The Query Letter
In the hope of maybe trying to get my story published, I have started researching query letters and best practices. I think they might be harder than resume and cover letter writing combined. And we all know those are painful. I think every aspect of it is difficult.
First, I have to be able to sum up the entire story in 1-2 paragraphs.
Second, I have to be able to explain why it's a good fit for the agent to whom I'm sending the query. Third, I have to list my own credentials as a writer.
Fourth, I need to list reasons why my story fits a specific genre and why people who like that genre will like my story. And fifth, I have have to list the length.
As if any one of these were not hard enough, I also feel that I will be held to an industry standard that my story doesn't exactly fit. Granted, that's part of the reason I wrote the story. It fills a gap, in my mind at least, where a lot of stories could be told. The word count is brutal. My story is ~190,000 words. The standard is 100,000 - 120,000. Needless to say, it won't be easy to drop enough to get within that window. And while I'm not opposed to trimming the fat, though I think most of it is necessary, I don't see it being the same story if I cut out 70,000 words. Here's hoping the "pitch" will be enough to make the length not matter... Regardless, I've made up my mind to try, so that's what I've got to do!
First, I have to be able to sum up the entire story in 1-2 paragraphs.
Second, I have to be able to explain why it's a good fit for the agent to whom I'm sending the query. Third, I have to list my own credentials as a writer.
Fourth, I need to list reasons why my story fits a specific genre and why people who like that genre will like my story. And fifth, I have have to list the length.
As if any one of these were not hard enough, I also feel that I will be held to an industry standard that my story doesn't exactly fit. Granted, that's part of the reason I wrote the story. It fills a gap, in my mind at least, where a lot of stories could be told. The word count is brutal. My story is ~190,000 words. The standard is 100,000 - 120,000. Needless to say, it won't be easy to drop enough to get within that window. And while I'm not opposed to trimming the fat, though I think most of it is necessary, I don't see it being the same story if I cut out 70,000 words. Here's hoping the "pitch" will be enough to make the length not matter... Regardless, I've made up my mind to try, so that's what I've got to do!
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