#10queries

Let's Talk Query Letters

10Queries event update! The parts of a query letter, and a couple of resources.

Hey Story Crafters,

#10Queries is LIVE! The submission portal, which you can find via the link below, will be open until 11:59 p.m. tonight. You DO NOT need to have a completed manuscript to enter!

Click the link to view the event schedule, and the bios of the editors participating in this event (including mine!). This is what the schedule looks like:

Schedule:

Friday, October 13th: Contest drawing opens for writers. Writers will enter through Rafflecopter (access at the bottom of the page. It will not be active until Oct 13th).

The drawing will close at 11:59pm, Eastern time on Friday.

To be eligible to win, writers can only enter through Rafflecopter.

Saturday, October 14th: Winners will be notified via email. They will then be asked to submit their query/five pages to a RevPit Google form.

Winners must submit their materials to the Revise & Resub email address no later than 11:00AM EST on Wednesday the 18th. In order to provide enough time for editors to read all materials, no late submissions will be accepted.

Wednesday, October 18th - Friday, October 27th: Editors will review the submission packages.

Friday, October 27th: Editors will share their #10queries throughout the day! They will post from 9am EST - 9pm EST. Winners will not be named in the posts. Editors will email writers separately to notify which #10Queries post was theirs.

Participation from all contestants is encouraged. Even if your name isn’t drawn in the raffle, you can learn so much from the 10Queries posts.

To get the most out of this event, identifying and understanding the parts of a query letter is key. Below are the broad strokes for understanding a query letter.

Parts of a Query Letter

A query letter is a lot like a cover letter. Like a cover letter, it should be a page long. But instead of introducing yourself, your qualifications and why you’re a good fit for a specific job position, you’re doing all of that with your manuscript. In your query letter, you’re introducing an agent to your manuscript, showing how and/or why your manuscript is a good fit for that agent, sharing just enough information to get the agent interested in reading the first 5 pages of your manuscript (and, hopefully, the rest of it!), and finally, introducing yourself.

Query Letter Breakdown:

Opening paragraphs: Manuscript Specifications (specs) and Personalization

Manuscript specs are pretty straightforward. This is where you share your manuscript title, word count, genre, and comps (comparative titles; in other words, titles similar to your manuscript). Comps should ideally be books less than three years old. However, it’s fine to have one comp be older, or to have one be a TV show or a movie.

Personalization: This is your chance to show that you’ve chosen this particular agent for a specific reason, and that you’ve done the appropriate amount of research to reach this conclusion. (Caution: We don’t want to go too deep into research and come across as a stalker!). Examples of personalization include…

Books the agent has represented (especially if the books are similar to your manuscript)

A favorite TV show/movie you both love (again, especially if it’s similar to your manuscript)

Something the agent has said in an interview that you genuinely appreciate

Manuscript specs and personalization can be interchanged, but they should be placed at the beginning of the query letter. This personal connection gives the agent a reason to keep reading your query letter — you pique their interest, and they keep reading to find out if your manuscript delivers on this personal connection.

Summary Paragraphs: This is your chance to convince the agent to keep reading beyond the query letter and into the first 5 pages of your manuscript. Content-wise, you want to include…

Paragraph 1:

The protagonist’s main or primary goal of the story.

The conflict the protagonist faces, or a strong feeling they experience. You’ll want to focus a little more on this part, because this is how you’ll hook the agent.

Gloss over the challenges the protagonist has to overcome a.k.a., when things fall apart.

Paragraph 2:

Elaborate a little more on the conflict/strong feeling and stakes, and what it will take for your protagonist to succeed.

For dual point-of-view (or for a romance story), this is where you’ll focus on the second character and how they relate to the protagonist. In the case of multiple POVs, focus on the second major character after the protagonist.

Tip 1: DO NOT give away the plot! The purpose of the summary paragraphs is to give just enough information to set the story up. You want to end this section in a cliffhanger, to encourage the agent to continue on to your manuscript.

Tip 2: Match the voice of your query letter to the voice in your manuscript. If you use flowery language in your manuscript, use flowery language in your query letter. This teaser helps prepare the agent for your manuscript by setting expectations for voice.

Tip 3: Be as specific as possible. In the summary paragraphs, you want to prioritize details that can only describe or apply to your manuscript. This is another way to make your manuscript interesting and memorable to the agent.

Closing paragraphs: End with your bio and a polite closer. If you have a platform, share that information in your bio; otherwise, focus on details of your life that are relevant to your manuscript. For example, if your protagonist is a doctor and you’ve been a doctor for several years, this is a detail you’d want to include in your bio. As for the closer, DO NOT set a deadline for a response from the agent, or otherwise try to pressure them into responding. Agents receive many, many query letters and manuscripts; it takes time for them to read through the query letters they receive, on top of working with their current clients and other responsibilities.

For those of us not querying…

Even if you don’t plan on pursuing traditional publishing, the Summary Paragraphs section is useful if you’re designing your own book jacket. Tune into the #10Queries event and see how the participating editors evaluate the effectiveness of the submitted queries and first 5 pages, and pay particular attention to the Summary Paragraphs evaluation. This will help give you tips for crafting your own book jacket effectively.

Additional query letter resources:

Author Eva Langston has a blog post with additional query letter tips.

The Manuscript Academy has tons of resources for authors, especially those pursuing traditional publishing. Note that you will need to pay for a membership to access these resources.

Whether you choose to submit materials or not, I hope you’ll consider participating in #10Queries!

Until next time!

Best,

Leah

Substack Post: https://thecraftyfoxwriterscorner.substack.com/p/lets-talk-query-letters

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Happy Fall 2023!

Some news from The Crafty Fox Editing Services! 🍁🎃

Hey Story Crafters,

Happy fall! It’s been a while, so I wanted to send an update about recent and upcoming events. 🙂

I recently attended the ACES Virtual Conference, and in addition to getting inspired by sessions led by amazing fellow editors (many of whom you can find in the ACES directory), I was happy to hear some writing insights from R. L. Stine, one of the keynote speakers. As you can imagine, he was a seasonally-appropriate choice for a keynote speaker. 👻

I found it fascinating to hear that his writing process, to this day, is to write a detailed outline from start to finish, and then write the entire manuscript based on that outline. Another interesting tidbit about his writing process is that he comes up with the title before he starts writing the outline—so he actually writes a manuscript from start to finish, starting from the title.

I agree there are some benefits of having an outline beforehand, though I doubt my outlines are as detailed as R. L. Stine’s. Unlike R. L. Stine, I come up with titles after I’m done writing. And even then, it’s a struggle for me.

Upcoming Event: #10Queries Mini-Event with Revise & Resub (#RevPit)

I was invited to participate in a mini-event this month called #10Queries, hosted by Revise & Resub (known as @ReviseResub/#RevPit on Twitter/X). For those unfamiliar with Revise & Resub:

Revise & Resub (#RevPit) is a Twitter writing community co-founded in 2017 by a group of editors. It supports authors by offering editing-focused chats and mini-events throughout the year as well as an annual contest wherein querying authors can win feedback and edits on their full manuscripts from professional editors, ensuring their works are polished and ready for agent inboxes. Source: https://www.reviseresub.com/

In addition to their annual event, the #10Queries mini-event is held twice a year:

#10Queries: In this event, writers will enter their names in a random drawing via Rafflecopter. If they are selected, their query and first five pages will be randomly assigned to an editor who will then tweet about the submission using #10Queries. Winners will not know which editor received their submissions until after the #10Queries tweets have been posted. Tweets will consist of brief feedback based on the editors' first impressions of the winners' queries and first five pages. Source: Revise & Resub #10Queries post: https://reviseresub.com/mini-events/january-2023-10queries

This month’s #10Queries will be hosted on Reddit (event details to come). However, the general guidelines and proceedings for the event are the same. You can learn more about past #10Queries on the Revise & Resub website.

Next time, I’ll cover the broad strokes of what should be present in an effective query letter. I’ll also explain why this knowledge is beneficial, even if you’re an indie author self-publishing your work.

Until then!

Best,

Leah

Connect with me on social media!

Substack Post: https://thecraftyfoxwriterscorner.substack.com/p/happy-fall-2023