I was just tweeting about Commandment #10 on @LaraEdits today. See those tweets here: https://twitter.com/LaraEdits/status/558268174664486913
Category: Writing
8 Query Tips No One Tells Writers
Literary agent Carly Watters has practical advice for querying authors. Follow or bookmark her blog—she’s a great resource!
There is a bounty of query letter writing advice on the web. I’ve written about it before too: The Biggest Query Letter Mistake, and How To Format Your Query.
However, here are some tips you might not have heard yet that will set your querying strategy apart from the rest.
Querying in 2015? Read 8 Query Tips No One Tells Writers:
1. There are no second chances. Send a query letter with an agent’s name misspelled and resend 5 minutes later? You might already be written off. We get so many queries that we’re always looking for reasons to say no (even though we’re looking for gems!). Sometimes there are easy no’s.
2. If you say you’ve been published we assume that means traditional. And if you don’t share the publisher, year, and maybe some sales information we’ll assume you’re pulling our leg.
3. Telling agents you’ve self published…
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Agent perspective: What’s wrong with your manuscript
Pitching your book to no avail?
Are agents not being forthcoming with advice?
Getting ready to submit in the new year?
The definitive guide to what’s wrong with most manuscripts:
1. All internal conflict, no external conflict. Does more happen in the character’s head than in the plot? This is going to be a problem whether it’s literary or commercial fiction. Make sure enough things happen.
2. Pace. The most important thing to get an agent’s attention is to keep us turning the pages and stop us from doing other things. The moment things lag, you’ve lost us.
3. Voice. This one’s more subjective, but the way to check if your book has voice is whether we can tell the difference between whose head we’re in or who is speaking at any given time. Everything about your writing style needs personality. What makes your book special? Your voice. It’s how…
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Manuscript Format Template (free download)
Have you read my posts on Formatting your Novel Manuscript? If not, read part one here and part two here.
I surveyed forty literary agents in October of 2014 to ask them which font they preferred for submitted manuscripts. The clear winner was Times New Roman. Many agents read pages on e-readers or mobile devices, and TNR is a web-safe, system-installed, serif. Using TNR allows them to read pages without changing formatting first, but it is also an easy font to change.
Download the MS Format TEMPLATE.
Right-click the link above and “save as.” I saved it as a Word Document, even though I personally use Pages, so if there are any issues, please report them to me! Our PC isn’t working, and I don’t have Word on my Macbook Pro.
This template uses paragraph styles, which you can import into any preexisting document. Otherwise save a copy of MS Format TEMPLATE, rename it, and begin typing or pasting your manuscript.
Read through all of the instructions on the template, and save it as-is to keep as a reference. Do not type into the original TEMPLATE—type in a duplicate or copy file.
Copyright Notice:
This template was created by me for personal or educational use only. You may share it with others—simply give them this link or share the link on social media using the buttons below. You may not pass this template off as your own or charge anyone to use it. You may not upload the template to any website or blog.
Of course, you have full ownership of your own manuscript, whether you use my template or paragraph styles to format it.
Lara Willard 