#query tip

[literaticat]

Is it better to include an elevator pitch or not in a query? As an example, if the query is three paragraphs plus a bio, should it also have a one sentence elevator pitch at the top - do you recommend that or is it optional/doesn't matter either way? Which is better - elevator pitch, 3 paragraphs describing book, then bio, sign off or 3 paragraphs describing book (or 2 in some cases), bio, sign off, no one sentence pitch at top? I feel an agent might just read the first line then decide?

I have no questions in the inbox, but this was sitting in drafts for like -- a year? Haha. Sorry, original asker! I'm going to put this in the FAQ under Querying, as it's sort of the definitive "this is what you put in a query" answer, I think.

To answer your question: There are a lot of people who have a lot of rules and tips for queries, and here's what they DON'T usually tell you:

It doesn't really matter what order you put the elements of your query in, or three paragraphs vs two, or whatever whatever. Just include all the information we ask for and make it short enough to fit on a page. These are the ONLY two "technical" rules. Other than that - we just want it to be compelling. We want it to make us want to read the book. So make it how you like it! What sounds good to YOU?

Now. What you are calling the "elevator pitch", I'd call a log-line actually. I consider an elevator pitch to be something you are delivering in person - like if somebody asks, "hey what is your book about", your answer is nutshell elevator pitch. A log-line is a little shorter -- just the very top-of-the-treeline description about what we are about to look at.

Personally, if I were writing a query letter, I'd probably go like this:

Salutation: Dear so-and-so,

Short intro paragraph: I'm querying you for A REASON / I met you at A PLACE, etc. I'm delighted to share TITLE, a CATEGORY complete at WORDCOUNT about LOGLINE.

About the Book: 1 to 3 paragraphs. Mine would probably be two paragraphs: ONE paragraph about the book, expanding the log-line, ANOTHER short paragraph to wrap up the first paragraph as necessary.

Bio: Previous publications if applicable, if not just a little something about yourself.

Sign off: With social media handles, etc.

For example:

#1 - Salutation

#2 - Intro

I have such fun listening to your podcast, and when I saw on social media that you are a sloth fan, I figured it was kismet and I should send this your way! SLOTH COPS is a twisty MG whodunit complete at 60,000 words, about two polar opposite sloth police detectives who must team up if they are to have a hope of catching the mysterious tortoise murderer plaguing their city.

#3, flesh that logline out:

Captain of the Sloth Squad Callisto Jenkins is an experienced veteran on the force; she's seen it all in her day, and has the gallows humor to prove it. Officer Stormy McNair is a rookie on the beat, desperate to make his bones as detective and prove to every doubter that so-called "bad sloths" like him CAN solve crimes. A foolish mistake during an investigation causes Callisto to take Stormy's badge and gun away and consign him to desk duty, but the hothead rookie can't stand being benched and figures out a way to get involved with Callisto's last case before retirement -- the case of the Tortoiseville Strangler.

#3.5, close out the pitch part:

The strangler doesn't take kindly to sloth cops on his turf, and Stormy and Callisto soon find themselves embroiled in a case that is much bigger and more sinister than they could have imagined. It will take Callisto's patience and dedication to the hunt combined with Stormy's brazen attitude and quick wit to get them out of the Strangler's lair with their necks intact, and put the shadowy tortoise killer behind bars where he belongs.

#4 Bio :

I'm Fiona Q Whittlestone, and I'm a professional private detective, which sadly, is a lot less exciting day-to-day than movies would have you believe! I live in Palm Springs, CA, with a 100 year old Desert Tortoise named Ambrose who, as far as I know, has never committed a crime. SLOTH COPS is my first novel.

#5: Sign-Off

--

Now - 1 and 5 obviously have to stay where they are. In my opinion, 2/3/4 make the most sense in that order, and that's about the right amount of room for them. But if you wanna do a hooky log-line, then the about, then the nuts-and-bolts -- that's fine! If you'd rather introduce yourself THEN put the description of the book and then the nuts and bolts -- or you need only one paragraph for the book -- or you need three paragraphs for the book but it still fits on one page -- that's fine! We just need all the info, and we need it on one page. That's it.

[exeuntpersuedbyabear]

Building a platform doesn’t have to be hard. It also doesn’t have to be as terrifying as it sometime seems. You can do whatever you want. It’s the internet. All I ask is that you be able to use it to sell a book.

1. Be an animal. As an agent, I don’t care what your platform is spent doing as long as if you get a book published you can use that platform to talk about your book. So be a dog if you want.

2. Post what you want to post. Wish you could only post pictures of flowers all day? Great. Create an account. Only post about flowers. Eventually take a picture of your book with the flowers in your yard. Done.

3. Don't want to show your face? Want to make educational videos? Great. Make a slide show. Talk through the slide show. Record your screen. Upload it on youtube. Live your best life.

4. Don't want to talk about how to write, but you want people to follow you for your writing? Come up with a story, create a blog, and post chapter by chapter on your blog. PLEASE NOTE: THIS ONLY WORKS IF YOU NEVER WANT THAT STORY TO BE TRADITIONALLY PUBLISHED.

^^^ Number 4 counts as self publishing, so don't do this with the book you want to be your debut novel. Don't put almost anything on a blog that you want to someday see in a traditionally published creation. You'll ruin your own chances. But it IS a good way to build a following.

5. Have a knack for drawing stick figures with surprisingly expressive faces? Like to make people laugh? Consider creating a web comic. Only post the new comics. Have fun with it.

The most important thing to remember as you try to build a #platform is that you need to be having fun. If you're not enjoying it, you won't be successful. It is work, and it takes time, so if you don't LOVE what you're doing to create the platform, do something else.

Just remember that the purpose of a platform--in person or online--is to be able to get your published book in front of strangers who already know you enough to take a risk on your writing. Create a community of people who enjoy what you put out, and have fun doing it. #writing

This has been a #thread about creating an #onlineplatform aimed at the #writingcommunity but helpful for anyone else who needs to market themselves. Good luck out there!

[ktliterary]

On the Podcast: Sara Megibow!

http://ktliterary.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/megibow-recast.mp4

Today I have the privilege of speaking with the one and only Sara Megibow! We talk about her agenting philosophy, her professional roots in analytics and training, and the deeply exciting rise in audiobooks.

This was the sort of episode where I wanted to take notes. If you’re interested in publishing, in analytics, or just really badass literary agents, this is the episode for you.

Boundless Optimism: Barbershop Books

Sara on Twitter

kt literary on Twitter

kt literary on Instagram

On the Podcast: Sara Megibow! was originally published on kt literary

[literallycait]

I keep getting the same rejection from agents. They either say my plot or writing was good but they didn’t connect enough or are not passionate enough to take it on. Is this agent speak for my book is boring or do you think this just means I haven’t found the right person yet?

There’s always the chance that your book just hasn’t found the right agent yet! I can’t stress enough how often that turns out to be the case. That said, if you are seeing similar responses from many agents, it never hurts your chances to revise to address those issues. In this case, lacking other details, I suspect it may be the voice. When I love a pitch but didn’t connect with the pages and there’s no specific problem that jumps out, often the voice simply wasn’t strong enough to grab me. 

Voice is one of the hardest elements to discuss because it is extremely personal and subjective. (Every part of writing is extremely personal and subjective, but voice is especially so.) Agents are looking for “strong” voices, which means a voice that has personality–a prose style that adds to the story as much as the plot and characters do. It is a way of conveying the emotional tone of your book, the genre or the period. We want it to feel unique, we want the language to wrap us up and transport us into the fictional world. I like a voice that feels so real that when I finish reading, I unintentionally start speaking in its cadence. 

It’s difficult to give specific pointers on how to improve your narrative voice, other than to say: read. Read a lot. Read voicy books and pay attention to vocabulary, syntax, levels of formality. Figure out what you do and don’t like, and what does and doesn’t work for the genre of your book. Try to pinpoint how the language affects you, and why, and how you could replicate it differently. Remember that strong voice is not the same thing as overwrought or verbose prose, but experiment and decide for yourself what feels right. 

[tornepages-blog]

QUERY TIP: WHEN TO NUDGE

First off—congratulations! If you’re worried about when to nudge on a submission, then you probably got a request from an agent. That’s so awesome, take a minute and pat yourself on the back.

A lot of queriers worry about when to nudge—when is it too soon or too late?

SO WHEN DO YOU NUDGE? 

FIRST: CHECK THE AGENT’S WEBSITE

The agent or agency will often have somewhere on their website that states when they welcome writers to nudge. They might say they read within the next six weeks or two months, and nudge if you haven’t heard from them since. But what if the agent’s website doesn’t say?

FOR FULL REQUESTS:

Three to six months. You really should wait at least three months before you nudge. If you feel three months is too soon, then try for six months. Most writers nudge either at three months or six. Those are the two golden periods.

FOR PARTIAL REQUESTS:

Three months. Three months is definitely the standard for Partial Requests.

FOR QUERIES:

You DON’T. Sorry, but it’s very unusual to nudge on queries. Unless the agency website specifically says you can nudge. There are a few that do, but others usually just have a NO RESPONSE/NO INTEREST policy.

WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN NUDGING

Be pushy.

There really are very little things more annoying when dealing with a query slush pile than a writer who continuously emails about a partial or full or query–once or twice, in regards to a partial, is completely fine.

Five times about a query you just sent last month? Not so much.

Agents want to find clients they will work well with, so put your best foot forward. Don’t look like you are going to be difficult to work with.

Imagine this, if you are pushy about a query or a full or a partial—what does that say about you overall? The whole publishing process is a long hard road, and patience and determination are very important. Don’t look like you’re impatient. No one wants an impatient client.

Also being pushy is rude. It’s like you’re telling the agent that they don’t have anything better to do than serve you right then and there—someone who isn’t even their client yet. Agents make no money off reading queries or partials or fulls.

Agents make their money when they sell manuscripts, so it’s kind of crazy to think about how much time they spend reading potential clients work that may never make them any money.

Be respectful of their time, and don’t make a bad impression.

[carlywatters]

Query Letter Success

Getting loads of rejections?

Not sure how to decipher them? 

Been querying agents for awhile to no avail?

Join me on March 9 for a live webinar that deconstructs the query process and rebuilds you a strategy for success.

Sign up here.

[literallycait]

Hey Caitlin! If you don’t mind, I have a couple of publishing questions that seem to receive mixed answers: 1. Word count, is it a deal breaker? I have a SF/F ms of 130,000 words. I’ve heard that YA fantasy maxes out at 90,000 words, but general fantasy (especially epic fantasy) can run a bit longer. 2. For attracting an agent’s attention, is an online presence/publishing credits as important as writing a standout query letter? Thank you!

1. Adult SFF can easily run up to 120,000 without breaking a sweat; 130k isn’t anything most agents will bat an eye at. Bulky manuscripts just mean I’ll be giving editorial notes on where to cut and how to edit it down another 10k; I might be warier of oversize manuscripts (150k range) simply because they’re more work, but I still give them my full consideration and won’t turn one down just because of the word count if I love it. Word count is only a deal-breaker for me if it is truly egregious. I’ve received queries for manuscripts of 650,000 words--that’s a deal-breaker! 

That said, do make sure your manuscript is polished and as tight as you can make it before sending it out. There are lots of amazing novels that are 130k because they need to be, but if your 130k book should really be 90k and the padding is obvious, then an agent will likely feel you haven’t revised sufficiently and aren’t ready for representation.

2. No, absolutely not! For debut fiction authors, you don’t need an online presence to query. It can certainly help, but it’s not something we require. A strong query letter is more important, and the most important thing is a strong manuscript! 

[literallycait]

Hey Caitlin, if I get a request for a full while querying, should I alert agents who haven't responded yet? Thanks in advance.

You don’t need to alert agents about a request for a full, but it is standard practice/polite to give agents two weeks notice when you receive an offer of representation. This includes both agents who have requested the full and agents who still only have the query. It’s a courtesy so that they don’t waste time on a project that already has representation, and also gives them a fair chance to read and offer on the project as well if they’re interested. Plus, it’s always good for the author to have multiple offers to choose from!