Writtenwyrdd

How to know you are rejected.

"So, how do you recognize all rejection letters now and forever more? Look for the phrase 'Please send your novel to me now.'  Not there? That's a rejection."  Janet Reid

On a form letter that confused the recipient as to whether or not they wanted the book.

Queryday thoughts

Rachel Gardener posts her tweets from Queryday here.  Good thoughts, some of which are excerpted below.

• "Learn your craft" = nothing to do with grammar. Style, voice, story, plot, pacing, dialogue, characterization, etc
• A query that makes me laugh out loud is a great thing! Whether or not the book is for me, it gets my attention.
• A query that talks only about the THEME of your novel is rarely effective. You need to tell about the STORY.
• DON’T say “the book gets exciting in chapter 5” or “the pace really picks up toward the end.” Make it shine from page 1.
• Don’t send us something outside of our guidelines and try to impress us with how “out of the box” you are.
• Fiction writers… it’s ALL about the writing. Nothing’s as important as what’s on the page. If it rocks, nothing else matters.
• Fiction: qualification=ability to write. Non-fiction: must have credentials and/or significant platform.
• Humility is much better than arrogance in a query letter. Try not to oversell yourself, but present your work with confidence.
• I love queries that are straight-to-the point and don’t “try too hard.” The matter of fact approach is refreshing.
• I prefer your query NOT tell me what a great movie your book would make. If it has movie potential, trust me, I’ll notice.
• I rarely find mixed comparisons helpful ("Jane Austen meets Frank Peretti"). Works in Hollywood but not for me.
• I realize some people write great books but not killer queries; I give the sample pages much more weight than the ltr.
• I understand it’s difficult to visit so many agent websites and read all their guidelines, but it’s worth the effort.
• If fulls/partials aren't getting you a yes, then go back and work on craft & story. Don't rush. Take your time & get help.
• If I can change my two-spaces-after-a-sentence habit after 25 years of typing, so can you. One space is standard in publishing.  (This was news to me!)
• If you mention a previously published book, make sure I’ll be able to find it on Amazon because I WILL look it up.
• It's a big risk to say you're "sick of vampires" (or anything else). What if it's the agent's favorite genre?
• Many great stories are difficult to summarize adequately. Everyone's in same boat unless its high concept.
• Never, never, never phone an editor or agent unless they're YOUR editor or agent
• No need to reveal entire plot in query; give the set-up and premise; make me want to read it.
• Professional does not mean boring. In a query letter, boring = pass.
• Queries are first step in the door, but they’re not nearly as important as your book! Put 99% of your effort into your BOOK.
• Reality check: If you are your family’s breadwinner, plan to keep your day job even after you sell several books.
• The first book MUST be able to stand on its own, mention you have series in mind if 1st book hits. Give synopses.
• The key to a query letter is the same as in good fiction: show, don’t tell. SHOW me that your work is amazing, don’t tell me.
• This is the only time I will shout today: IT'S A SUBJECTIVE BUSINESS! Like art, TV, movies, fashion, etc. Not a reason to whine.
• This may be hard to hear, but I suggest you avoid being in a rush to get published. Take TIME to develop your craft.
• TOP reason I say “no” to queries is the story doesn’t sound unique, fresh, exciting. The problem isn’t the query, it’s the book.
• Writers are always asking for feedback; but often when we give it as concisely as possible, it's interpreted as cruelty.
• Writing credentials don't sell your book, your WRITING does. Can't stress strongly enough. Take time to develop craft.
• You can write all the amazing queries you want, but if you don't have a great book, you'll never get a book deal.
• You don't need comparative titles in the query, but in the PROPOSAL, you do.
• You must include the genre. Publisher, bookstore, consumer all need to know! Find books/websites that discuss genre.

Shocked rats

Janet Reid has posted a great article over at Hey There's A Dead Guy In My Livingroom (see sidebar for link).  It mentions stress coping.  It mentions rats.  And, most idea-making for moi, it mentions that rats and people can cope with stress of regular shocks, but that, if you want to drive them bonkers, use random shocks.  I love that idea.  I know I can use that in a story someplace.

Also, a great talk about dealing with the shock of rejection. 

In a nutshell: Queries sell the story AND your skillz

"[M]y reaction to these queries speaks to an important element of query-writing that can be overlooked in the drive to try and hammer your whole book into a 300 word pitch. It's so important not just to present the heart of your work, but also to give a sense that your writing is up to the challenge. That is why query writing differs so much from jacket copy -- you aren't just selling me on what the story is about, you're also selling me on your ability to write it." Nathan Bransford 

An important observation from Mr. Bransford (enthusiastic golf applause in background).  Check out his blog for the free and always kind critiques of queries he is offering up!

the Query Letter

Nothing beats plain straightforward description in a query letter. It's when you get all fancy that you shoot yourself in the foot. If your description sounds like a snotty wine waiter at an overpriced faux french bistro "a clever little novel drenched in atmosphere with an insoucient streak of historical je n'est ce quoi circa 1832" then you've just assured me that not only is the novel not quite right for me, it will need a trip to Lourdes to be publishable." Miss Snark

I think this is the best way she's ever said this. French menu...tears streaming down my cheeks! Hah!  I so miss that gal's blog!

Anyhow, back to the point: Queries are business letters, folks. Respect the recipient and their intelligence by writing a solid business letter. No one out there is asking for overblown prose in the style of your torrid bodice ripper; they are all of them asking for a business letter that describes the book they maybe want to sell.

If you don't know what to write, start with a synopsis of the main plot, nothing of the secondary plots. Then look for all those examples out there and see if anything sounds good. Search MS's site for queries that sound like yours, or for the links she's already lovingly provided to other query letters (which I am too lazy to go find a link for you.)

Synopses

But here is the thing to know about synopses: A synopsis is not an opportunity to talk about every single character and every single plot point in a "and then this happened and then this happened" fashion. A synopsis needs to do two things: 1) it needs to cover all of the major characters and major plot points (including the ending) and 2) it needs to make the work come alive. If your synopsis reads like "and then this happened and then this happened" and it's confusing and dull, well, you might want to revise that baby.  Nathan Bransford

Mr. Bransford has a post on writing synopses.  I posted this a while ago, but it's a good refresher, given that a few posts about synopses have shown up in the past few weeks.