Skip to main content

My Query

I wanted to list my query here, and see what you think. I have a few versions of the letter depending on the requirements of the agent. Here is one such letter:

Thank you for taking time to consider me for representation. I've read your guest-blog post today, and after reading your information and client list at Publisher's Marketplace, I wanted to contact you regarding my first novel THE UNIQUE DESTRUCTION OF AN ORDINARY SOUL (contemporary fantasy; approximately 130,000 words). If I may, a brief synopsis:

Evander is an average young man looking for love and adventure in Baltimore. One lightning-wrought night he finds adventure and so much more when he meets the woman of his dreams, and quickly becomes an honest-to-god, blood-sucking vampire, as our protagonist puts it. And when a master vampire goes too far in persuading the new vampire to live under his House, Evander quickly begins to lose loved ones in a battle that eventually consumes the entire city, while the world heads on a course for nuclear destruction.

I'm currently an undergraduate student working towards a degree in English. Again, thank you for your time [mr. agent]. I hope to hear from you soon.

Respectfully

It's certainly not perfect, but I figured this is short and sweet, and hopefully will get them to read the synopsis or partial.

Comments

  1. Elton, I don't mean to put you off but I have been asked by a publisher who has shown an interest in my novel to reduce my word count down to 85 to 95k

    Now I know your book stand at 130K but my first draft stood at 129k and I was told by an agent that a publisher wouldn't touch a first time novelist's book with such a high word count so I reduce it to 111k thinking this would be much better, but now I have been asked to cut it again.

    Now it stand at 95k. You may find that the high word count is putting agents and publishers off,
    just a thought...

    best wishes,
    Annie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Really? I am considering this, Annie - and good luck by the way! - but I really don't understand it. I'm sure from a publisher's POV is makes perfect sense; but for me, the story I have written wouldn't work at 100K words...

    I'm beginning heavy consideration for revisions soon, so I'll let you know what happens.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BEING ELTON ALWINE

This is something that I've not give much thought about, and I'm not one to self-diagnose, but I have to find out if I have an anxiety disorder. All the symptoms are there: sweating, shortness of breath, headaches, etc. The list goes on. It's hard to concentrate, and I'm sick of excuses for why I'm not writing. It's certainly not lack of love or passion. And I am just a bit too affected on Sundays. The Baltimore Ravens are one of my loves in life, but this football team should in no way affect my attitudes and moods after game day . This, to me, is completely unacceptable. As of late, I've also developed an unnatural fear of death. I have witnessed this transformation seemingly outside of myself. I've never actually been the "worry wart" type, and I'm far from letting this behavior continue. Depression, Anxiety - these are words that I have always abhorred ; figments of the Pharmaceutical Industry's Utopian dream. Quite a bit of this d...

Jack-o'-lanterns in November!

Today most of America seems to have forgotten that the venerable jack-o'-lantern is not only an important symbol of Halloween, but also of Thanksgiving. As a kid this icon of Thanksgiving was a decoration you would see in people's yards throughout October and November; through most of autumn. Today you don't see it as much, with folks settling for simple uncarved pumpkins on the steps on the porch, or on bales of hay. I bring this up only because I'd like to see a return to the pumpkin-headed scarecrows staying around for more than one holiday. I'm keeping my jack-o'-lanterns out in the yard and on the porch until the day after Thanksgiving. It's time we keep the pumpkin-head scarecrow around all fall. This is a perfect way to repurpose your jacks into November, instead of letting them get tossed by some teenagers post-All Hollows Eve! However, there is something to be said for rotting jack-o'-lanterns after Halloween that just screams cool. Aging jacks ...

Diagnosis Vampire!

Diagnosis Murder is one of my favorite snuggle beside the fire nostalgia trips to enjoy once in a while, like Murder, She Wrote or Matlock . It has that cozy mystery vibe and it's set at the perfect era - i.e., late 1980s through the 1990s. Actually I think DM ended in the early 2000s... But, anyway. The episode (S2 E13) The Bela Lugosi Blues (1995) was one of the first episodes I watched that turned me on to the show, and that's purely for the vampire story. Plus, Julie Carmen plays the vampire antagonist! Yes, Jerry Dandridge's sister, Regina! Julie plays the undead Moriah Thomas, who is killing most of LA's eligible bachelor's, and Jack could be next! Usually Diagnosis Murder plays things fair and straight, dispelling any notions of fantasy before the shows climax, but with this episode the show leans into the supernatural and doesn't fix it with a bend towards reality. Is Mark hallucinating, high with fever, or dreaming?? None of the above! Th...