Sunday, October 30, 2005

The Power of a Query Letter




When I completed my first romance novel and faced the intimidating task of trying to
find a home for it, I soon realized that I hated to submit work to publishers or agents
-- that only allowed writers to send in a query letter. I mean, come on! How can
anyone judge how well I write fiction, just from a query letter? At least give me a
chance to show I can tell a good story! BUT... You knew there was a BUT coming,
didn't you? Of course you did.

As it happens, some years went by, and in doing critique work for others, I had the
chance to read over a number of query letters. That's when I realized how much I
picked up about each person's writing ability even when I had nothing to go on but
that letter.

Okay. Now, think of a skilled editor -- or agent -- with a full query letter in hand. She
has probably seen thousands of them. Think of how much she can learn about your
writing style and your manuscript from that one page query letter. With little more
than a minute, an editor will know if she can toss that query to the reject pile if...

You sent it on lovely pink paper with small red print that promises to cause her to go
cross-eyed after the first paragraph. (Use a good grade white paper instead, and try an
ordinary font and very readable style and size print in your every day basic black.)

You addressed the query to Dear Editor, and then rambled on for four pages when the
guidelines stated plainly that you were to send in a one-page query letter. On top of
that, your novel is a 100,000 word historical, and the house you queried only
publishes 75,000 word contemporaries. (A person who has the time to write a whole
novel, can surely take the time to do a little market research.)

In reading half of the query, she's already found one spelling error and two grammar
mistakes. (First impressions do mean a lot. A query letter should be lacking in one
thing - mistakes.)

While reading, the editor finds herself needing to go back and read a couple of
sentences over, to be sure of what you meant. (Your writing should be tight and clear.)

When finished with the query, she still doesn't know the word count, setting, or the
line the writer is targeting. (It is best to make sure that somewhere in those first few
sentences you answer those questions and mention that the manuscript is complete.)

If the writer who sent this editor the query letter didn't even bother to do this much
right, what are the chances that a manuscript from the writer will be any better? Most
editors don't have the time to take chances.

In the Beginning
Completing and scanning your query shows you have never sold novel-length fiction
before, then she can probably toss your query to the rejection pile. There are 200
other query letters sitting there from writers with completed manuscripts and perfect
query letters.

On to the Middle
Next in the query letter is your pitch about your story. You have to make this short
and sweet, and still grab her interest. Think of this as being the blurb on a novel. How
many times have you read a book's back cover and set the book down or placed it into
your shopping cart, making that decision solely from those couple of paragraphs? If
the editor doesn't like your writing style, or if she has just bought a story with the
same plot line, then she can toss this query too. Reading further won't do her any
good, or you.

The End
Last in your letter are a few lines to brag about yourself as a writer. Come on, you
have something positive you can add. I know you do. Have you published any thing?
Been writing for seven years? Are you a member of RWA? What about part of a
critique group? Have you had something place in a writing contest? Maybe the
heroine in your story is a nurse, and so are you? Anything good at all you can add to
give you a little edge, is perfect for here.

Some things that will probably get your query tossed during this part are if you add
things like... I know you will think this is the very best book you have ever read! Or...
My mom and sister both loved this story so much, they said it just has to be published
and should sell millions of copies!

So you see, that simple little query letter, only a single page long, that most of us hate
with a passion to write, can tell an editor (or agent) every thing she needs to know
about you and your manuscript -- at least every thing she needs to know to decide if
she should use her precious time to read chapter one.

Charlotte Dillon ~ www.charlottedillon.com
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Rejection Letters
Aren't All Bad


"I discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing.
They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in
his heart of hearts, 'To hell with you.'" ~ Saul Bellow




They Didn't Give Up

Okay, you've gotten a rejection letter from an agent or editor. It feels awful! Maybe it
was your first. Maybe it was number sixteen. Whichever it was, don't despair, you're
standing in really good company, so don't give up. These authors didn't.

If you are a romance writer, and maybe even if you aren't, you've probably read -- or at
least watched -- Margaret Mitchell's story, Gone with the Wind. Over 20 publishing
houses tuned that little story down before it sold.

Who hasn't heard of John Grisham in this day and age. Did you know that the fist
manuscript he wrote, A Time to Kill, was rejected 45 times before it was accepted?

Famous western novelist Louis L'Amour has sold countless books over the years.
Many of his stories have been made into movies, like The Quick and the Dead -- the
old one, not the newer version. His stories earned him over 300 rejections before he
ever sold a book.

Mary Higgins Clark is well known by mystery fans all over the world. She kept wiring
and sending out her novels, even after 40 rejections rolled in.

If you have children, you've probably spent at least a few hours with a Dr. Seuss book
in hand. He was the proud owner of nearly 30 rejections, and that was just from one
story.

Aren't you glad they filed those rejections away, and then kept on trying?


Rejection Letters Have Some Good Points

Getting a rejection from a publishing house -- or agent -- might leave you feeling
depressed, sad, angry, and more. That's okay, let yourself sink into the biggest pity
party known to man. Eat a ton of chocolate, watch a sad love story and cry your eyes
out, sit around in your PJ's until noon, but don't spend too much time on that party.
You have things to do, another publishing house to research, a new agent to check
out, and that manuscript to get back in the mail. There is also that new story you
should be working on.

Believe it or not, there are some good things you should remember about rejection.
What good things? Let me list a few. Oh, and let me add congratulation on that
rejection letter. You should be proud!

1) That rejection letter means you are a REAL writer.
2) You completed a manuscript. A whole story.
3) You wrote both a query letter and a synopsis; something that can be harder than
writing an entire novel.
4) When you were done, you looked through guidelines and found a publishing house
that printed your kind of story, or an agent who accepted the genre you write in..
5) With dreams overflowing, you addressed that envelope and mailed your baby into
the cold, hard world.
6) You used up more patience than you even knew you possessed, watching that mail
box and waiting to hear something, anything...probably for months.
7) When you got that rejection, you didn't give up, or you wouldn't be hear reading
this.


The Steps on the Rejection Ladder

When you at last get brave enough to send out your manuscript, the rejection letter
you might get could be the standard form letter. When I sent my first MS off about ten
years ago, I thought it was filled with great writing! Now looking back, I know it was
awful! It did get me my first rejection letter though.

Dear Author,

Thank you for thinking of DreamOn publishing, but at this time we feel your story does
not fit our needs. Best of luck placing your work elsewhere.

The Editors

Notice I'm an author, but they don't use my name, nor do they mention the title of my
MS, the real reason it was rejected -- it sucked dirt -- or even list an editor by name.
Oh well. I kept writing, joined RWA and went to some meetings, started learning what
I was doing wrong, did a little rewrite, and sent that baby out again.

Next rejection, please, one step up.

Dear Ms. Dillon,

Thank you for thinking of GettingBetter publishing, but at this time your story, Love at
Last, does not fit our needs. Best of luck placing it with another house.

Assistant Editor, April Noname

Lots of work later, I made it to the top step of the rejection letter. Ah the glory of it all.
(Smile) Hopefully, sites like mine will help you skip at least the first kinds of rejection
letters.

Dear Ms. Dillon,

I enjoyed reading Love Again, and find you have an impressive writing style, but I'm
sorry to inform you that we can not accept your story at this time. Although you have
strong characterization skills, and a powerful use of description, too much narrative
slows your overall pace throughout the story. If you have any other manuscripts
available, I would be happy to consider them.

All the best,
Senior Editor, Pattie Loveme


Charlotte Dillon ~ www.charlottedillon.com

Posted by Lisa Renee Jones :: 7:32 PM :: 0 Comments:

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Building Fictional Characters
One Stranger at a Time



Building a fictional character is the same thing as meeting a stranger and getting to
know her. Take that meeting one step at a time, or as the old saying goes, peal that
onion one layer at a time. With each layer you'll get to know more about that
stranger, and your character will become a fully developed person to you and your
readers.

With a first meeting you get a first impression--we might not admit it, but we usually
judge people right off within seconds of seeing them for the first time. Maybe it's
completely physical judgment, or maybe it's their surroundings, but we take a quick
snapshot and make up our minds about this person, at least to a certain point.

Some of the first things we probably notice in that quick snapshot are gender, age,
body build, and hairstyle. That first snapshot is all we need in our minds to lay the
groundwork for a strong character, but remember, it' s only groundwork.

Clothing gives you your second impression. Is she wearing jeans and a cowboy hat, is
he wearing a suite? You take a better look at the clothes and notice if they are
wrinkled, faded, expensive, in style, bold, or even a work uniform. What about a
cheap watch, or a glittering, huge diamond ring? Each of those things can tell you a
little, and sometimes a lot, about the character this person is and the life this person
lives.

It's been seconds, but you already have an idea in your mind about who this person
is, their station in life, and even how you feel about them. The same is true within
seconds of that character introducing him or herself into a writer's mind.

Now take a look around this stranger--your character--and other impressions might
influence your opinion. Surroundings can tell you a good deal. Is she standing on a
street corner waiting for a bus, is he standing next to a police car, is she sitting
behind a high-polished desk in a big office or sitting on a Harley Davison? What
about any possessions you can see? Just step back, pull away and look closer. Does
he have a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist? Does the building she is standing in
front of look like the rent would cost enough to support a small county, or does it
look like her neighbors probably spend as much time in jail as they do in their little
cramped apartments?

Now look at how the person is standing, the expression on her face. Body language
can color in some more blank spots. Is she smiling a fake smile, are his fists
clinched? Does she walk across a room like she owns it, does he stand stiff and tall?
Does she glance away and avoid prolonged eye contact, does he cross his arms over
his chest and stand as far away from others in the room as he can? Or maybe her
smile even shines through her eyes, or he reaches out to grasp the hand of anyone
he says hello to?

What about voice? Accent, choice of words, tone, volume, all tell us a lot about a
person, even before we count in what they are saying. How a character speaks may
often tell us where they are from, how educated they are, something about their
temper and even their lifestyle and job.

Okay, we've met our stranger, and we've heard them speak. That little bit and we
already have a bunch of layers pealed away from that onion. But if we want to get to
know this person better, it's going to take a lot more time and work. If we were
talking about a real stranger, one we hit it off with or had to spend time with even if
we didn't, we would get to know about them little by little, maybe over a period of
years. We would learn about their jobs, their friends, their family, their likes, their
homes, their dislikes, their habits, even their childhoods.

We need all of that same info to build a believable character, but we don't have years
to fill in all of the dots.

With speed in mind, and detail, take that snapshot back out. It was a good starting
point, but I bet we can get a little more out of it. Maybe there are other things in the
picture that you didn't see the first time or didn't really pay any attention to. Maybe
she is holding flowers because she loves to work in the yard and grow her own.
Maybe there's a framed photo on his desk of him and two children but no wife.
Maybe she is holding a couple of law books in her hand because she is a lawyer, or
in school studying to be one. Just keep expanding that little snapshot, maybe even
take a couple of more if needed, fitting a few more people into the frame, until you've
got everything from them that you can.

You're doing great, but now it's time to get really personal.

Strangers become friends, or sometimes not friends, after we spend time talking.
Even if they ask a question and you are the one answering, they often comment back
in some way that reveals some piece of who they are to you. Of course it's not polite
to meet a person and start asking questions, much less asking question after
question. But since we are building a character here, we can get away with it. So ask.
Ask lots of questions of this character who popped into your mind. (Be ready to write
down the answers, either with pen and paper, or the keyboard.) You need to know a
lot about him or her. Everything almost.

As you do your interrogation find out where he lives, who her friends are, who's
missing from his life, how close she is with her family, who his enemies are, what
kind of possessions does he value, even if she is a morning person or needs two cups
of coffee to speak hello.. Don't forget about things like her favorite food, worst
nightmare, pets, secret dream, fears, worst mistake, and all of the rest. You don't
want to just find out what his job is, but how does he feel about it, how did he get it,
who he works with, and whatever else you think of.

Every question you learn the answer to is one more layer of that onion, one more
thing that will help your character become flesh and blood to you. Even things from
her childhood are important here. We are a combination of everything we experience
in life, so the kind of childhood your character had made him who he is and causes
him to react to things the way he does. Everything I mentioned above, when you hold
the answers to them, are pure gold when you are writing a story. It's all of these little
details that will make a character come across as true to your readers, and not just a
half-formed apparition that walks across your pages doing what you need for each
scene, out of character or not.

One final note: Don't add everything you know about your character into your story.
There will be lots of things that you get answers to that you need to know because it
helps you understand how this character will act or react to any situation, but that
doesn't mean the reader needs to know all of it. If you add in that many details and
that much back-story, your reader is likely to fall asleep in the middle of the first
chapter. None of us what that result after all of our hard work.

Charlotte Dillon ~ www.charlottedillon.com

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