"You never get a second chance to make a first impression."
--Brenda Chin, Associate Editor, Harlequin.
As writers, most of us know that we can turn out the most beautifully crafted, emotionally riveting novels in the world, but unless we can write a slam-bang query letter, our stories aren’t likely to see the top of an editor’s desk. A good query catches the attention of the editor (or agent) and makes them want to see more. So how do you write a good one?
At a workshop on query letters at the Dallas Area Romance Authors conference in February, Brenda Chin stated that the very first thing an editor notices when opening a query letter is the white space. Interesting colors on the stationery can catch her eye, but don’t get fancy with the fonts. Type that is large enough and plain enough to read easily will get you bonus points with the editor. Also, know the editor’s name, and how to spell it correctly.
Most editors aren’t particularly fond of queries that start off: "Dear Ms. Editor, On a dark and lonely night in late winter...." Use that first paragraph to get their attention in a business-like manner. If you have met the editor, mention where that was. Or mention the kinds of books you like. This is especially good if these are books this editor has worked on. Editors like to know that people like "their books." Then let them know that your book would fit right in.
Next, the editor will look for your hook--the back-cover blurb to catch the reader’s attention. Be sure to let your character come through. This is crucial. The editor wants to like these people, and you have to give enough information for that to happen. You can even use POV in a query. Spend two or three paragraphs telling about your story. According to multi-published author Maggie Benson, AKA Maggie Shayne, you should make this as original as you can, and let your personality shine through. Don’t be afraid to stand out from the crowd.
After you have explained your story in those few paragraphs (the absolutely hardest part of a query), you can go on to tell about yourself, any experience you might have, or expertise that makes your story more authentic or believable. For instance, if you have written a story about a daycare inspector who finds true love, and you have worked in daycares for X years, that’s relevant information.
Don’t forget to mention that you are a member of RWA, and a member of our chapter. If you’ve held an office, mention that too. And don’t forget to mention any major awards this story (or any others) might have won. Please don’t go back to the poetry contest you won in 6th grade, but if you made the finals in one of the major regional RWA chapter contests, by all means, let them know.
One last bit of advice from Ms. Chin is to write the entire query in the tone you will use in the story. If it is a funny story, use a light tone. If it is deeply emotional, do your best to bring that out.
"Don’t feel like a penitent sinner approaching a vengeful god," Ms. Benson says. "But present yourself like a business person with a fabulous product to offer that can make the buyer a whole lot of money." If your manuscript is finished, say so. If its not, don’t say anything, but do plant your fanny in that chair and finish it. You should have around three months from the day you mail your query. (More in some instances, less in others. Agents tend to respond more quickly than editors. Hopefully it will be less than two years, like I once waited...) If the publisher will accept partial manuscripts, you can modify your query accordingly, stating that you have enclosed three chapters and synopsis. Otherwise, it should be basically the same.
In conclusion, I offer a "sample letter" written by Ms. Benson, with her editorial comments included. Good luck with your queries!
****
Dear Sally Supereditor,
(First get their attention)
I am convinced my award winning novel, X-FILES, THE ROMANCE NOVEL, is
perfect for your house. (Mention the specific line, if you’re querying a house with
category lines.)
(Next, tell them about the story, focusing on the hero/heroine emotional conflict, not
the plot.)
It is a 100,000-word story set in present day Washington, D.C., in which a tormented
Federal Agent who still blames himself for the disappearance of his sister when they
were both children, struggles with his attraction for his partner, a hard-nosed, efficient
woman who puts her career above her personal life. If he could love anyone, it would be
her, but until he can get past the pain, he can’t give her the love she deserves. She, on the
other hand, is certain she can continue existing in a vacuum, without leaning on anyone.
Close relationships send her running for the job she hides behind. She’s comfortable
with one man, and one man only. Her partner. Because with him it can be strictly
business. If that ever changes, she doesn’t know how she’ll deal with it.
(Next, blow your book’s horn.)
This story has won the Blue Ribbon of Excellence from the Wichita Romance
Writers, and was a finalist in the LA Chapter’s annual contest as well.
(Now, blow your own horn.)
I am a professional writer with X years writing blah-blah. (List any credentials,
making them sound good. If you’re experienced in writing copy for aspirin bottle labels,
call it "Technical Writing" or "Advertising and promotional essays." ) I’ve been a
member of RWA and the Whatever Chapter for X years, serving as secretary, treasurer,
contest coordinator (or whatever.) During that time I’ve placed in or won X number of
contests, written X articles, and done X, Y, and Z.
(Now, sign off without begging or apologizing.)
I can send the complete manuscript on your request (OR) I can send three chapters of
(Title) with a complete synopsis on your request. I look forward to hearing from you.
SASE is of course enclosed.
Signed, Susie Sunshine.
As Maggie Shayne, Maggie Benson is the author of Annie’s Hero, Forever Enchanted, and Fairytale published by Avon, as well as a number of books for Silhouette Intimate Moments. Her most recent IM release was the September ‘97 book Badlands Bad Boy. She is the president of RWA’s Futuristic, Fantasy and Paranormal Chapter.
It’s finished. You’ve revised, rewritten, and re-constructed your manuscript until it’s a finely tuned masterpiece. You’ve got one-inch margins all around, 25 lines per page, and the correct number of words is there in sharp, black Courier font. You’re not crazy about Courier, but you also don’t want to make any waves with an editor, so you use it anyway, and eschew your computer word count for 250-word pages. You’ve used bright white 20- or 24-pound paper and your copy is so clean you could eat off of it. (I don’t know why anyone would want to, but I didn’t invent the cliché; I’m just furthering its use.)
You’ve sent your query letter, synopsis, or partial, whichever your chosen publisher requires and, oh, glory, Edna Editor has written back asking you for a complete. So you sit beside your printer, watching it spit out a fresh new copy of your manuscript, or you hustle to the copy shop where copies are only three cents apiece and watch as if mesmerized as the machine duplicates your words. It’s a good chance to daydream, standing there leaning on the copier. As the sheets run through with a rhythmic "thwap, thwap, thwap," you live through The Call, your first signing, and 50 different ways to spend your advance.
Now it’s time to assemble your submission package. Furrowed brow time. Package? What all do I send, for heaven’s sake?
1. The manuscript. Clean and fresh and banded with clean rubber bands. Band it around both directions, trying not to bend any edges, with rubber bands big enough (at least size 64) to do the trick. Just one rubber band each way--you don’t want Edna to get disgusted before she even has it unbound.
2. Business card. If you don’t have any yet, you should. You can get them made at any office supply store for about $10 a thousand. These are bottom-of-the-line cards, but still professional-looking. You can also print your own. Card stock can be bought at the same office supply stores. Making your own gives you leeway with fonts and ink colors and you don’t end up with 900 of them left over when your address or phone number changes.
3. Cover letter. On letterhead. Remind Edna of who you are and what your book’s about. Be businesslike but not stiff, friendly but not flip. If your book’s funny or dark, let that filter into your cover letter.
4. Cover sheet or title page. You can fancy this up some with fonts, but make sure all the correct info is there. Title, author, pseudonym if applicable, word count.
5. SASE. If you don’t want the manuscript back if it’s rejected, tell Edna so in the cover letter and only include a #10 envelope. If you do want your material back, make sure the SASE will hold it and has the correct amount of postage. If you’re sending outside of the United States, this requires International Reply Coupons, which can be gotten at the post office. IRC’s are confusing to everyone except those people in the dim, dark past who invented them, and international postage is so expensive you’re almost always better off to ask Edna to just destroy your manuscript if she doesn’t buy it. One IRC will return your #10 envelope. One IRC will also return...
6. Your self-addressed post card. That’s the one you include in your package to be dropped in the mail by the publishing house when they receive your material. For U.S. mailings, you can use a pre-stamped post card from the post office; for international mailings, you need a card at least three and a half by five inches in size.
7. The synopsis. You know, the one you have perspired, bled, and wept over and you know still isn’t any good? Some writers place the synopsis before the manuscript, some after. I always place mine after in the vain hope Edna is so enthralled by the manuscript she never gets to the synopsis.
Place the whole shebang in an envelope big enough to hold it all without deconstructing. If you’re using the post office, they offer Tyvek Priority Mail envelopes free of charge. You can send manuscripts Special Standard rate, but Priority is recommended. It’s faster, and the free envelopes don’t hurt anything, either. Do not send the manuscript certified, registered, or insured, all ways that require a signature. If you absolutely can’t live without a signed delivery, you can Express Mail with a signature waiver, in which case the mail carrier will sign, testifying that he did indeed deliver the parcel where it was supposed to go.
If you use UPS or another delivery service, Tyvek envelopes can be found at any office supply store. Although you can use manila envelopes or padded mailers, Tyvek is much stronger than either and even sheds water to a certain degree.
Since Edna has requested your complete manuscript, write "REQUESTED MATERIAL" on the outside of the package to help keep it out of the slush pile.
Then let it go. Go home. Drink some coffee. Sit down at the computer and start again. That new story has been eating a hole in the back of your mind. Let it out into the air. It makes the waiting easier.
This article first appeared in the April issue of NIRA Notes. Reprinted via the internet.
Everyone loves the internet. Readers can buy books without leaving home. Writers can publish their work through Electronic Publishing, and e-mail has become one of life’s comforts -- mail without a .32 cent stamp and week long wait. It’s a form of information, advertisement, and fun. Until you unknowingly download a virus, then the fun is over. Panic, and the fear of e-mail sets in.
I’ve asked Ed Middlebrook to help shed some light on the world of viruses. He is the Information Systems Manager at Plantation Foods in Waco, and also a Certified Computer Professional.
Q: What is a virus?
A: A virus is a set of code written in any computer language instructing the computer to
perform a certain task on a certain day. This code is created by a programmer. For
example, the virus Columbus Day will delete files, or lock up your computer, every year
on Columbus Day. What the virus does depends on how cruel, or what mood, the
programmer was in at the time he/she created it. Most programmers create the code with
a hidden attribute to hide the file. The time and date works from your computer’s
internal clock.
Q: How does someone pick up a virus?
A: When downloading software from the internet, there could be a hidden file inside the
program that contains the virus code. The software itself could be the virus. For
example, you think you’re downloading software to a run a game. Instead of getting a
game to play, you get a virus that destroyed your hard drive.
Q: Can you pick up a virus downloading e-mail?
A: A virus must be an executable file only. E-mails are strictly text files. An attachment
can be sent across with e-mails that could be an executable file. The person receiving the
attachment has the choice to either open it and take a chance, or delete it unopened. The
attachment is not inside the e-mail itself. You’ll have to go through Windows Explorer
to find it. There is one possible way to get a virus through e-mail which is quite rare. I
have heard of some programmers planting a virus within a Microsoft Word "macro" or
Microsoft Excel "macro". These macros are programs that only run within the product.
The Word or Excel document will still be an attachment, so be careful and follow the
advice cited previously.
Q: What virus scan software would you advise and how often should you upgrade?
A: Norton and McAfee are very good and don’t take a lot of space on your hard drive.
Upgrading every 2 years is normal, but if you download a lot, you should upgrade more
often.
Q: Do you have any suggestions to avoid viruses?
A: Just be careful and use common sense. Such as, if you want to download the current
updated virus software from McAfee’s web site, you know you’re getting a reliable
product because McAfee is a legitimate company. But if you go to "Billy Bob’s Anti-Virus" web site, don’t download the software. Billy Bob probably doesn’t have a
company to back his product.
I have one last suggestion of my own. If you receive an attachment with e-mail from a friend, and you’re not comfortable with it, e-mail your friend and ask what’s in it. It could contain harmless text. But if you receive an attachment from a total stranger, ALWAYS delete without opening. Keep one thing in mind, an attachment is harmless until you open it. If you share your computer with others in your household, make it a rule that you discuss the software before anyone downloads. In either case, use your better judgment and keep a current backup of all your files.