the bar with the ever delightful Agent Lady (yes Diana, I intend to call you that now forever!)

10 comments:

Lynn(e) Schmidt said...

thanks for the insight!

Anonymous said...

My only regret after reading the link post is that I couldn't immediately purchase the book.

Not for the genre, the plot, or the characters, but to support a author that never gave up.

Christi Corbett

Margaret Yang said...

"That Monday, I started on revisions."

This line actually made me choke up a little bit. At this point in the story I was really pulling for the narrator, and to watch her get her ass kicked and then put that ass right in the chair and get to work was golden. Simply golden.

Charlie Pulsipher said...

Glad to know it is okay to flail...a lot. Ü

Marsha Sigman said...

I love it when she says her hand pissed itself.lol Pretty sure that's happened to me.

lurking and reading said...

Well, I guess we can't all have a nickname as cool as "the Shark"...

Kristin Laughtin said...

I think it really helps that this was written in retrospect; as the author noted, some of her earlier posts had a different tone because they were written when emotions were high. It's much easier to reflect on the past and be positive once you have some distance from it. And it's awesome that it worked out for this author!

Claire Legrand said...

Wow, thank you so much for the shoutout, Query Shark. And thank you, Query Shark readers, for the outpouring of support! <3

Also, I'm pretty sure the title "Agent Lady" holds a certain sultry mystique heretofore unknown in the publishing world. You know you love it, Fox Literary.

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

LMAO

Laughing out loud while my husband cooks dinner.

"No honey," I said, "I'm not laughing at your apron." He does not believe me. How do I explain about a hand pissing itself?
Been there, love it.

That girl can write.

LA Juice said...

I am pretty amazed by anyone can even keep up a blog about not yet being published, or about a book that is not yet published.

At a recent conference I was given advice to build a web presence, because with my book, its the voice that has to sell. I enthusiastically jumped in with my snuggie, my grey goose and a cat or two. After about a month or two of struggling NOT to whine and bitch and moan, AND yet still find something new to say about the book, the cobwebs started to cover the chirping crickets. Even I didn't want to read that shit.

Entries started to sound like this: "Day 25, Vodka Swilling w-ore's log. Edited another 400 words away. Ran out of olives, scraped pimento out of loaf. Not as bad as one might think, but add some vermouth.

So now its back to square one, but I remain firmly resolved that blogging about your book and process is almost always a bad idea.