Caution: Query Under Construction

The lucky winner of Jody Hedlund's latest release, Unending Devotion, is Karen K. Congratulations!

And now, a little about queries. Dun, dun, dun...

For the first time in a looooong time, I recently sat down to write a new query. And since I have the attention span of a 9-year-old boy, I'd forgotten all the great lessons I'd once learned. And so the research began.

Tips for writing successful queries are endless, as are agents' and editors' tastes in what they want to see in a query. As always, it's important to check the guidelines for specific agents and editors and follow those guidelines exactly.

Here's some helpful information:

Clarity Rules The Day

Scott Eagan, literary agent for Greyhaus Literary Agency, wrote this great post: Clarity In Queries--The Biggest Reason Editors and Agents Say No. It's a great post, and definitely worth a read. Eagan reminds us to answer these questions in our query:

1. Title, genre and word count
2. What makes your story unique
3. Who the characters are
4. What is their goal, motivation and conflict
5. What is the central conflict in the story
6. What is the theme or "take-away" for the author

Query Writing Basics

Querytracker.net has an excellent resource, Query Writing Basics, which explains what a query letter is, and what should or shouldn't be in one.

Style and Voice

One lesson I remembered is that our queries should whet the appetite of agents and editors. They should reflect the tone and voice of the manuscript. We should choose strong, specific words that quickly announce to the pros what our book is about.

Read Successful Queries

The links on Querytracker.net provide plenty of samples of successful queries. When writing my new query, I dragged out my previous query that had caught my agent's attention. It was helpful to once again see how I'd whittled down my own novel into concise paragraphs with plenty of flavor.

Hook, Setup, Conflict

Elana Johnson, super person, amazing author, and Queen of the Query, has great tips for writing queries on her blog. Check out her posts on The Hook, The Setup, and The Conflict. 

On Bubblecow, Author Gary Smailes wrote The Query Letter That Won Me An Agent And A Four Book Deal (And Why It Was So Successful). It's interesting to see the author break it all down and point out what made it work.

Is my query finished? Heck no! There's plenty of work to be done. But studying the basics helped lead me in the right direction. 

Have you written a query letter lately? Do you like or loathe the process? Can you share any query tips with the rest of us?

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Loosey Goosey Goals

"Establishing goals is all right if you don't let them deprive you of interesting detours." - Doug Larson

Do you set firm goals for the year, then freak out if you don't reach them?

I would. That's why I create loosey goosey goals for each day: Write x number of words. Revise x number of chapters. Read through critique pages. Query Tracker had a great post about writer's goals here.

I have long-term publishing goals, but they're somewhat dependent on the tastes and actions of other people. If my goal was to publish a novel in 2011, I'd be disappointed on December 31st.

My goals for 2011 are loose: charge forward, write new material, revise like crazy, try new things, submit, submit, submit, and keep learning.

Nothing is impossible if we work hard enough and push through our obstacles. As Jack Penn said, "One of the secrets to life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks." And as Elana Johnson wrote in this post, "the impossible is possible."

Do you have concrete goals for 2011, or will you take the loosey goosey approach? Please share!

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"We're not worthy!"

Are you part of a critique group? I am, and sometimes I feel I need to pull a Wayne and Garth - you know, bow down and exclaim, "I'm not worthy!"

My group is loaded with talented writers, including Lisa Green. They're so great that I read their pages and think, no way is this their first draft (between you and me, I think Lisa submits her 10th draft...just sayin'). Meanwhile, I'm submitting my clunky first draft (shudder) and gobbling up their feedback.

I love learning from other writers. If part of my job includes dissecting the words of Suzanne Collins or Jodi Picoult, then I'm a lucky girl. If you missed it, there was a great post on Query Tracker about learning from the masters.

I'm thankful I'm surrounded by amazing critique partners, and that they're willing to improve my work. We each bring something unique to the table, and are worthy of some writerly give and take.

How about you? When you read someone else's awesome words, do you feel like jumping off a bridge, or are you inspired to sharpen your skills? And in your opinion, who is a master storyteller?

Just for smiles, check out this video by author Jen Hayley. It'll make your day!

photo credit: cinegeek.com

Miscellaneous Good Stuff

"The daily grind of hard work gets a person polished"

-unknown

At first, I thought the above quote said "published." I'm beginning to think I have a one-track mind.

Anyway...

Here is some miscellaneous good stuff plucked from the internet:

Another free online writer’s conference is taking place at The Muse Online Writer’s Conference. The conference dates are October 11-17, 2010, and the deadline to register is August 15, 2010.

Over at Rants and Ramblings, agent Rachelle Gardner teaches writers how to deal with contradictory feedback.

Query Tracker had some great stuff, such as giving yourself permission, when you're weary, and grabbing an agent's attention with your query.

Author Magazine dishes about the Top 10 Publishing Myths.

And another quote, just for the fun of it:

"Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work."

-Rita Mae Brown