Everything and the Query Letter
Tuesday, September 10th, 2019 01:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizvogelA little while ago, I had an epiphany of sorts: I was dragging my feet about the final-push querying on Highway of Mirrors because it really was time to put it aside and try something else. (I still think HoM is a good book, but it's time and then some to admit it's not going to be my debut novel.) The other part of the epiphany was that, of the two books I've been waffling about querying next, I really should just go with the one that everybody's responded positively to (and that is ready to go, unlike the other which is ready except for one final thing that I'm stuck on).
Of course, this means I had to write another query letter. Constructive comments welcome.
Dear [agent to be named later],
I am seeking representation for ...AND THE KITCHEN SINK, a space-opera adventure filled with everything from ninjas to grues to a cyborg platypus. Complete at 86,000 words, ...AND THE KITCHEN SINK might appeal to fans of Douglas Adams or Tom Holt after an all-night marathon of ITV's =The Avengers=.
College student Kearsley Coldwater always knew her Aunt Mayville was formidable, but when ninjas literally crash the garden club tea party, even she's surprised when Aunt Mayville wipes the floor with them. It isn't until her aunt's dapper and devious old colleague Aubrey D'Augustine arrives that Kearsley learns her aunt used to be a spy -- and the ninjas were sent by a past adversary who for some reason perceives the now-retired Mayville as a threat.
Kearsley persuades the old partners to let her accompany them as they set off across the galaxy on a trail of attempted murder, mayhem, and questionable cuisine, to discover what the mysterious "bat smuggler" is up to this time. If they aren't scorched by a supernova, poisoned by shadowy minions, or eaten by a grue, they might just find out -- but will they be able to bring him to justice at last? And will Kearsley be able to mind her manners to her aunt's satisfaction in the process?
My short fiction can be found on dailysciencefiction.com. In addition to science fiction and fantasy, I also write espionage, mystery, and anything else that'll hold still long enough. When not writing, I'm the chair of Narrativity: A Convention for Story (www.narrativity.fun). And if I ever get a minute that's not consumed by those pursuits, my cats are happy to dispose of it for me.
I've included the first [whatever they asked for] of ...AND THE KITCHEN SINK below; if it grabs your interest, I'd be happy to send you more. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Of course, this means I had to write another query letter. Constructive comments welcome.
Dear [agent to be named later],
I am seeking representation for ...AND THE KITCHEN SINK, a space-opera adventure filled with everything from ninjas to grues to a cyborg platypus. Complete at 86,000 words, ...AND THE KITCHEN SINK might appeal to fans of Douglas Adams or Tom Holt after an all-night marathon of ITV's =The Avengers=.
College student Kearsley Coldwater always knew her Aunt Mayville was formidable, but when ninjas literally crash the garden club tea party, even she's surprised when Aunt Mayville wipes the floor with them. It isn't until her aunt's dapper and devious old colleague Aubrey D'Augustine arrives that Kearsley learns her aunt used to be a spy -- and the ninjas were sent by a past adversary who for some reason perceives the now-retired Mayville as a threat.
Kearsley persuades the old partners to let her accompany them as they set off across the galaxy on a trail of attempted murder, mayhem, and questionable cuisine, to discover what the mysterious "bat smuggler" is up to this time. If they aren't scorched by a supernova, poisoned by shadowy minions, or eaten by a grue, they might just find out -- but will they be able to bring him to justice at last? And will Kearsley be able to mind her manners to her aunt's satisfaction in the process?
My short fiction can be found on dailysciencefiction.com. In addition to science fiction and fantasy, I also write espionage, mystery, and anything else that'll hold still long enough. When not writing, I'm the chair of Narrativity: A Convention for Story (www.narrativity.fun). And if I ever get a minute that's not consumed by those pursuits, my cats are happy to dispose of it for me.
I've included the first [whatever they asked for] of ...AND THE KITCHEN SINK below; if it grabs your interest, I'd be happy to send you more. Thank you for your time and consideration.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-Sep-17, Tuesday 03:05 am (UTC)Are "literally" and "for some reason" needed?
Also, you're hoping to have the agent represent you as a writer, right? So maybe your bio should focus on that aspect of your life, rather than be the type of author bio that readers might be interested in?
(Unless, of course, you are seeking representation for your cats.)
(no subject)
Date: 2019-Sep-17, Tuesday 04:08 pm (UTC)"literally" -- There's an old writing truism that, if you're stuck, you should have ninjas crash the tea party. Really it's a metaphor for having some dramatic action happen to stir things up, but I decided to take it literally and use it as the inciting incident. Also, the ninjas do literally "crash" the tea party -- right through the picture window. (They're not very good ninjas.)
"for some reason" is there to emphasize that on the surface, there is no reason why the bat smuggler should care about Mayville any more. The actual reason is quite obscure and takes most of the book for them to find out, and when it's revealed is the sort of cock-eyed irony that fits with the overall tone of the story.
Most agents say that they want the bio section to give them some (brief!) idea of what the writer is like as a person. Writing credits should go there too, but if you don't have many (and I used all of mine, up there), you shouldn't try to pad it out by talking about how you've wanted to be a writer since you were five or whatever.
And at that, three out of four sentences (writing credits, genres I write, I run a writing convention) are writing-related. Because in fact I don't have much of a life outside out writing. ;-)
(I would totally eat Chips on a Stick. Just sayin'.)
(no subject)
Date: 2019-Sep-17, Tuesday 05:27 pm (UTC)It all sounds good, then! I'm looking forward to reading your cats' books. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2019-Sep-17, Tuesday 05:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-Sep-17, Tuesday 05:43 pm (UTC)Your talented cats! Will you be approaching Timothy the Talking Cat about representation? He has written and edited, so I'm pretty sure he could be persuaded to serve as their literary agent.
(Or maybe that is horribly biased of me, to assume your cats would want an agent of their own species. Please forget I said anything.)
(no subject)
Date: 2019-Sep-17, Tuesday 11:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-Sep-18, Wednesday 12:02 am (UTC)Oh, no - did I sound sarcastic? My first reply to your post was a query about pets, with a light joke attached, but you explained about the cats in your reply to me, so everything I've said since then has just been jokes, not an attack on what you replied.
I like cats. I love Timothy the Talking Cat. (I bore Joe to death by reading him posts by Timothy all the time.) The idea of Timothy becoming your cats' literary agent tickled my fancy. I'm awfully sorry I wasn't clearer.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-Sep-18, Wednesday 02:27 am (UTC)No harm, no foul?
/*rereading with the properly-receptive mindset*/ My cats appreciate the acknowledgment of their talent and general magnificence, but they fear Timothy's failure to recognize the gloriousness of deep-fried potato matter may be a deal-breaker. (Seriously, no french fry is safe in this house.)
(no subject)
Date: 2019-Sep-27, Friday 04:06 pm (UTC)No problem! I realized afterwards that I'd switched too quickly from critique to promoting Timothy's stellar qualitites.
(You're lucky it's fries. In our home, it was plastic bags.)
(no subject)
Date: 2019-Sep-27, Friday 05:53 pm (UTC)