Good afternoon!
I should be writing! Blogging is not writing, they tell me at Mad City Romance...I should be writing.
But I just pushed "Send" on a query for "Shara's Chance" and I'm exhausted. I know, it seems like a ridiculously simple thing, pushing "send." I remember a time, not so long ago, when submitting a query was a arduous task involving big envelops, lots of postage, and that mystical thing, the "SASE." Now, submitting a query is literally as easy as pushing "send."
Still, the idea of sending your work out into the stratosphere to be judged and rejected by strangers is scary. I don't know that it gets easier, unless maybe you have a couple dozen novels sitting on bookshelves.
While visions of rejection emails danced in my head this afternoon, I was craving chocolate. I'm a stress eater, and chocolate is my general drug of choice. (Although, like my good friend Elliott, I love bacon. I recall one ill advised evening during college when a friend and I ate our way through a pound of bacon simply because we couldn't find anything else to eat.)
Anyway since I'm at work and since Bossman is such a jerk about people who weigh more than ten pounds, I don't keep a lot of food here. I have a cup of yogurt in my tiny, tiny desk top fridge, but that's mostly for show. I don't think it's even safe to eat. And I do not keep chocolate here. No way. Not since I know he goes through my garbage and then recites the caloric content of my snack food. (And yes, he does admit to this.)
But joy of joys! I found a roll of Rolo candy that I forgot I'd even bought! There it was at the bottom of my purse! I couldn't have been happier if I were Indiana Jones and I stumbled upon the most amazing relic!
So now, with chocolate and caramel in my tummy, and my blog on my site, I'm going to happily spend the last hour of the day ignoring phone calls from Bossman and finish a chapter in my newest work in progress!
Happy writing all!
NOW AVAILABLE!
A HERO'S SPARK: the final book in the Wicked Women series!
Showing posts with label query letters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label query letters. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Applying for jobs online, Rick saw this coming!
Good morning!
It's no big secret that I don't love my boss. Sit in a room with me for more than fourteen seconds and you're bound to hear about the evil Bossman, a man who goes through my garbage and comments on any candy wrappers/food wrappers that he may find. (For the record, I've now taken to throwing any offending food wrappers in the ladies room trash. One would HOPE he doesn't go through that trash!)
Well, after three plus years of service, with no raise, no bennies, and plenty of self esteem shredding, I sat down with hubby last night and decided that I need to find a new job. That may seriously cut into my writing time ( which I do at work many days) and my spider solitaire playing time (which I also do at work) and my blogging (again, at work...geez, what do I DO at my job?) but that having my mental state brought back from the brink might be a good pay off.
So I set out to find myself a new job. In this economy, a couple of things amazed me right off the bat:
1) There are still plenty of jobs to be had.
2) There are a ton of ways to apply for jobs, and very few of them involve actually meeting the prospective employer.
Seriously, have you applied for a job online? How can a future employer make a judgement call based on an email? You can't submit handwriting samples to an expert to see if the prospective employee is a possible serial killer. You can't do a smell test to see if the "PE" is stinky or not. You can't listen to the "PE's" voice, which is vital if you're hiring a receptionist...I mean, having computer skills is a must, yes, but if your receptionist has a voice that makes people want to chew glass, all the computer skills in the world won't make up for it.
So I found three jobs to apply for right away. And I found these jobs three different ways: One in the paper...one online, and one by word of mouth. (I was busy last night!)
However, now that we are in this non personal world, no one actually wants to meet with me to start the application process. Which is too bad since I can pretty much talk my way into anything. Nope, I spent a good portion of this morning sending applications by fax and email. I do have to pick up one application at the job site...but they want me to fax that back to them. Heaven forbid I step foot into the office!
Now, I know some people find it tiresome that I bring a lot of my points back to Rick Springfield songs, but face it, folks, the man saw this coming. More than twenty years ago he penned the song, "Human Touch" a song that bemoaned this planet's increasing connection via computer and disconnection with each other. And now, here I am, trying to be as impressive as possible with a cover letter and a resume.
Oh, wait...this feels really, really familiar! Oh, that's right...this is a query letter and a synopsis! So now, instead of trying to sell a 95K word novel with an eight sentence query letter and a two page synopsis, I'm trying to sell my skills as an employee.
Well, now that I've put it into a context I understand...I can do this!
I'm off to fax! Have a great day!
It's no big secret that I don't love my boss. Sit in a room with me for more than fourteen seconds and you're bound to hear about the evil Bossman, a man who goes through my garbage and comments on any candy wrappers/food wrappers that he may find. (For the record, I've now taken to throwing any offending food wrappers in the ladies room trash. One would HOPE he doesn't go through that trash!)
Well, after three plus years of service, with no raise, no bennies, and plenty of self esteem shredding, I sat down with hubby last night and decided that I need to find a new job. That may seriously cut into my writing time ( which I do at work many days) and my spider solitaire playing time (which I also do at work) and my blogging (again, at work...geez, what do I DO at my job?) but that having my mental state brought back from the brink might be a good pay off.
So I set out to find myself a new job. In this economy, a couple of things amazed me right off the bat:
1) There are still plenty of jobs to be had.
2) There are a ton of ways to apply for jobs, and very few of them involve actually meeting the prospective employer.
Seriously, have you applied for a job online? How can a future employer make a judgement call based on an email? You can't submit handwriting samples to an expert to see if the prospective employee is a possible serial killer. You can't do a smell test to see if the "PE" is stinky or not. You can't listen to the "PE's" voice, which is vital if you're hiring a receptionist...I mean, having computer skills is a must, yes, but if your receptionist has a voice that makes people want to chew glass, all the computer skills in the world won't make up for it.
So I found three jobs to apply for right away. And I found these jobs three different ways: One in the paper...one online, and one by word of mouth. (I was busy last night!)
However, now that we are in this non personal world, no one actually wants to meet with me to start the application process. Which is too bad since I can pretty much talk my way into anything. Nope, I spent a good portion of this morning sending applications by fax and email. I do have to pick up one application at the job site...but they want me to fax that back to them. Heaven forbid I step foot into the office!
Now, I know some people find it tiresome that I bring a lot of my points back to Rick Springfield songs, but face it, folks, the man saw this coming. More than twenty years ago he penned the song, "Human Touch" a song that bemoaned this planet's increasing connection via computer and disconnection with each other. And now, here I am, trying to be as impressive as possible with a cover letter and a resume.
Oh, wait...this feels really, really familiar! Oh, that's right...this is a query letter and a synopsis! So now, instead of trying to sell a 95K word novel with an eight sentence query letter and a two page synopsis, I'm trying to sell my skills as an employee.
Well, now that I've put it into a context I understand...I can do this!
I'm off to fax! Have a great day!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The magic of query letters...
Good morning!
So one of the biggest questions I hear on loops an at conferences is about those mystical things called query letters. For those of you who don't know, a query letter is generally the first contact a writer makes with an agent or an editor. It's a one page intro to a writer's career and the book's outline. Basically, be brilliant in ten lines or less.
The frustration with query letters, similar to the frustration with synopsis pages is that there is no real laid out template. Oh, editors will tell you what they are looking for in a query letter, but chances are they speak in generalities. Writers wants specifics since so much rides on the query letter. A query letter is the thing that either opens a door or slams it shut for an unpublished novel.
Here's what's worked for me: NOTHING! I loathe query letters as much as you do! I sold "Dream in Color" based on a chance meeting at a chocolate fountain during a WisRWA conference last year. The first request I got for "Chance to Walk" is solely based on the book's quarterfinal finish in the Amazon.com 2009 Breakthrough Novel Awards this past spring.
However, three days ago I got a response to an email query that I sent out three months ago. That gave me some hope that I could speak intelligently on the subject of query letters.
NOT!
My best advice is to think of a query letter like a business letter you'd write to a prospective employer. Start by writing down everything you think you want to say about yourself and your book. That will take up about three pages. Then, take out all the poetic description. Now you're down to a page and a half. Then, boil down your writing experience to only the most impressive bits. If you've sold a book or published some articles, list that like bullet points. If you've won a writing award, list that. Your high school newspaper probably doesn't count anymore as a writing credit. Your college paper might, but only if you were the editor, and only if you were in college in the last ten years. The reason editors and agents ask for your writing credits is to see if anyone else thought your writing was good. In all honesty, unless you've been published, they don't care. So if you haven't sold a book or won an award, underscore the fact that your book is FINISHED and READY TO GO! (Seriously, don't query a work of fiction unless you are finished writing it.)
Now the hard part. Describe your book in four sentences or less. You've just spent the last six years tapping out your great opus in your basement after the kids have gone to bed. Now boil that amazing 100K word novel down to twenty words or less. It can be done. It just takes time and practice.
Once you've gotten a reasonable page, put it in professional letter format and send it out. Then forget about it. Seriously. Forget about it until you get a rejection, or someone asks you for a partial. Mail it and forget it. That's what my critique partner and good friend Linda does. She sends queries out to agents and editors every day. Sort of a clear cutting of the editorial world. She sends it and forgets it.
Above all, don't worry about your query letter all that much. Getting a sale is a complete crapshoot, based on hard work, hard networking, and a huge dose of luck. (Again, I met Rhonda Penders, editor for The Wild Rose Press, at a chocolate fountain.)
So, now that I've helped you not one bit...go forth and WRITE!
So one of the biggest questions I hear on loops an at conferences is about those mystical things called query letters. For those of you who don't know, a query letter is generally the first contact a writer makes with an agent or an editor. It's a one page intro to a writer's career and the book's outline. Basically, be brilliant in ten lines or less.
The frustration with query letters, similar to the frustration with synopsis pages is that there is no real laid out template. Oh, editors will tell you what they are looking for in a query letter, but chances are they speak in generalities. Writers wants specifics since so much rides on the query letter. A query letter is the thing that either opens a door or slams it shut for an unpublished novel.
Here's what's worked for me: NOTHING! I loathe query letters as much as you do! I sold "Dream in Color" based on a chance meeting at a chocolate fountain during a WisRWA conference last year. The first request I got for "Chance to Walk" is solely based on the book's quarterfinal finish in the Amazon.com 2009 Breakthrough Novel Awards this past spring.
However, three days ago I got a response to an email query that I sent out three months ago. That gave me some hope that I could speak intelligently on the subject of query letters.
NOT!
My best advice is to think of a query letter like a business letter you'd write to a prospective employer. Start by writing down everything you think you want to say about yourself and your book. That will take up about three pages. Then, take out all the poetic description. Now you're down to a page and a half. Then, boil down your writing experience to only the most impressive bits. If you've sold a book or published some articles, list that like bullet points. If you've won a writing award, list that. Your high school newspaper probably doesn't count anymore as a writing credit. Your college paper might, but only if you were the editor, and only if you were in college in the last ten years. The reason editors and agents ask for your writing credits is to see if anyone else thought your writing was good. In all honesty, unless you've been published, they don't care. So if you haven't sold a book or won an award, underscore the fact that your book is FINISHED and READY TO GO! (Seriously, don't query a work of fiction unless you are finished writing it.)
Now the hard part. Describe your book in four sentences or less. You've just spent the last six years tapping out your great opus in your basement after the kids have gone to bed. Now boil that amazing 100K word novel down to twenty words or less. It can be done. It just takes time and practice.
Once you've gotten a reasonable page, put it in professional letter format and send it out. Then forget about it. Seriously. Forget about it until you get a rejection, or someone asks you for a partial. Mail it and forget it. That's what my critique partner and good friend Linda does. She sends queries out to agents and editors every day. Sort of a clear cutting of the editorial world. She sends it and forgets it.
Above all, don't worry about your query letter all that much. Getting a sale is a complete crapshoot, based on hard work, hard networking, and a huge dose of luck. (Again, I met Rhonda Penders, editor for The Wild Rose Press, at a chocolate fountain.)
So, now that I've helped you not one bit...go forth and WRITE!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)