So you've finished your manuscript. Wipe it's behind and start sending out snapshots.
That's really all a query is -- a snapshot of your ms that you hope will show a prospective agent what a beautiful baby it is and make them want to adopt it. The trouble is, while we have managed to (pro)create, we're not all necessarily professional photographers.
Writing a query is very , very, VERY different from writing a novel. You've managed maybe a hundred thousand words or story arc, rich characters the reader will love and empathize with or despise and curse, tension and drama and humor and blood-chilling moments of climactic adrenalin rush, subtle subplots and moral dilemma, all neatly wrapped up and tied with a literary bow by the end of the work. Bravo! Now sell it in two hundred fifty words.
Hm.
Stop and think about it. How many times have you idly glanced at the back of a book you've read and loved only to be incensed and indignant about the ridiculously inadequate treatment of the plot in the cover blurb? How DO you make someone really get the depth of the work in a single page of sales pitch?
For the record, the photo of the little possessed, staring, ragamuffin newborn at the top of this blog is our son Khavien. We picked that picture for a reason. He's a beautiful boy, one of the most adorable I've ever seen...and yes, I know I might be a little prejudiced on the matter, but it's been independently corroborated. =O)
It's not a flattering photo. It's not his worst, either. It's about even with what I expect most people start with for a query letter. Unappealing, unrepresentative, and unclear. How do we fix it?
I've done a good bit of work as an amateur photographer. I've been to events for amateur photographers. I can tell you a secret; for those of us who don't have years of training and experience, the best photos are selected from lots and lots and lots of utter crap. I have some of which I'm really proud, but that doesn't make me a good photographer. It just makes me persistent.
Queries don't work quite that way. The closest equivalent is to polish, edit, get some feedback, edit and polish some more... In other words, keep snapping the shutter and looking at the result till you get what you wanted, or at least something acceptably close.
Use the Agent Query link at the top of this blog, and submit your query for review on their forums. Find a writers' group and float it among them. Add punch, remove words, rework sentences. Keep adjusting and re-snapping the shutter until you believe it's as close as you're likely to get.
Then remember that no matter how lovely a picture you've made of your bouncing baby boy, some people are just not going to adopt him, because they want a girl, or a blonde, or one with green eyes. Don't complain about their prejudices; just keep looking till you find someone that will love him for who and what he is.
After all, do you really want an agent that isn't behind you all the way?
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