![]() One good way to think about this is to think how you'd write the blurb on the back of your book, though it should be somewhat longer than most blurbs. Describe the book in a paragraph or two and in a way that really does make it sound like a book that lots of people would want to read and therefore a book which the publisher can sell in quantities - but Do Not Tell Them This.I know covering letters are not the same as queries, but they follow the same principles of needing grab your expert readers. There are many, many common glaring errors in query and covering letters - see some of my posts about covering letters. Include nothing that reveals that you are not fully aware of how publishing works and knowledgeable about the market for your book.Show that you are a wonderful wordsmith, with a perfect command of our language and an ability to engage.Your query to publisher who has stated No Unsolicited Submissions must, in no particular order: Having said that, you expect me to advise you and so I shall. Therefore, each ideal query letter is different. Every book is different every author is different every agent or publisher is different. ![]() Why can't we tell you? Because we don't know your book and we don't know the mind of the agent / publisher you are sending it to. Your query must, in short, be perfect, even though no one, not even I, can tell you what that perfect query is. You have to express it so beautifully and compellingly that the publisher simply cannot pass on it. It must be clear from the covering letter that it is exactly what he or she wants, even though you don't know what it is that he or she wants. Your book must be patently the right book, aimed at the right publisher at the right time. To query someone who has already indicated busyness, exasperation, crabbitness, or general lack of desire to read an MS that hasn't come from an agent, means that your query must be spectacularly brilliant. The query letter approach is also very difficult. Remember when you were a kid and you did that oh-so-mature thing and asked permission to do something exciting / radical and the person said no? Well, then you couldn't do it, could you? Whereas, if you'd just gone ahead and risked it. ![]() The risk of the query letter approach is that if the answer is no, you have buggered your other option of disobeying. **** - a well-known way of pissing off agents and publishers.ģ. Consider the possibility that a) that is for the agent to decide and she is perfectly capable of knowing whether she wants a cup of tea b) this might not be the first time someone thought of this rubbish idea c) that she might think twice before drinking the tea from a grubby bag that has been fingered by a stupid author before being stuffed in a re-used envelope and d) it says absolutely nothing for the quality of the MS, which is the only thing the agent cares about. ** - an agent friend just received another one, accompanied by a covering letter suggesting that she might enjoy a cup of tea while reading the jolly MS. NB: the reason why they say No Unsolicited Submissions is, basically, that they are sick of being overwhelmed by the utter crapulosity of the guff that lands on their desks, often accompanied by toffees*, tea-bags**, stupid rhymes***, and glitter confetti****. Is your book a perfect match? Can you be sure that your pitch is so perfect and so compelling that it will get you past the No Unsolicited Submissions rule, which they have put there for a reason? So, it may be worth disobeying if you are as sure as possible that there is a very good specific reason why this publisher might really be looking for this book. However, it carries the tiny possibility of success. Disobeying obviously carries the risk of outright rejection simply for having disobeyed, and the risk of having wasted your stamps, paper and time. If obedience is your forte, see option 3.Ģ. Therefore, obedience is not necessarily beneficial, though it is safe. Obeying carries a negative certainty: your book will absolutely not be taken by that publisher, because you haven't sent it. Then it won't be unsolicited, will it?Įach of these choices carries risks of a negative outcome.ġ. Send a query - a letter or email which makes your book sound so irrestistible and shows that your power of language is so astonishing that they will ask you to send your submission (partial or full). After all, they won't turn down the Next Big Thing, will they? Publishers and agents DO want your book if it IS perfect for them.ģ. Don't send them anything save your stamps and paper. After all, they're obviously too busy to read it and you'll annoy them by disobeying, won't you?Ģ.
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