You must zero in on the one aspect of your work that distinguishes it. Most of us won’t be that lucky, however, and will need to come up with something to draw in an agent after the writing process. It makes the process that much easier and probably shows that your idea is a solid one. If you have a hook before you ever start writing your book, FAN-TAS-TIC. Work on your Hook – This is the most difficult part of writing your query letter and, because of that, most people will never perfect the art of the hook. DO NOT make up credentials that you can’t support-you will eventually be exposed-but do make it clear for agents why you have a “right to write”.ģ. Lo and behold, I received an interested reply about a week later. On the second string of queries, I identified myself specially as a private school English teacher (writing cred!) and as an international affairs “expert” (hey, why not? I’m on my way to a PHD in it…). While I received a slew of nice automated-form rejection letters, I came up empty-handed from every single agency to which I applied. I mentioned that I was a teacher and that I had obtained two degrees in international relations and, of course, this was information that I found relevant while pitching The Notice-a book of international themes. I went the humble route on my first line of submissions for The Notice. Who are you again? – Give yourself a little more credit. At least one brief paragraph should state specifically to whom you are trying to sell your book and what evidence you have that such a market exists in the first place.Ģ. Only when I explained the significance of The Bosnian War, the number of refugees living in the United States, and the book’s similarity to other popular world novels like The Kite Runner did I start to hear back from interested agents. I thought it would be understood that my novel transcended its categorical historical fiction genre. I expected those to whom I sent my book to automatically see the wider applications of my novel. This is something I ran into with my first string of submissions for The Notice. Where your book’s market lies may not be as obvious to Joe Agent as you might think. Explain your market – There is an old saying that you catch more flies with honey and if you’re trying to sell honey, you should probably have some idea of where the flies are. Now, assuming that your book is ready to go, let’s look at the letter itself.ġ. While an agent might appreciate your enthusiasm if you have that query letter ready to go the exact moment you type the final word of your book and complete your first draft, the odds are almost astronomically against the possibility that you nailed every aspect of your story on the first run through. Now let’s go one step further: Don’t even think of submitting your letter until you have edited your book at least twice-preferably THREE times. First things first (um, this is not part of the 5 Tips), don’t even think of submitting a query letter for fiction until you’ve actually finished your book. What I’m really trying to say is that an author’s query letter might be more important than the book he or she has just finished writing. Okay, that headline makes it sound like Curious George just decided to start exploring his sexuality.
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