By Natalie R. Collins
http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/killerquery.html
Query letters and synopses are the bane of writers every where. Extremely prolific authors with 200,000-word manuscripts suddenly suffer writer's block when faced with a letter that starts: "Dear Agent."
Why are these two products so difficult to write? Perhaps because we are making it harder than it needs to be. In today's column I will focus on query letters. Query letters are simple. There are only five parts to an effective query, although others will tell you there are four.
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Query letters? Do literary agents really read them?
http://www.agentquery.com/writer_hq.aspx
Agents take queries very seriously, and yes, they really do read them. It’s not some universal rumor that agents have perpetuated because they all have a secret fetish for being bombarded with mail. Sure, agents make it sound like digging through the slush pile is the last priority of their day. Some agents even relegate the ambivalent task of reading unsolicited queries to an assistant or intern. But the fact of the matter is that most agents do read queries. Even more importantly, agents actually respond to ones that spark their interest.
So write a professional, intelligent, concise, intriguing query and not only will you entice an agent to ask for more, but you’ll move yourself one step closer to a book sale.
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| How To Write Great Queries Without Resorting To Threats, Bribery or Coercion By Wendy Keller Keller Media, Inc. http://www.absolutewrite.com/novels/querying_an_agent.htm Imagine you are a literary agent sitting beside a box brimming with queries. You lift your letter knife high and the sun glints off its blade, illuminating your evil grin. "Whose dreams can I dash today?" you chuckle as you pluck the first victim from the pile. Or try this: an agent waits by the mailbox, checking her watch for the tardy mail truck. Nervously twisting her hands, she finally sees the truck come reeling around the corner, and her heart skips a beat. Perhaps the ideal query letter will come today! |
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