query letter

Writers Chat Recap for July, Part 1

Writers Chat, hosted by Jean Wise, Johnnie Alexander, and Brandy Bow, is the show where we talk about all things writing, by writers and for writers!

“Because talking about writing is more fun than actually doing it.”

WordPress Tour and Demonstration with Rhonda Dragomir

Creating a website can be challenging, but Rhonda’s tour, tips, and ideas make it easier. In today’s episode she demonstrates how to create a web page using a versatile theme and different plug-ins. Rhonda also shares the importance of page colors (hex codes), fonts, and images. For more information check out this week’s replay.

Watch the July 6^th replay.

Rhonda Dragomir, website designer extraordinaire, is a multimedia creative who treasures her fairy tale life in Central Kentucky, insisting her home is her castle, even if her prince refuses to dig a moat. She has published works in several anthologies and periodicals, along with numerous Bible studies used weekly by more than 10,000 women around the world. You can connect with Rhonda on social media or at rhondadragomir.com.

Conquering Query Letters with Tracy Crump

You’ve written a riveting article or come up with a fascinating idea for a book. You’ve identified which market will be the perfect fit for your writing. Now all you have to do is convince a busy editor who receives thousands of submissions every month to publish your work. Tracy Crump, demonstrates how you can master the art of writing a one-page query letter that will get editors’ attention and persuade them to publish your projects.

Watch the July 13^th replay.

Bio

Tracy Crump, author, editor, and speaker has more than a hundred published pieces and leads workshops at writer’s conferences. Her passion for the written word led her to help other writers improve their craft and is co-founder the Write Life Workshops, where she conduct workshops and webinars. You can connect with Tracy on social media or at www.tracycrump.com.

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET
on Zoom. Here’s our permanent Zoom room link.

Submitting a Fiction Novel to a Publisher, Part 1: The Query Letter

You’ve finally got your novel all polished up and ready to submit to a publisher. How is this done?

These days, most publishers will have detailed instructions on their website, so start there and follow them carefully! Do not create a generic submission package and send it to everyone. You must customize it for each publisher. As an editor, it is very convenient for me to quickly reject a submission package that doesn’t bother to follow the instructions. Why would I want to work with someone who can’t follow instructions?

Here is the Writer’s Information page for HopeSprings Books:

http://chalfonthouse.com/hopespringsbooks/about-hope-springs-books/author-information/

We ask for a query letter, a 3-5 page synopsis, a filled-out Author Questionnaire, and the entire manuscript. Let’s look at these items in more detail over the next few columns.

If you have an agent, putting together submission packages for different publishing houses is one job that they should do for you. Some agents only create a generic submission package with minimal customization (editor name and address, and other small details) and assume that acquisition editors will be okay with this. For example, one agent that submitted to HopeSprings Books sent a query letter, a synopsis, and the manuscript, but not our Author Questionnaire (which I consider to be a critical part of the submission). So ask your agent how much customization they will be doing. If they don’t plan to create custom packets, see if they will give you a list of the houses they plan to submit to and ask them to wait for you to give them more information. Then you create any extra materials the house expects and get it to your agent as quickly as possible.

This column will examine the query letter.

AlmostAnAuthor writer Cherrilynn Bisbano has an article titled “Query Letter Basics” which is a general overview, but tailored for magazine article writing. Several of the elements apply to novel writing too. Cherrilynn describes a query letter as a sales letter from the writer to the editor to describe the offered material. A query letter for a novel is similar to a cover letter for your resume when you’re applying for a job. [Tweet this]

So what should be in it?

Greeting: Address your letter to a specific editor and be sure to spell their name correctly.

First paragraph: Grab the editor’s attention and show them you can write. One way to do this is to start with your proposed back-cover copy (which should only talk about the first 25% of the storyline). Alternatively, your paragraph can summarize the entire story: the setup, major disasters, and ending. I urge you to use Step 1 and Step 2 of Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Method (http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/snowflake-method/) to help you craft this paragraph.

Second paragraph: Convince the editor that your novel is a good fit for the publishing house. Show that it is in the word-count target, in a genre they publish, with a reader take-away that aligns with the publisher’s mission. Address any other guidelines or topics that are mentioned on the publisher’s submission information page.

Third paragraph: A brief biography that only talks about why you are qualified to write this novel. Have you published other novels in this genre? Won any awards in this genre? Did you do any special research for the book? Do you have relevant life experience?

Fourth paragraph: Thank the editor and say that you look forward to hearing from them. Be sure to include all of your contact information with your signature.

General formatting is: 12 pt, New Times Roman, single or 1.5 spaced with one-inch margins all around. Check to see if the publisher has any other formatting requirements.

Come back next month and we’ll talk about the synopsis part of a submission package.

What other elements do you think could go in a query letter for a novel?