The Query That Got Me My Agent

Happy Pay-It-Forward Friday!! I hope everyone's had a lovely week. If you're looking for my IWSG post, click here.

I've recently started Pay-It-Forward Friday, and what I do is post something of help to the writing community. So far, the focus has been on queries. Weirdly, I love query letters, though most people seem to hate them. If you have one you need help with, let me know! Or, if you have one you want to brag on, I'd be happy to feature that as well. Today I suppose I have more of the latter - since I had no sacrificial lambs on the query critique alter, I'm posting the query that snagged my agent's attention, and got me a full request. Here it is, and my notes are interspersed in purple:

Ms. Lu,

Always address the agent formally. Check, doubly and triply, you have spelled the name right!!! 

Evryn’s got mad skills at playing hide and seek. She can find lost children, hack the most secure databases, pretty much anything. Except for the one thing she desires most: the knowledge of who her parents are, why they abandoned her, and what her special talent means about who and what she really is.

There is differing advice from agents on this, but I like to jump right into the story on the first line. I put the more drab details like word count at the end. Agents are super busy and may only read a line or two, so I want them to be great ones! Note: many agents hate a query opening with a question, so use caution with that.

It took me a while to get this paragraph right:

•  I needed to lay a tiny bit of back story just so it made sense, without getting bogged down. 
• It needed to be interesting to hook the agent. 
• I've written it with the same voice/tone of my story - I am a big fan of this in queries. Don't go overboard, but this is a way to show your writing style.
• I've also revealed a bit about Evryn's character - what she desires most (the truth about her parents and herself)

So, when a guy named Seeker appears quite literally out of nowhere, claiming to know about her past and offering her a job, Evryn can’t say yes fast enough. Even if it does mean following him to another realm. As in, mind-blowingly, not Earth. Apparently she’s part of an elite clan of Hunters descending from Artemis who can find just about anything in all of time and space. As the last of Artemis’ direct lineage, Evryn is her clan’s best shot at finding a lost city before rival clans do.

Here I start to lay out the main plot point. I had to do some world-building too, because this is fantasy. Again, a balance to not get bogged down.

Not just any city, but the flying, realm-hopping city of Skye. Aboard Skye is the Artifex, a magical device with the power to create or destroy worlds. Everyone wants the device, and with Evryn’s super-powered lineage, it means everyone wants her, too. It’s hard to decide who she can trust, even within her own clan. After she discovers a strange, alluring connection to the Artifex, she’s not even sure she can trust herself. Worse yet, the only person who may be able to help her is the Timekeeper, the sadistic ancient being who created the Artifex. An interdimensional war is brewing, and Evryn is right at the epicenter of it all.

• More details on the plot
• The stakes!! This is important in any query. Without stakes there's no tension. Amp up that tension!

Let the hunt begin.

I like to end queries with some kind of clever, teaser-ish phrase, but it's not necessary.

My new adult contemporary fantasy HUNTRESS FOUND is complete at 85,000 words. Per your submission guidelines, I’ve included the first ten pages and a brief synopsis below. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Now you can (and should) add the drab details:

• Genre
• Title in ALL CAPS (it looks weird, but it's proper etiquette)
• Word count (this is important - don't forget!)
• Then I like to confirm to them that I have read and complied with their submission guidelines - it personalizes the query, and lets them know you're prepared and organized.
• If you have any legit publishing credentials, add that in. Note: LEGIT. I was published in a local newspaper and some zines years ago, but I'm not listing that because it sounds amateurish. The rule is, you can list it if you got paid. I'd say you could fudge on this a little, if you didn't get paid, but it was a well-known publication. Use good judgment. 
• Same with awards - list any writing awards that are well known, but not super minor stuff. I won some writing contests on different blogs, some of them even well known contests in the writing community, but I aired on the side of caution and didn't include it. You don't want to sound unprofessional.
• And in that same vein, NEVER mention "I'm an unpublished author", or "This is my first novel". It's not necessary to mention that and many agents report they feel it sounds unprofessional.
• Overall: hook 'em good, keep it short and sweet!

Sincerely,

Alexia Chamberlynn

www.alexiachamberlynn.com
http://alexiachamberlynn.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/aachamberlynn
(850) 443-6075

This was an e-query (hardly anyone takes paper anymore), so I everything is left justified. I also included my main social media sites in my signature block so they can see I am market savvy. 


Hope that was helpful! If you have a query you want me to feature, please let me know - whether it's a critique or a brag you're looking for. 

Have a fabulous weekend, writer friends!

The Thrills and Chills of Being on Sub!!

Hi, writer friends! I'm posting today for the Insecure Writers Support Group monthly blog hop. My topic for the post, appropriately since it pervades my thoughts each day: being on submission with publishers! 

I signed with my lovely agent Sandy Lu in August, and after a couple rounds of minor edits on my contemporary fantasy, Huntress Found, we went on sub in mid September! It's true what they say - in the life of a writer, you rarely achieve such heights that you never have to worry about rejection again. When you're querying agents, you just want to get that agent. Then when you get an agent, it's on to possible rejection by publishers. And once you get published, there are always people that don't like your book. It really never ends, which is why I try to stay as relaxed as possible about the whole thing. If we let ourselves get sucked down in that maelstrom, jumping from one insecurity to the next, it sucks a lot of the joy out of writing. So, for now I wait patiently for news. Sandy says it usually takes editors eight to twelve weeks to read a manuscript, so we might start hearing back this month. If you'll bear with me for an Oprah moment, I like to use positive visualization and imagine hearing the news that editor(s) love my book. And that's how I stay sane with it all! That, and gratitude for the things I do have and the lessons I've learned.

In the vein of agents, I've started doing query brags and critiques as my way of paying it forward to the writing community. On Friday I'm posting the query that got my agent's attention. If you have a query you want help on (MG, YA, NA or adult), or a query that brought you success, let me know! Otherwise, I hope everyone's having an awesome week. 

Click here to visit the other IWSG posts or to sign up! TTFN! 

Pay It Forward Friday - Query Critique!

TGIF, writer friends! Today for Pay It Forward Friday, I did a critique for Julie Affleck's picture book, A is for Applesauce. Julie is super brave for putting forth her query for public critique, so give her a round of applause for that. If you have additional constructive comments or alternate suggestions for what I've written below, go for it! Also, if you are interested in getting a query critique or have a query question, email me (address in the sidebar). 

On with the critique!

I don’t write picture books, so I will announce right up front that this type of query is not my area of expertise. Picture book queries are a bit different than queries for middle grade, YA and adult because there is an author and illustrator (sometimes the same person, sometimes not). I did a bit of research to confirm the etiquette on this, which is to include a link to an online portfolio of pictures if you are the artist. Also, in my research I discovered that it is normal to paste in the whole manuscript below your query since picture books are usually 1,000 words or less. Of course, ALWAYS check each individual agent’s guidelines and send exactly what they request.

So, my notes and edits are below in red:

Mr./Ms. Agent’s Last Name (always address formally and confirm spelling),

A is for Applesauce is the first in the Arthur & Zita Alphabet Book series. Nine year old Zita loves words and her favourite book is the DICTIONARY! Today is "A" WORDS DAY. While she and her younger brother Arthur await the arrival of awesome Aunt Alice, Zita searches for all the words she can that begin with the letter A. A is for Applesauce tells of a trip to the Animal Zoo cut short, and various other commotions, involving applesauce, ants, attempted arrest, angel food cake, awards, arguing, and antics. As a "day in the life" family adventure with expressive, whimsical, and colourful illustrations, A is for Applesauce is a read alone or read aloud book to be enjoyed by both children and parents.

• I think your opening paragraph is great. A query should be brief, enticing, and carry the voice appropriate to the age and genre of the book, which I think yours does nicely.
• I struck the last sentence because you are telling us something unnecessary. Let your words speak for themselves (which they do).
• Nine years strikes me as too old a character for an alphabet book. Kids are learning their ABCs and reading picture books between ages 3-5, maybe 6.
• Make sure to use the American English spelling if you are querying American agents.

A is for Applesauce is a good choice to expand your child's A Words vocabulary using A Words in context and with Zita's lively AWESOME A WORDS glossary at the end of the story. A is for Applesauce is accompanied by A is for Applesauce Word Play as a separate colourful activity book, geared towards the grade three to five level.

• I am not sure about this paragraph. I would do serious research on whether it’s typical to have a glossary and activity book with a picture book. I can see it in an educational text, but I’m not sure about a regular picture book.
• Again, grades 3-5 seems too old to me for this. That’s the age kids are moving on to early readers and even middle grade.

While A is for Applesauce is over 1800 words, which is more than the normal picture book count, it has many uses for teachers, including alliteration, developing word choice, making lists of ‘juicy’ words, descriptive writing, and using a glossary. I am not ‘in love with my words’, and getting the chance to work with an editor, cutting, revising, etc. to make this book more enjoyable for children, parents, and teachers, would be a wonderful opportunity.

• I would strike this whole paragraph. Add the word count in below. Since you are not a teacher, I would not mention what they need. Also, teachers are not the only ones who will read this.
• I researched word counts on picture books, and 1,000 is considered pushing the upper limit. You already know this, which is good, but also know that by almost doubling the high end of the norm, you are going to turn off a lot of agents. While on the one hand, plenty of debut authors break the rules and succeed, on the other hand, you’re just putting an extra hurdle in front of yourself, of which there are MANY on the road to traditional publication.
• NEVER say you’re not in love with your work. It comes across as unprofessional. Also, I hope you mean this in a self-deprecating author fashion, when in fact you have edited, and edited, and edited some more, and gotten feedback from others, and edited several more times. Your work should be as perfect as you can possibly get it before submitting to an agent.

I have been working on the Arthur and Zita series for a few years, and found the perfect illustrator for the books, Alexander MacAdam. A website to view some of his work is http://www.macadamvisualmedia.com.

• I am not sure of the proper etiquette here. Since you are not an illustrator, my gut tells me that picking one yourself may come across as unprofessional or even a bit demanding. I would tread lightly here. Either don’t mention the illustrations at all, or indicate that you’ve had an illustrator do some mock ups of what you envisioned, though you understand that this decision lies in the hands of the publisher.

As a stay-at-home mother of four children, I have spent many years reading picture books, chapter books, middle-grade - well, you know what I mean, and have begun the writing stage after numerous on-line writing courses and many, many workshops. I also write middle-grade books, and my first attempt at writing young adult  has resulted in being shortlisted for the Silverwood - Kobo - Berforts Open Day Competition.

• I struck the above because it’s a bit wordy, and also because taking writing courses is not something typically mentioned in a query. Mention any paid pub credits or awards, perhaps your degree if relevant. Since you were shortlisted for an award I left that in, and also the personal bit about motherhood.

I've included a couple of pictures taken from the book layout as well.

• Never send an agent attachments unless requested. As I mentioned above, research suggests including a link to an online portfolio.
• Also include full manuscript pasted in below query IF the agent indicates this is acceptable (only for picture books).
• I would state this as such: “A for Applesauce is complete at ___ words. Per your submission guidelines, I’ve included the full manuscript and a link to an online illustration portfolio below (or whatever they’ve asked for).”

Thank you for taking the time to read my query. I hope you enjoy Zita, and her spirit and spunk as she makes learning new words fun!

My overall comments: I think you have a really good hook here, which is the hard part of the query. It sounds like a fun picture book! Where work is needed is making sure you use the proper etiquette so you come across as professional and knowledgeable about the publishing world.

Here are a couple links to great articles I found while researching picture book queries:

http://kidlit.com/2010/09/27/picture-book-queries/ This agent is a TOP agent in kid lit, very well known. See her query example to see how to piece together your closing paragraph.

http://queryshark.blogspot.com/2012/02/218.html The Query Shark blog is also written by a top agent, not one that reps kid lit, but she has excellent advice on queries. This one is for picture books, but all of her posts are super informational.

So, writer friends, what are your thoughts on Julie's query? Leave a comment below. I wish good luck to Julie in her querying endeavors!

Pay It Forward Friday!

Hello, writer friends! Today I'm doing my FIRST Pay It Forward Friday post, which will take place on the first Friday of each month. It's my way of giving back to the writing community. I've certainly received my fair share of help over the years, and it feels good to reciprocate.

Clearly I'm not an agent or publisher, but I've been in literary circles for the past five years or so, and have gathered quite a bit of knowledge about query letters and such. There are many different opinions out there on how to write a good query letter and proper etiquette and whatnot, so these posts will represent my opinions on the matter. Always do your own research (see my blog sidebar for some of my favorite query resources).

SO! Disclaimers out of the way, let's proceed to today's topic. I didn't have any sacrificial query letter lambs placed on my editing alter (promise I'll be nice if you want me to help with one!), but I did get a good query letter question on Twitter:

What is the proper way to submit requested materials, and when/how should you follow up if you've submitted them?

Part one first: how to submit requested materials.

1) SQUEE! You got a request!!! Be super proud. That means your query letter is great, or at a minimum, your concept rocks. Maybe both!!

2) Settle down BEFORE sending. Don't send when you're still high as a kite on agent request pixie dust. You might miss something and then you're not off to a good start.

3) Once you've returned to a reasonably calm and logical state, read the agent's instructions very carefully. Then read them again several times. You want to send EXACTLY what they've asked for, how they've asked for it. No more, no less. They want a two page synopsis and yours is five? Trim it. They want a .DOC file? That's what you're gonna need to send them. A bio written in purple ink from the blood of a unicorn? Grab a lasso and a virgin and get huntin'.**

4) After any tweaks to your query arsenal are made, hit reply. Unless the agent has provided specific instructions for what to put in the subject line of the email, change the subject line by adding 'REQUESTED MATERIAL' to whatever the original subject line was. Yes, in all caps. I usually would title the subject line of my initial query 'Query: Title', so it will end up looking something like this:

Re: Query: Huntress Found - REQUESTED MATERIAL

5) In the body of the email, say something simple like:

Mr./Ms. _____,

Thank you for your interest in Title of Book. As requested, I've attached [list whatever it is they asked for]. Please let me know if you need anything else.

Sincerely,

Your Full Name

6) Attach everything they've asked for VERY carefully. Check this several times in an OCD manner. Check your subject line. Check the spelling of the agent's name. Check for typos in the body of your email.

7) Hit send!

8) Go celebrate. You are a badass!! You not only wrote something that caught an agent's eye, but you were brave enough to put yourself out there and follow through.

Now for part two of the question - following up with an agent if needed. Agents are BUSY, dudes. It often takes them three to six MONTHS to read a full manuscript. Don't follow up with them before the length of time they say it usually takes them to respond. And don't follow up with them the day that timeline expires. Some people may disagree with me on that, but hey. No one likes to be reminded they're behind on stuff. I say pad on a couple weeks and then follow up. If the agent hasn't stated a timeline for response, three months is safe. And remember, this is only for requested material. If they never requested anything, you probably shouldn't follow up. A lot of agents these days have a 'no response means no' policy. Now, if they said they respond to all queries and didn't, just resubmit after the window of times elapses. One of my good writing friends got her agent this way. Who knows what happened to the first query!

Proper etiquette on a follow up is pretty simple:

1) Reply back to your email sending the requested materials, so they can easily scroll down and remember what book they're dealing with and how polite and professional you were when you sent them exactly the materials they wanted. Keep it short, sweet and professional, as such:

Ms./Mr. _____,

I wanted to follow up on Title of Book and see if you are still interested. I appreciate your time, and thank you again for your interest in my manuscript.

Sincerely,

Alexia Chamberlynn

2) Obsessively check for typos as you did originally.

3) Hit send!

Now, if they don't respond, don't follow up again. If they do, awesome! I followed up with my agent a couple times, and she responded very promptly, giving me an update on where I was in her TBR pile. This was not only encouraging, but assured me of her communication skills and professionalism. And it all worked out in the end!

So, that's my two cents on sending requested materials and follow ups. Hope it was helpful! If you have other questions or ideas for future Pay It Forward posts, let me know in the comments below.

Good luck with your queries!

**No unicorns were harmed in the writing of this blog post. Or virgins.

Fun Stuff Happening!!

Hello, writer friends! I've been thinking a lot lately of what direction I want to take this blog; fun things to spice it up, new adventures to embark on. After my mulling and marinating on what kinds of things I could do, I've landed on two:

1) A monthly pay-it-forward sort of post, where I help people with query letters or things like that. Weirdly, I love editing query letters. I know. Totally masochistic. Anyway, that one will occur on the first Friday of each month. Meaning the first one will be this Friday!

2) A monthly blog hop featuring something literary and something of a foodie nature. A delicious conglomeration of the literary and the luscious that I have dubbed the Taste of Magic blog hop. For instance, you could post an excerpt from your WIP and a recipe for a kickass martini. Or, a favorite poem and a chocolate mousse cake recipe that will knock my socks off. A combination of two of my favorite things! This one will be the third Friday of each month. To sign up, go here.

Are you in for the fun?? Just say YES!

The pay-it-forward will vary, so keep tuned on Twitter for that, though I think mostly I'll do query help. Taste of Magic has a page on my blog with a linky list for sign ups. I'm asking for email so I can send people a reminder a couple days before the date. Of course, if you're busy, no sweat.

So, who's in? And either way, whatcha been up to lately? TTFN!

Pimp My Query

I'm participating in Deana Barnhart's Gearing Up To Get An Agent contest (aka GUTGAA)! Deana is a great blog friend, and even though she's now repped by Sarah LaPolla, she's still so awesome that she wants to pay it forward by hosting this contest. Go follow her if you're not already, and check out the contest. She has helpful contest links in the upper right hand corner of her blog.

And a quick update for those of you who read my last post on virus woes, I'm using hubby's computer this week while I wait for my Toshiba recovery disks to come in the mail. He's just going to wipe my hard drive. So, hopefully my cute little laptop will be healthy again soon.

Okay, so on to GUTGAA! I'm entering my recently completed upper middle grade fantasy. For those of you that don't know, middle grade is usually readers between 7 and 12, and upper middle grade is the oldest category, usually the 11 and 12-year-olds. This is my first full length middle grade novel, though I wrote a short novella for my son once.

So, what we're supposed to post is our query and the first 150 pages of the book. The judging round is next week, so please offer up your feedback so I can polish! Tell me what works and what doesn't. I really would appreciate any and all constructive criticism. Also, definitely let me know if you're participating in GUTGAA too, so I can make sure to visit your entry. I know I'm not going to be able to make it to all 200 or so entries, so that will guarantee I return your visit. And, please feel free to provide feedback even if you're one of my regular blog friends not in GUTGAA!

Query:

(Agent's proper salutation),

The last of the dreams are running out…

It’s been thirteen years since the Queen of Ravens cast the spell to strip all Taravel’s inhabitants of dreams. Or so she thought. Unbeknownst to her, there is one remaining who can dream unaided, twelve-year-old Eleven, the dreamseer.

An orphan, El has been raised in a black market dream caravan, caring for the ponies who grant people the ability to dream. The citizens of Taravel pay generously for a ride on the dream carousel, a chance to touch the magical, dream-inducing manes of the ponies. But when the ponies start losing their ability to spin dreams, El knows she must do something.

Accompanied by Dusti, a persnickety pony, and Ryn, the pirate-poet, El sets out to break the Queen’s spell. The three companions’ adventures take them from crystal pirate ships, to cities in the sky, to underground palaces and the home of a sea witch. Along the way El realizes there’s a lot more at stake than the ponies: a rebellion is brewing, the Queen has learned of her existence, and the truth about her parents is far different than she ever imagined. And worst of all, if El doesn’t free the dreams soon, they’ll be gone forever.

Everdream is a 50,000 word upper middle grade fantasy. Per your submission guidelines, I've included (whatever requested) below. Thank you for your time and consideration.



First 150 words:

Dreams seeped through the flaps of the tent, escaping into the sky like multi-colored ghosts. It was a busy night in the caravan. Though the metallic taste of thunder sat on my tongue and dark clouds pressed down over the crowd, we were still packed. The other merchants had begun to close up for the night. But we weren’t exactly ordinary merchants.

I counted bodies as I walked along the line of people snaking out the purple and white striped tent. Sixty-two. Eight-eight. Ninety-six. When I hit one hundred I cut in.

“Sorry, but this is the cap for the night.” I watched the opposite expressions of relief and disappointment on the faces of the two people I stood between. Groans and angrier protests rose around me.

I walked back to the tent as the crowd behind lucky number one hundred dispersed into the darkness.



Thanks for taking the time to read my entry! Good luck to all GUTGAA participants. And everybody have a great week!

The Weather in Queryland and Other Adventures

I'm back from semi-hiatus! As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I've been finishing up the line edits and final polish of Noir a/k/a Martinis with the Devil, and was going to start querying. Well, I did and I have! I usually send in small batches, so I've sent 6 out, and will see what kind of feedback I get before proceeding to Round 2. So, clear skies thus far in Queryland, though I have no doubt there'll be some rain clouds along the way. It's just the nature of the agent-finding beast.

So, now that Noir is out the door, I'm going to be starting the first draft of my middle grade fantasy soon. I always love first drafts, so I'm excited. And since I finished one big portion of my goals for the year with Noir, I checked the little timeline I'd written at the beginning of the year, and I'm only about a month behind on them. Not so bad, huh? I can catch up.

In other random news, I finished the Hunger Games trilogy. I read the first one over a year ago, and then never moved on to the second until the movie came out. I thought the second was good, but - don't kill me - I really did not like Mockingjay, the last book. Not that the writing is less great, but it was just such a depressing and sudden ending to me. You guys who have read it will know what I mean. And the conclusion to the whole Peeta vs. Gale thing? Lame. Anyone else felt like that about this series, or another?

So, what all have you been up to, writer friends?

The Breath Before the Fall

January was a stressful haze during which I had very little time or energy with which to write. My day job has been super intense and I worked at least 10 hours most days. When I did get home from work, my brain was mush. But while I can certainly use that as an excuse not to finish up the last few scenes I wanted to add to Noir after analyzing my outline, it really comes down to procrastination.

Not the usual lazy type of procrastination, but the desire to stay in this safe zone for a bit longer. Because, after I finish these scenes then I have to start line editing. And after line edits and edits from beta readers and a another read-through, then comes querying. And once I start querying, there will be the inevitable rejections. With Countless, I developed a very thick skin, and I really was barely phased by most rejections. But with Noir, I have fresh baby skin, and its so nice and warm in this cocoon of not-there-yet. For now, I can still relish in the wonder of my creation, and keep it to myself.

Of course, I realize that I'm lingering, and I'm going to stop. Work has finally slowed to a normal pace, so I have zero screens to hide behind. I'm a tough chic, and I'm going to sail this ship straight into the stormy seas of querydom. Hey, I love thunderstorms.

So, pep talk over. Got my Captain Jack hat on. And my compass. And my rum. How about you?

Writing Conferences and Query Letters

Happy Monday! Today I'm going to do a hybrid post: my not-abandoned-just-slacked-on meme, When I'm a Famous Author, as well as some pondering on query letters.

First, meme time. When I'm a famous author, I'm going to rock it at several lit conventions each year. I had SO MUCH fun at World Fantasy Convention in San Diego, and I really can't wait to go to another. Being surrounded with others who write in your same genre and being inundated in writerly stuff for several days - sigh. This year, WFC is in Toronto, and next year it's in Brighton, England. How cool is that?? I kind of have a feeling it might in Australia in 2014, because the Australians (Garth Nix and company) made a pretty big show at last year's con. I've also heard Dragon Con is pretty cool, though that's combo lit/comic con. Which cons would you go to every year to party with your writer friends??

On to querying, which I've been thinking about a lot lately. Since in the next couple months or so I'll be donning my war gear and heading into battle... I did something different with my query for Noir. I actually wrote it before I started writing the first draft. I had the voice and the main plot in my head, and it just kind of flowed out. It was interesting because after I finished the first draft and looked back at it, nothing major had changed from the original inspiration. I sort of pinned down the essence at the beginning. Has anyone else ever done this? Would you consider doing it as a pre-planning stage to your novel?

I hope everyone has a splendid rest of the week!

I'm Getting My Query Critiqued!

Hello, writer friends! Today and tomorrow I'm over at Matt MacNish's blog, the Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment, for a query critique! Most of the critting (is that a word? If not, I declare it a new one) will take place tomorrow. Pop over and say hello, follow Matt if you aren't, and put in your two cents on my query for Noir!

P.S. - you may recall that Matt is one of the awesome people I got to meet at World Fantasy Convention a couple months ago. I'd been following his blog for a long time, and it was great to meet him in person! He runs a fantastic blog, and offers tons of great query advice. Definitely check it out!

Querying, drafting and linkage, oh my!

I've got sort of a mixed bag for you today, writer friends.

Okay, so that's a mixed margarita glass. But, you get the point :)

First, I thought I'd give everyone a brief update on my writerly pursuits. I've sent out another round of queries for Countless. That brings my query total to 56 I believe. And it pretty much zaps my initial list of agents for my genre. So, I'm going to need to drum up some new ones if nothing pans out. My full manuscript is still with a couple agents that have had it for a while. We'll see what happens...

Also, I've gotten over my little melodrama from a week or so ago, and starting plugging away again at my new book. I'm sitting at around 35,000 words of my 80,000 word goal. So, nearly half there. Yay!

Now for some linkage:

You can view my latest issue of my urban fantasy newsletter here. If you want to see how spiffy it looks sitting in your very own email inbox, click here.

And here are some neat blog posts I came across while trying to catch up on a slew of emails:

A cool article on why people buy things and how that pertains to social media and marketing your book. Good stuff.

The art of Twitter... more good stuff.

And finally, here's an interesting post on the first rewrite. I am a first draft lover, and rewrite despiser, so this was fun to read because it differs from my perspective.

How are your writing projects going? Come across any cool articles lately?

Gearin' up to Get An Agent Blogfest - Queries!

Hello, fellow blogfesters and writer friends! Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I saw Deathly Hallows Part 2, and it was awesome!!

So, week three of Deana Barnhart's blogfest is pretty straightforward - post your query and let everyone critique it! Then reciprocate for them. So, here's the query I'm currently using. Please critique away!

(Mr./Ms. Last Name of Agent),

I am seeking representation for my urban fantasy novel, Countless.

Finding out she’s a witch is pretty much a complete mind blow for Eva Westvale. After all, she was just a normal Manhattanite moving up the corporate ladder and planning her wedding to her college sweetheart.

And discovering she’s lived countless lifetimes, hunted through the centuries by a sorcerer intent on possessing her soul? The icing on her perfect paranormal cake.

Now all she has to do is evade the cloaked figure that seems to show up everywhere, avoid becoming too physically entangled with the sexy shapeshifter who’s decided to help her, escape the rival shifters she’s pissed off, fit in with the other witches, learn coven politics – oh, and regain a millennia worth of memory and power so she can stay alive, soul intact.

Countless is complete at 75,000 words. Per your submission guidelines, I've included (sample pages, synopsis, whatever they've asked for on their website). I appreciate your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Alexia A. Chamberlynn
(phone number)
(email)
(web address)

Whatcha think? I'll be hopping around over the next couple days to provide feedback on everyone else's.
 
Also, mark this date on your calendar: July 21st. On that lovely day, Michelle Fayard is doing a guest post on my blog about self promotion for authors! She's got some great tips to share, so stop on by!

The Perfect Pitch

I've already told my story of meeting Chuck Sambuchino on the first night of the conference. I was of course keeping my sneaky little hawk-eyes out for the agents, too. I saw Katharine Sands at one point, and walked over to introduce myself. I tried to say something like "I'm Alexia Chamberlynn. I have a manuscript critique with you tomorrow. I'm really excited." But it came out at super speed, and I think I tripped over about every word in the sentence. She was super nice though and ignored my lack of speaking ability. Then she made a joke about how she had her own boardroom for the critiques, whereupon I repeated, "I'm really excited," and decided at that point fleeing was my best option. Oh, to be an agent.

So, in addition to being a gracious soul, Katharine was a great speaker. She's actually written a book on pitching to agents, titled Making the Perfect Pitch. Here are the notes from her workshop:

- Agents are looking for sparks of potential. Your goal in querying is to make them feel a spark.
- Use the following formula for query letters: Place/Person/Pivot. She also shared Donald Maas' formula: Setting/Protag/Problem. Basically, the place or setting grounds the reader in what period of history and general location the story is taking place. This shouldn't be an info-dump of backstory in your query letter, but just enough to set the stage. Person/Protag tells us who the story is about. And Pivot/Problem tells us what the main issue of the story is - what does your MC face, what's at stake?
- Querial Killers (mistakes in query letters)
       - Avoiding the elements of the above formulas
       - Lack of a takeaway. Being unclear, lack of cohesion. My first query letter was like that. I thought it sounded lovely, but looking back at it later I realized it was vague and didn't really give anyone a clear idea of what went on in my book.
       - Hubris or humility. Being either overly confident or self deprecating are turn-offs in a query.
- Ask yourself, why does the world need my book? Make sure you know the answer to this and can communicate that in your query (not directly, but through crafting a compelling query with the P/P/P formula.

Katharine had a couple bits of information that contradict what other agents have said, but I'll share them and you can decide.

- Don't include word count in your query letter. She says that if the letter is well written, no agent will reject you for leaving it out. Including it is one more reason they could reject you (if your book is too long for instance).
- Query widely, and don't be hung up on a personalized approach. Her point here was that agents often don't know what they'll love, and you never know when an agency might have just gotten a new agent or assistant that loves your genre, even if their website says otherwise. I don't think she meant not to target agents that love your genre, and do research so that you can include something personalized in your query letter such as how you love such and such a book they represent. I think her point was not to limit yourself only to agents who accept your exact genre.

If you get an offer for representation, these are appropriate questions to ask:

- Why do you want to be my agent?
- What experience do you have representing this kind of book?

So, there it is, writer friends. Ammunition for your querying arsenal.

I'm off to Savannah, Georgia with my hubs for our second anniversary. I will be back to the blogosphere on Wednesday with tips on writing fiction for kids. Also, I'm rather behind on my commenting right now, and hope to get back on the bandwagon soon. That pesky thing called 'life' keeps rearing it's ugly head.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!