Archive for ‘queries’

April 19th, 2011

Query Letter Blogfest

by Holly Dodson

Erinn, Alicia, Pam, Quita, and I have joined forces again, and this time we’ve brought you the Query Letter Blogfest!

Today is the day!  Whoever signed up will post their query letter, and then we will all jump around and critique each others.  We hope this will be an excellent learning experience for all involved.

Now, I up to this point, have not talked about the querying that I’m doing on the blog.  But, I am currently querying HAPPILY NEVER AFTER, which you may have guessed by now.  ;)   So, I’m going to share my query letter, which has been quite successful so far.
Dear [Agent name spelled correctly],

[Something very personalized, like mentioning a specific blog post where they expressed interest in high-concept YA, or fairy tales, or something of the like.]  As such, I believe you may be interested in my 53,000 word young adult fantasy, HAPPILY NEVER AFTER.

Sixteen-year-old Kate is trapped in a fairy tale, and if she doesn’t escape soon, she’ll lose all her memories. Or worse, she’ll get killed.

Kate’s brother is dying.  Unable to cope with watching him deteriorate, she makes a stupid wish to escape her life in favor of a fairy tale.  But the wish comes true.  And fairy tale land?  Well, it sucks.  Kate is forced to obey an unseen, god-like narrator, who makes Kate dress as a prissy Princess while repeating the same story over and over again — and each time, more of Kate’s memory is lost.  Plus, venomous Prince Charming is out to kill her.  And that’s just great.

Then Kate discovers the secret to escaping this Magical Kingdom of Torture: true love’s kiss, of course.  But the narrator (who is determined to keep Kate trapped) begins to pick apart the story, removing any object, twist, or character that might come to Kate’s aid.  The crazy narrator even steals Nathan, the guy Kate thinks she’s in love with, and replaces him with Jace, a dashing rogue Kate can’t keep her eyes off of.  Now, as Kate clings to her dwindling memories and tries to forge a new path through the fairy tale, she has to choose which guy she really loves.

If Kate chooses wrong, the narrator will trap her there forever, and she’ll live Happily Never After.

HAPPILY NEVER AFTER is similar to THE WIZARD OF OZ and ELLA ENCHANTED, and I believe it may appeal to fans of both. Though the novel has been written as the first in a planned trilogy, it can also stand alone. I’m an active member of SCBWI, the Florida Writers Association, and YALitChat.

[As requested in your guidelines, the first chapter and synopsis are pasted below. ONLY INCLUDE WHAT IS EXPLICITLY REQUESTED .]  [And here I may put something like, "So that you are aware, this is a multiple submission."]  Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Holly Dodson
[phone number]
[link to my blog]
—-
[pages as requested in their guidelines]

So, what do you think?  I can’t wait to read everyone’s!

Categoryagents, publishing, queries, WIP | CommentNo Comments »

April 11th, 2011

Query Letter Blogfest

by Holly Dodson

Erinn, Alicia Pam, Quita, and I are joining forces again, and this time we’re bringing you the Query Letter Blogfest!

On April 19th, whoever signs up will post their query letter.  Then, we all jump around and critique each others.  The five of us thought it would be an excellent learning experience for all involved. 

Already agented?  You could post the query that landed the request from your agent as an example!  This is just about helping each other put our best feet forward.

You can sign up over on Alicia’s blog.

Here are a few good articles on writing queries, if you need a jumpstart:

Categoryagents, publishing, queries, Writing | CommentNo Comments »

October 12th, 2010

Tipsy Tuesday – Tracking Queries

by Holly Dodson

I had a brainwave this morning.  How many writers out there have a proficient way to track their queries?  Do you know how to use excel?  Do you pay for one of those tracking services?

I’m really curious.  For my day job I do accounting type things, so I use excel every single day.  It was a natural choice to turn to for my tracking spreadsheet.  But what do other writers use?

For today, I give you — my spreadsheet, and the basic tools to create your own.

And here’s a quick rundown of how to make this jewel:

The title — merge the cells together using the little a symbol with arrows on either side.  Highlight the cells you want to merge and click it.  Bold and increase your font.

Column titles — these work for me, you may want more or different ones.  I just made them bold

Body — fill in all your vital info.  I like to have everything I need to query right there in one place.  Email address, agent name, guidelines — you won’t have to go re-hunting if you have a spreadsheet like this.  One thing I do on the submission guidelines column is wrap the text.  Highlight the cells and click “format” then “cells”.  Then click “alignment” and there’s a little box at the bottom that says “wrap text”.  This way your spreadsheet doesn’t wind up 50 pages wide.

That’s basically it!  You can get fancy with the borders and colors if you want, but with this you’ll never query an agent twice, and will always know what is outstanding.

Helpful?  If you have more questions about excel, don’t hesitate to ask.

Categoryagents, queries, tips | Comment10 Comments »

October 1st, 2010

Inspiration for a Friday

by Holly Dodson

Well, I was trying a new feature to post for today, but I’m not thinking it’s going to work.

Here’s what I want to know: What keeps you going? What inspires you to hit send one more time for yet another query? What keeps you writing when the going gets tough?

I’m preparing myself…the rejections are bound to come. That’s just part of being a writer.

But I want to make the best of it. I don’t want to let it get me down.

What are your tips, tricks, and ideas?

I’m planning to dive head-first into my next WIP. That alone is inspiring.

Categoryinspiration, queries, Writing | Comment4 Comments »

September 28th, 2010

Plan of Attack

by Holly Dodson

Who all here as queried before? Let’s see a show of hands.

I’m trying to devise a plan before I start sending queries out all willy-nilly into the world. There are several different strategies I’ve heard.

  1. Just get them out. All at once or within close succession, however you can.
  2. Send out bursts…maybe five or so at a time.
  3. Send out 10 and wait for responses from them all, then send another 10.

I don’t know. *five second panic attack*

Why am I so terrified to start sending queries? I keep trying to come up with things to do instead. I must have read my query letter 50 times in the last week. I can’t find a single word I want to change anymore. The lovely KO has already finished her read-through and gave very positive feedback. It didn’t take me any time to add a couple touches where she recommended.

There’s nothing left to change! *yet another mini panic attack*

Okay, taking deep breaths now. Which plan of attack would you follow? My brain is in shut-down-I-refuse-to-make-a-decision mode.

Categoryagents, queries, Writing | Comment11 Comments »

August 4th, 2010

Critique Party #8

by Holly Dodson

Remember – I’m moderating the comments. This is meant to help one another, so be nice.

Our goal is to help each writer make their page stronger.

Dear Dream Agent,

Fourteen-year-old Mandy Samkirk is the only person who can return light to the world, but she isn’t sure she wants to.

Mandy’s parents have been keeping secrets. Not only is Mandy a marvel – complete with magical powers – but she is being forced to leave her life and friends behind for some ridiculous boarding school. How cliché.

When Mandy’s father is murdered right before her eyes, she is thrust into the heart of a battle she never knew existed. The marvel world is under siege by Temne – who consume light, or your inherent goodness – causing the world to get darker. The days creep by until the earth is covered in perpetual darkness, and death is certain for all.

Legend says there is only one who can bridge the gap between magical and non-magical beings to restore harmony to the precarious balance of good and evil. This harmony holds the key to restoring light to the decaying planet.

Even with the fate of humanity resting on her shoulders, Mandy isn’t sure she can face the villain she loves.

When battle is imminent, Mandy finds the courage to make a decision she never expected.

Emerald’s Keeper, a YA Paranormal novel, is complete at 61,000 words. I believe it will appeal to fans of Aprilynne Pike’s Wings as well as Holly Black’s Tithe.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Holly Dodson

Categorycritiques, queries, revisions, Writing | Comment8 Comments »

August 2nd, 2010

Critique Party #6

by Holly Dodson
Remember – I’m moderating the comments. This is meant to help one another, so be nice.

Our goal is to help each writer make their page stronger.

[Contact Info]

Dear Dream Agent,

I’m seeking representation for THE SPIRIT-HUNTERS, a young adult steampunk complete at 80,000 words.

When her brother vanishes at the train station, Eleanor Fitt – a stubborn and naïve young lady-of-leisure – must leave the confines of corsets and courtesy to get him back.

It’s 1876, and Philadelphia is hosting the Centennial Exhibition. It’s also hosting rancid corpses that refuse to stay dead. When one of those decomposing bodies delivers a hostage note for Eleanor’s scholarly brother, she resolves to do anything to get him back. But to face the armies of Dead that have him, she’ll need a little help.

The Spirit-Hunters, a three-man team hired to protect the Centennial Exhibition, have different backgrounds and different skills, but they work together under a single goal: return the Dead to where they belong. Yet, what had begun as an easy job with only a handful of shambling bodies has escalated beyond the teams’ abilities, and time is running out. Whoever rules the Dead is losing control of his power, and when the leash finally snaps, Philadelphia will be overrun with ravenous corpses.

From the steampunk lab of the Spirit-Hunters to the emptied cemeteries of Philadelphia, Eleanor must follow the clues – and the bodies – to find her brother and stop the Dead before it’s too late.

I’m an active member of RWA, SCBWI, the Online Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop, and YALitChat. I avidly read your blog daily [or insert some relevant comment for specific agent...] Thanks so much for your time.

Best regards,

Susan Dennard

Categorycritiques, queries, Writing | Comment6 Comments »

April 27th, 2010

Tipsy Tuesday

by Holly Dodson

Okay, so maybe not that kind of tipsy. Unless you’ve got a chilled moscato hanging out over there. Then it’s game ON! I jest, I jest. Or do I?

Enough circles. On this Tipsy Tuesday I bring you tips for query submissions I have gathered across the array of agent blogs I follow.

  1. Personalize the letter. No, Ms. Agent Lady doesn’t enjoy being addressed as Dear Sir. Be sure to use the agent’s name, spelled correctly.
  2. Never ever, ever, ever, ever CC a gajillion agents on a single query email. They know. It’s really an insult–like saying they’re not worth your time.
  3. No matter how great the urge– do NOT send gifts along with a paper query. It’s creepy.
  4. Do your research. Sending an agent a query for a genre they don’t represent is wasting both your time. Most agents list things they represent on their website and/or on sites like query tracker and publishers marketplace.
  5. Don’t send attachments to emails, unless the agent specifically asks for it! It will be deleted for fear of viruses.

Now, some not so serious mommy tips.

  1. Never let Super-Spawn nap until nearly 5pm, he will never go to sleep at night.
  2. Of course cake is a healthy food! Grandma says so!
  3. Repeating Mama over and over and over and over is a tactic to make you cave. DO NOT GIVE IN!
  4. Puppy dog eyes and pouty lips work, even if you don’t want them to.
  5. They really are cute when they sleep, it’s the waking hours you have to worry about.

Ba-dum-cha!

Categoryfunny, parenting, publishing, queries, random, tips, Writing | Comment2 Comments »