tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21790035.post6091102070643260416..comments2024-02-13T09:38:07.389-05:00Comments on Carrie's Procrastinatory Outlet: Rounding towards thirdCarrie Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13751498516235657725noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21790035.post-74140370552020417652007-06-03T15:21:00.000-04:002007-06-03T15:21:00.000-04:00I agree with Kris's contention that not only shoul...I agree with Kris's contention that not only should a writer concern himself with crafting good query letters, but that it is also something that interest in a novel CAN be based on. How many times have you based your decision to pick up a book at a store by what its description is on the cover?<BR/><BR/>No, a short description of the book is not going to fully reflect the quality of the book -- but it IS a sales tool, and will remain so throughout the novel's lifetime.<BR/><BR/>An agent is going to use it to pitch the book to a publisher. A publisher is going to use it to describe the book to store buyers, and the cover will use it to describe the book to readers. Obviously, the quality of the writing itself matters much more -- the "first page" test and word of mouth of "this book was so good..." is going to bring a lot of readers, booksellers receive advanced copies so that they'll be convinced to stock up when the book comes out, and etc. etc. but there IS a role for a good description. <BR/><BR/>Also, I disagree with the idea that it's "stuff that's not writing." It's DEFINITELY writing, but although it's a "different kind of writing" it's writing that's not only important to the business end of things, it's important to the craft end. Sometimes, when I'm writing a book, I get into a "can't see the forest for the trees" situation. Writing a query or synopsis usually crystaliizes for me the story question, the main premise, and will help me get my plot, my tone, whatever it is, back on track. <BR/><BR/>Carrie, call or email me. I thought a lot about descriptions for your book this weekend. Also, have you decided on a title?Diana Peterfreundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03681841474717604660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21790035.post-20853272115195654232007-06-03T11:33:00.000-04:002007-06-03T11:33:00.000-04:00JP, I think your food analogy would be more accura...JP, I think your food analogy would be more accurate by saying, should a pastry chef be judged on one bite of his raspberry tart, rather then the whole tart? A query is a small snippet of what your novel is about. A teaser.<BR/><BR/>I guess there may be some difference of opinion here if you are talking literary novel vs. more commercial fiction. I think writing a query for a literary novel would be much more difficult than for a commercial one. And how you get across the literary aspect of a book in just a few sentences? Do you discuss theme over plot in your query?<BR/><BR/>But, then again, I would read the back covers or inside flaps of literary novels to see how they do it and copy.<BR/><BR/>Writing is a business before it is an art. That is why it is difficult for some writers to craft a query. You really have to start thinking about SELLING your book to someone...and a lot of writers don't like to think that way.Kris Etonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822791622754789365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21790035.post-53487389642273488732007-06-03T09:57:00.000-04:002007-06-03T09:57:00.000-04:00Kris, I don't disagree with you, with the exceptio...Kris, I don't disagree with you, with the exception of your last sentence. I didn't mean to imply that good writers can't or shouldn't learn to write good queries-- it's an absolute essential of the business. Insofar as that goes, everyone who ever hopes to sell a novel should take your advice and sit down with some back cover blurbs, or however else they want to learn (I'm interested in hearing the ways people figure it out, like that one) and learn to write a query.<BR/><BR/>That said, I don't think the query needs to be, or should be, the criterion upon which a novel is judged. The query really has nothing to do, IMHO, with the substance or writing of the novel. It's like judging a pastry chef on how well he grills a steak. Yeah, a good chef should be versatile enough to make a steak, but if what we're really interested in is pastries, why aren't we just looking at the pastries?<BR/><BR/>That said, now that I think about it a little more, a query is really you presenting the idea behind your novel to the agent, and 90% of the time, the agent probably can legitimately say "yeah, I have no interest in that premise." And to that end, it does behoove the writer to learn to explain their premise. What I object to is all the shenanigans that go into the crafting-- should it be first person or third? Does it show my unique flare? Again, IMHO, that's what the novel should do. A query shouldn't be tossed out just because the voice isn't right. <BR/><BR/> -JPAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21790035.post-40241716919290813462007-06-03T09:45:00.000-04:002007-06-03T09:45:00.000-04:00Grrr... just lost the response I typed! Thanks fo...Grrr... just lost the response I typed! Thanks for all the thoughts, y'all! Kristin, I think you're right that a lot of agents prob skip straight to the story hook to see if it interests them and then skim the rest. I think I just need to start working on the query and editing; start getting stuff on paper. I think my difficulty with this one is that it's set in a different world and I'm not sure how much to get into that. The world is totally uber important, so I can't just gloss over it...<BR/><BR/>I agree with both Kris and JP - I think writers need to be able to write a good query letter but that the query letter can never truly represent the writing. One of my fears with this project is that the writing is literary, but the subject matter is not historically literary, by a long-shot. How do I get that across without just sounding strange?<BR/><BR/>I do disagree that it is the query that separates the professional writer from the amateur. WHile I think the ability to write a good query letter is part of the mix, I think the distinction between the two is much deeper and complex.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for all the thoughts and help!!Carrie Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13751498516235657725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21790035.post-22864656508560003352007-06-02T14:20:00.000-04:002007-06-02T14:20:00.000-04:00I have to disagree, JP. Good writers should be abl...I have to disagree, JP. Good writers should be able to write good queries. It is a skill that must be learned. Just like writing a good story or book. Just because you are used to writing chapters and chapters of material does not mean you can't learn how to write a good query.<BR/><BR/>It took me some time...what really helped was looking at back cover blurbs. Find books similar to yours and then try to recreate what they've done on that book. It is a little bit marketing, a little bit writing.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure I could still use some help making my queries even better, but I think mine aren't half-bad. The last book I queried, I had a 50% success rate. HALF of the agents I queried wanted to see more. I think that's pretty good.<BR/><BR/>An agent judges you on the query, because a good query separates a professional writer from an amateur, IMHO.Kris Etonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822791622754789365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21790035.post-15581308077139358272007-06-02T01:26:00.000-04:002007-06-02T01:26:00.000-04:00Whoa!!!! Great thoughts here.I do whatever I feel ...Whoa!!!! Great thoughts here.<BR/><BR/>I do whatever I feel like at the time. Maybe one day it will work out for me... :-)lacey kayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04748864831060027009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21790035.post-48181236099212617282007-06-01T21:20:00.000-04:002007-06-01T21:20:00.000-04:00What really strikes me, to follow up on our conver...What really strikes me, to follow up on our conversation off-camera, is when you say "all that stuff that isn't really writing," you really hit the nail on the head. The query, the synopsis... it seems so funny to me to judge a novel on things like this, which aren't parts of the actual writing at all! <BR/><BR/>It takes a totally different skill set to write something short than to write something long. I'm sure that most of the writers out there who are just genuinely not going to make it write poor query letters, and that a lot of the folks who are going to make it will (or that the strength of their premise will eventually overcome the query), but I bet you there's a lot of folks out there who write good strong novels who can't write a query to save their life. And I'm not exactly sure why agents should write them off based on that. As a short story writer, I'm used to having a story tossed out based on the first page, heck even the first paragraph. But at least that's part of the actual product I'm trying to sell.Jphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13702407898770090908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21790035.post-52788256632621018602007-06-01T12:25:00.000-04:002007-06-01T12:25:00.000-04:00My, what did I do? I meant:"Jim meetS Jane AT the...My, what did I do? I meant:<BR/><BR/>"Jim meetS Jane AT the coffeshop."<BR/><BR/>Think I need more caffeine....K J Gillenwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12023089365553324315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21790035.post-14221655822400429892007-06-01T12:20:00.000-04:002007-06-01T12:20:00.000-04:00The synopsis, to me, is not a huge deal. The agent...The synopsis, to me, is not a huge deal. The agent usually just wants to see that you have the book mapped out in a logical way. I try to do that as straightforward as possible. Try reducing each chapter to just a couple of sentences.<BR/><BR/>Jim meet Jane the coffeeshop. His car explodes outside in the street, killing his pet cat.<BR/><BR/>Just the facts. <BR/><BR/>As for a query, I tend to go with grabbing them from the opening sentence. With a question or a shocking statement. I try to make it read as much like the back cover copy on a book as I can. Skip the intro, "Hi, I'm so-and-so, and I've written this really fabulous book. You are my dream agent, please represent me!" Save the intro stuff for later.<BR/><BR/>You want your query to grab them from the very first sentence. Agents read a zillion of these things a day. I'm almost positive most of them would skip the intro blah-blah-blah stuff to get to the query. Then, if they like the query, they probably would read the blah-blah-blah to find out more about you.<BR/><BR/>Just my two cents as another unpublished author...K J Gillenwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12023089365553324315noreply@blogger.com