E-mail Queries

In today's information age, it feels foolish to mail queries to agents and then check your box each day for the reply. No one wants to wait weeks for a response. We want to know right now if Agent Joe Public thinks our book is brilliant. The same is true for freelance writers. It is much more efficient (and cheaper) to e-mail a magazine editor that to mail out a query and wait weeks before you can begin work on a story. More agents and editors are accepting e-mail queries, and after the Anthrax scares some publishers only accept e-mail. Before you send out that e-mail query, keep these things in mind:1) Make sure the editor or agent accepts e-mail queries. This may sound obvious, but just because you can find their address online, it doesn't mean they will open you e-mail. Check their web site for the e-mail policy. Many agencies and organizations have a separate e-mail address for submissions.2) E-mail queries are still business letters and should be treated as such. Put all of your contact information either in the top of the e-mail (centered or right hand corner) or below your name after the salutation. An easy way to remember this is to add your contact information into your e-mail signature. Don't use fancy fonts or wild colors, and no emoticons! Keep the font style, size, and color easy to read (yellow font on a green background can give agents and editors headaches and they will assume you are unprofessional).3) Don't be long-winded. Queries are typically one page. You can get away with a little more in an e-mail, but not much more.4) Don't put all caps or symbols in the subjects line. Your query might be mistaken for spam and could be sent to the trash folder. Simple titles like "Fee Charging Agents Query" is sufficient.5) Remember that e-mails are time & date stamped communications that can be used in court. Don't claim to have endorsements from authors that have never heard of you or plagiarism other works. A query is a sales pitch, but it needs to be 100% true. Agents/editors could terminate a contract if you misrepresent yourself.6) Don't send attachments until you are asked to. If you want to include a writing sample, paste it into the body of the e-mail (no more than 5 pages) . For a magazine editor, you can provide a link to your work online. It should be all in one place (not 10 different links) and easy to access. Literary agents are too busy to surf the web looking for your work. Either give a small sample in the e-mail or wait until they ask for more.7) Some agents/editors will respond in the same day to a query. Make sure your novel is polished or your story idea is ready to go before you click send.Once your query is ready to go, you can check out these sites for submission information:For magazine writing--http://www.magazinewriting.com/www.assignmenteditor.comFor agent information--http://www.aar-online.org/database.htmlhttp://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/

Book Review & Resources

Book review of “Writing the Breakout Novel” by Donald Maass. For the most part, this book is just more of the same. Maass doesn’t offer anything insightful, new, or especially helpful, but what sets this book apart from other writing reference books is its inclusion of subplot. When I needed to flesh out the subplot in my novel, I scoured the shelves at my local bookstores in search of a light in the darkness. Many books defined subplot, but this was the only one that gave tips on using subplots (how many, how they should relate to plot) that were helpful. If you are looking to expand your novel’s world beyond your main character, give the plotting chapters a read, otherwise you might find the advice Maass gives a little stale. Here is the blurb for Maass’ book: Writing the Breakout Novel by Don Maass ((c) Don Maass 2001, Writer's Digest Books, ISBN 0-89879-995-3) offers strategies for both first-time writers and mid-career novelists to take their prose to the next level and write the breakout novel.

Useful links:

http://www.writing4success.com/index.htm has a newsletter that includes tip sheets for writers (of fiction and nonfiction), informative articles, and numerous links.

www.writing.shawguides.com lists writers conferences by date or state.

www.everywriter.com useful information for writers.

If you are beyond basic writing advice, I recommend Deepening Fiction: A Practical Guide ofr Intermediate to Advanced Fiction Writers by Stone and Nyren. Great book used in one of my MFA in fiction workshops. Well organized with lessons that will take your writing to the next level. http://www.amazon.com/Deepening-Fiction-Practical-Intermediate-Advanced/dp/032119537X

Welcome!

I'm a fiction and non-fiction writer with an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte. I want to pass on whatever I have learned from other writers along the way and what I've gleaned from trial and error with my own writing. Writing is a solitary art that requires you to open a vein, but not take it personally when it is critiqued or rejected. It isn't easy, but through the blogosphere you know you are not alone. Open a blank Word document and pour a good cup of coffee...the fictional world awaits.