I wonder if I should....

[lizvogel]

Writing progresses.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering if I should tweak something in the query. Tell me, oh readers:

When you see the phrase "an espionage novel", what do you think of?

Now, what do you think when you see "a contemporary espionage novel"?

Comments

[infiniteviking]

Hmm, try show-not-tell? Instead of putting the book in a category, maybe mention something in it that brings the right atmosphere to mind?

[lizvogel]

Mmm, not for a query letter, I think. There's no spare word-space to work with, and besides, one of the few things all agents I've seen agree on is that they want the genre explicitly stated.

My concern is that "contemporary espionage" might lead someone to expect a techno-thriller, and that is very much not what this book is.