Writing tips

The plot
thickens

Choosing
a literary
agent

Query letters

Inspire me!

But they
rejected me!

Query letter tip 1

Always send a stamped, self-addressed envelope with your query letter. Or send a stamped, self-addressed postcard if you prefer. A postcard save time for the agent (and resources, for everyone).

Query letter tip 2

Have your manuscript ready to go the moment you hook an agent. If interest has been shown, keep that interest on the boil. At the very least, respond by mail and give a rough delivery date for the full document - and keep to that date. Professional writers are reliable writers. Be both.

Query letter tip 3

Polish your letter until it squeaks. This can't be said enough. Cut every wasted word. Question every sentence. Make it flow. make it easy to read (try it aloud). Make it count. Never do what I have done many times and simply scrawl a few words inviting an agent to make his or her own mind up. They'll only do exactly that, and probably not to your advantage. Query letters are as important as the manuscript. Without a good example of the former, agents may never want to read the latter.

Query letter tip 4

Change your approach if your query letters aren't getting you any feedback at all. I've got a number of replies in which an agent has commented on "a good query". You should be able to collect some too. If not, ask some searching questions.

Query letter tip 5

You're sending out queries like machine gun fire and no one is sending you anything other than standardised rejections. What do you do? You get expert advice. Try a writer friend. Check your query for bad language or anything that isn't politically correct. People are very sensitive these days (and perhaps unnaturally so). So check for anything that might offend. And keep your language as clean as possible.

Query letters

You've got to have one of these, so you might as well get it right.

A query letter is a "sell". It's your foot in the door of the agent's office. He or she is busy and doesn't need another manuscript. There are 500 sitting in the "slush pile" waiting to be read and rejected, so you'd better make an impact - and you'd got about 15 seconds.

You'd better start with the right name of the right agent. Get the title right. Mr. Ms. Mrs. Whatever. Tell them what you're selling and why you're approaching them. If you don't know why, go back to the internet or your copy of Writers' & Artists' Yearbook and do your homework.

The more pertinent your reason for targeting a given agent, the better. It's not enough to say that "you have a good reputation" - although I've said this once or twice in my time (a little flattery doesn't hurt). You need to show that agent you've been paying attention. You need to tell them that you know that they're specially interested in alien abduction, or medieval whodunnits or political satires. You can tell them that you're familiar with their authors and feel that your novel might be suitable for their lists.

Don't insist that you're the right client for them. Just suggest it. Agents, remember, know what they want (sometimes, anyway) and don't appreciate being second-guessed. If they want what you've got, they'll tell you quickly enough.

Next, describe your project succinctly and tell the agent who the target reader is. The more you know about that readership, within reason, the better.

Tell the agent the word count.

Tell the agent the theme, if there is one (revenge, love, greed).

Tell the agent something of your credentials (i.e. ex-astronaut).

Tell the agent that the manuscript is complete. Or not.

Tell the agent if the manuscript has been professionally edited.

Tell the agent that you've included a synopsis and a sample chapter.

Tell the agent that you'd like to forward more chapters.

Tell the agent the various ways that you can be contacted.

I'm not convinced there's necessarily a fixed order for all these points. Like all good sells, there's a range of approaches. But if you're writing a query letter, you've got to hit all the bells and make them ring.

Log lines

Sometimes called "sells" or "strap lines". These are the lines that you often see on the cover of books (or on film posters) that tell you something else about the book. Think of them as slogans. If you can come up with a good one, then try it. Increasingly, writers are having to become their own publicists, and log lines are a part of that publishing machine.

One of my novels entitled GROUNDSPEED has the log line: The kidnapping was child's play. The tough part came later ...

Not a wonderful example perhaps, but it tells the agent something else about the story. It's a clue. A tease. A come on.

It isn't crucial that you do have a log line. But it can help. So spend an hour or so trying to come up with one. It's your chance to summarise the novel in one, or possibly two, sentences.