Query Prep

Hey guys! Hope you're busy rocking January. :)

I'm a huge fan of planning. (Like, as in Andrea's organization posts make me green with envy and also really impressed, kind of in love with planning.) So today I'm collecting up some of my favorite tips for planning out querying and managing where and how you go through submitting a project.

I've read submissions for a literary agent and currently read for Entangled, and after seeing two of my CPs successfully query projects and land agents, I've put together a list. Disclaimer: these are suggestions-- obviously, different strategies work for different people on some of these, some are just good sense, and others I've cited agent/editor opinion where I can. Ultimately, you're the best judge of what works for you. 

Revisions.

Yeah, okay. You've heard this before, probably lots of times. Agents and editors only want your polished manuscripts, and polishing may mean tacking on a few more months or weeks to your querying schedule. Are revisions worth it? YES. In querying, you're auditioning to work with someone for possibly the rest of your writing career, or at least a large chunk of it, ideally. NaNoWriMo's even got a Now What? section dedicated to revising.

Part of showing an agent that you'd be a good client (or an editor that you'd be a good author to work with and publish) is showing them that you take the time to revise and develop your work on your own before passing it off to them. When I read a sub, it's pretty clear how much effort a writer put into it. If it reads like a bonsai (as in, it is sculpted and the branches are all nicely accounted for), then the more likely I am to love it. 

Is this going to take more time? Yes. Is it going to be worth it? Take it away, Epictetus. 

Gather CPs and betas, bring them into the manuscript party.

Sometimes to create your great thing, you need some help from other people. And it's cool. If you have CPs already, then get them to read your manuscript and give you some feedback. If you're looking for a fresh eyes on a project your CPs have already been through the ringer with, consider reaching out on twitter for betas. 

Don't have a CP yet, but interested in finding one? 

How About We CP is probably my fave resource for this (beyond our own kickass Buddies Project, obviously), because it's how I found one of my good friends. There's some awesome people out there and it's got helpful tags for easy genre-matching. Go forth and make friends! 

Draft a synopsis and query letter while you revise.

I love Query Shark. Honestly, one of the things that got me more comfortable writing queries was being exposed to a LOT of them. When I was interning with Mary Kole, I read a ton of queries and that was really helpful for seeing what worked and what didn't. Read lots of them, either on QS or register for Write On Con, and check out the query forums there.

The reason I suggest drafting these up while you revise is that it a) gives you a break from revising, which is nice b) has you write about what's going on in the story while it's fresh in your mind and you're excited about it and c) affords you enough time to put the query/synopsis down and pick it up again to see if it's as good and accurate as it can be.  

Research agents or editors, and choose which you'll query/submit to.

Research is pretty obvious-- you need to know who represents what genres, who wants your query, synopsis, and first five, ten, fifteen, chapter, three chapters, etc. I don't mean query an agent or an editor exclusively (exclusivity is rarely a good idea), but do choose whether you want to query agents or submit to editors. Dahlia Alder has a fantastic post on the subject for an idea how agents and editors feel when you query them simultaneously.

Again, ultimately it's your manuscript and I, as this tiny internet person, can do little to stay your clicky inbox hand. To me, though, these are different goals-- finding an agent for your career (who may not be able to sell the manuscript you signed with her) versus finding an editor for a specific manuscript (who may be less interested in your next story). Ask: am I trying to get agent representation for my whole career with this manuscript, or is this project something I feel would do best at a smaller publisher? Both are equally legitimate and make awesome books.

Have your CPs/betas read your query.

Maybe this seems obvious, but in case not: the people who've read your story are the ones you want to read your query. Are you focusing on the main conflict? Are you bringing enough of the voice in, are you setting the stakes? Your CPs and betas are awesome for help with this.

Send yourself a test email. Does it all look okay?

Paste your query and first whatever many pages into an email and send it to yourself. You'll see what agents and editors will see (if they use email submissions). Make sure that it formats nicely, and enjoy that peace of mind when it does. 

Make it easy for people with e-readers. 

This is one that I didn't know since I read submissions on my laptop. But, as more and more agents are using e-readers to read work, consider doing this to help them out:

Also, change the title/author of your manuscript in "Properties" in Word -- that's what I see as title/author on my ereader. #pubtip
— Hannah Bowman (@hannahnpbowman) July 22, 2013

It's also helpful to paste your query on the first page of the manuscript, too, so it's easy for an agent to remember which manuscript they're reading.

Collect up some inspiration, and prepare to move onto your next project. 
Start thinking up what you want to work on next! This can be super exciting, spending time cultivating your TBR (who am I kidding everyone's TBRs are probably massive) or researching for your next writing project. Whether you plan, pants, or something in between, this is the time to start your creative mojo. 

Remember: querying/subbing isn't the final say on everything, but the draft honeymoon should be over. 

Not getting any bites on a manuscript doesn't mean that it's the end of the line for it-- however, this is the point where the honeymoon should be over. (Revisions were the honeymoon, as awkward and perfect as that sounds.) You know the weaknesses and the strengths of this piece, you recognize that you have written a full and complete story, and you're ready to settle into moving onto the next phase of your writing life post-wedding/creating and forging manuscript. It doesn't mean that you never think about it, but more that the major creative showdown is done (until edit letters), you've taken it as far as you can go, and you're moving towards the next big challenge in your writing life.

Separate email accounts, social media as needed. 
This is two-in-one. Your query email needs to be professional-looking. That means your.name@whatevermail or soandsowrites@ or your.name.writer@ if your name is already taken. It looks scads less professional if you're sending queries from queenofinfinity@gmail.com or fourfangirl4444@hotmail.com.

How much separation you want between your email is up to you. I have all my writing mail forward to one place, but I can also understand (for stress/anxiety reducing purposes) wanting to have a "safe" email where you don't have to see rejections until you're ready. (I have a separate account for school-related email because sometimes I just want to be a cool writer person without worrying about who's asking me to extend their homeworks or whatever for a few hours.) Whatever works for you.

You've already heard that you have to be careful about social media-- if your CPs use gchat or text, I recommend saving the rants and sadfacing for those outlets. If you must use twitter or something to vent, either do it over DMs, or make another account for venting and protect your tweets so that only your friends/CPs can see them. Agents will check.

Batches, and the one rejection enters, another query leaves system.
Again, this is one of those your-mileage-may-vary dealios, but I feel like it keeps morale up to send out one more query whenever a rejection comes in. 

The "Badass" label, aka, keeping up your self-esteem.

Hopping on the ego train again, because querying is Rough on self-worth-- prepare for it beforehand. My trick (and you're totally welcome to laugh at/with me in the comments about this) is to label emails that make me feel awesome-- from CPs or people telling me how awesome my writing is, to cool art that people send me, or even just emails that say that someone I admire is following me on Twitter (yes, I am that vain)-- with this label that says "badass" on it. So, when I'm feeling like I suck, I can just click the badass label and remember that hey, I am kind of cool after all.

Spreadsheets! Or, keeping track of your stats.
Okay, so no one is going to hold a gun to your head and force you to keep track of these suckers. But you should have some means/method of making sure that you didn't send a query to an agent who's already rejected the manuscript you're querying. I personally recommend a spreadsheet (because I am mathy and excitable), but for the excel-phobic there's also QueryTracker.

Any more suggestions or awesome stuff I missed? Share it in the comments!

When Alex Yuschik isn't writing her next YA novel, she's working on someone else's as an intern at Entangled Publishing. She writes about lock picks, ghosts, the abandoned places in cities, and how not to strike bargains with stars. Between sneaking in time to game and rocking out to indie music, Alex spends the rest of her free time working towards her PhD in mathematics. You know, as one does.

You can find her on Twitter @: https://twitter.com/alexyuschik

Or drop her an email at: alex.yuschik@gmail.com

And also visit her website @: alexyuschik.blogspot.com 

How to Write the Best Query Ever in 3 Simple Steps

I think one of the most daunting things about writing a query letter is looking at your 60k (+) novel and going, how the hell am I supposed to describe this in one page or less? 

The overall goal of your query is to get the agent to read on. Therefore, your query needs to intrigue them--not bore or confuse them.

Although these are my own opinions, I really believe there are just three steps every person should follow to write the best query ever (or at least an attention-grabbing query).

1. Characters

Establishing your main characters in your query is vital--but don't misinterpret that as trying to stuff all your main characters into your query. Although President Snow is an important character in the Hunger Games, I doubt that he made it into Collins' query.

The characters that you choose to introduce in your query should relate back to the tension and conflict in your book, which I'll get to in a minute. So if you think a character is important but they aren't amping up the intrigue of your query or are cluttering up your clarity, you probably don't need them.

2. Specifics

This can be a little tough, but let me explain. If you're too vague with your query, you will probably bore the agent who is reading it (or at least not catch their interest). I'm going to link Nathan Bradsford's query post here because 1) it's filled with excellent examples and 2) he does a way better job of explaining this.

The takeaway: avoid being vague if you can. If you're worried that the specifics in your query are too confusing, have someone else read it over.

3. Main tension/conflict

This is the giant cherry on your query sundae, friends. You have to establish your conflict. This is what is going to captivate agents attention more than anything else--more than characters, more than your specifics.

A while back I read Megan Shepherd's query letter of her YA novel, THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER (which, by the way, is amazing. One of my favorite 2013 reads!) that was posted on YA Highway. If you're looking for an example of characters, specific, and conflict, this is it.

After reading her entire query letter here, allow me to break it down:

Character's mentioned: Juliet Moreau, her father, the doctor's handsome young assistant.

Specifics mentioned: London, 1893, working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, etc.

Conflict #1: "But when she learns her father is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations were true."

Conflict #2: "...one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants."

Conflict #3: "As the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent
of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood."

Megan covers these 3 bases in her query. She states her main character and the characters that are important to the conflict. She gives specifics (Juliet "works as a maid" and "attends church on Sundays" versus stating something like, "Juliet is a normal girl") and she mentions 3 areas of conflict.

Most importantly, allow tons of people to look over your query. If they are intrigued, you're doing it right. But if they are confused, need clarification, or bored, there are things you probably can improve. 

Before you write your query, chart it out! I created a query letter help guide (as seen below) so you can list it out before you begin writing your letter. I'm hoping it makes this process easier since you'll have your main points of intrigue right in front of you. If you try it, let me know if it works for you :)

I'm hoping this finds you at the end of NaNoWriMo when you're busy revising and gearing up to write that query letter!

Also, I also found these query-related posts helpful:

• How to write the perfect query letter
• What agents DON'T want in a query letter
• Query letter do's and don'ts
• 23 query letters that actually worked
• And if you're feeling brave, Query Shark

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, friends! Happy writing.

Farrah Penn enjoys staying up way too late and making up for it in large quantities of coffee. On top of her love for reading books with memorable characters, she also enjoys internet memes, yoga, and her adorably bratty dog. When she’s not rushing to complete marketing projects at work, she’s writing and daydreaming about traveling the world. Farrah writes YA and is represented by Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary.

You can also find her on Twitter @: www.twitter.com/farrahwrites
Drop her an email @: farrahnicolepenn@gmail.com
And visit her blog at: http://www.farrahpenn.com

A Super Helpful Flow Chart for Writers Who Like to Procrastinate

Flow charts are awesome. 

A post on Buzzfeed inspired me to create a flow chart for writers. But what would the topic be, I asked myself. And then it came to me. I can't be the only one who joins the procrastination club on occasion. There are times when the world of the interwebs or That One TV Show seem way more interesting than what I have to write.

So. I have created a flow chart for us. The next time you feel like procrastinating, you can be honest with yourself by asking these simple questions. 

Keep writing on, friends! ;) 

Farrah Penn enjoys staying up way too late and making up for it in large quantities of coffee. On top of her love for reading books with memorable characters, she also enjoys internet memes, yoga, and her adorably bratty dog. When she’s not rushing to complete marketing projects at work, she’s writing and daydreaming about traveling the world. Farrah writes YA and is represented by Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary.

You can also find her on Twitter @: https://www.twitter.com/farrahwrites
Drop her an email @: farrahnicolepenn@gmail.com
And visit her blog at: http://www.farrahpenn.com