Our Top 10 Query Tips for Writers!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ค. 2024
- James McGowan is back on the BookEnds TH-cam Channel with Jessica Faust. In this video, they're using zoom to bring you the top 10 query tips from BookEnds Literary Agents. Since you're querying right now......
Good luck!
Please pardon any sound issues
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Jessica Faust’s love for books is what first brought her to open BookEnds Literary Agency. It is her desire to be an advocate for all authors that pushed her to create her blog, the BookEnds TH-cam channel and to maintain a vibrant presence on Twitter.
Jessica is proud to have grown BookEnds to an agency that represents authors of all genres for children and adults, allowing her to reach more readers and help more authors and illustrators achieve their dreams.
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Since interning at BookEnds as an undergrad in the summer of 2015, James has (basically) never left. He's just continuously level-up-ed inside of BookEnds. Now he is the Literary Assistant and Social Media Manager for the team. He’s been a reader since his mom gave him the first A Series of Unfortunate Events book and ordered the sequels regularly through Scholastic book orders.
James is currently growing his own list and is actively seeking submissions in adult literary and upmarket fiction, mystery, thrillers, and suspense. He is also accepting submissions in all sub-genres of Young Adult fiction, and is actively looking for Picture Books that make him laugh.
Connect with BookEnds!
Twitter: bookendslit
Instagram: bookends_literary
Website: www.bookendsliterary.com
Connect with Jessica: bookendsjessica
Connect with James: jmcgowanbks
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Note to self:
1. Know who you're querying. (This means researching. It is not an excuse for stalking.)
2. Personalize your query. Use proper names. Don't address your query to "Miss Jessie Queen" or "Big Jim Dog."
3. Check for tpyos.
4. Keep it concise. They get a lot of queries. They get a lot of queries that are several pages long and anything over one page is too long. I wonder if it's okay to single space and use a small font? Probably not. That would be way too long, so it's important to remember that brevity is the soul of the query, and there's no reason to go on and on and on and on like some breathless rambling goofball who just can't get to the point and stop there. Luckily, this is a problem I don't have, so I won't worry too much about it; instead, I'll just skip right ahead to point number five, which is next in the list here.
5. Only include what is necessary. They probably don't need to know that I only listened to Bon Jovi singing "Livin' On a Prayer" for four months while writing this novel. Probably.
6. Only query in third person. "Greetings Dear Agent, Jo says. Jo hopes you are doing well, and Jo has included for your consideration..." Got it.
7. Talk about technical stuff. (I had to answer the phone here, so I missed some of this part. I'm not sure why talking about technology is important, but welcome to the future, my friends.)
8. Only include necessary bio information. Don't include your age. Do include that you're a handsome space captain if you're writing a space opera.
9. Call them funny. Not funny-looking.
10. The blurb is important. Write a good one.
Rofl #9 😂
Thank you so much for this summary.
😂
I MISSED THIS DUO!!!!! WELCOME BACK!!!!!
One of Jessica and James' BEST and most helpful videos! Thank you both for the tips and encouragement.
I truly wish I had found your videos prior to sending queries to agents the past few days! Wow, I really needed these tips - ha. Thank you so much for providing this much-needed information. I am sending my children's book to agents now, and these tips are valuable! ♥
Yay!! Welcome back! It's lovely to see you both together again!
Yayy! A new BookEnds video! ❤️
Great video! Thank you for all of this extra content during this difficult time and for finding away to continue making videos! It's very encouraging to watch these videos and be reminded to stay focused on querying
I love the banter. I never would have thought to avoid honorifics when addressing a query letter. Thanks so much for these tidbits.
Thanks for concise and informative advice! Also, I appreciate your sense of humor.
Thank you! Y'all are so helpful!
_"You can tell us how funny we are!"_ ... you two are just adorable! 😊😊😊😊😊
I really appreciate all your advice. I used to be completely nervous about writing my book. Now I know how to give myself a fighting chance.
Thanks for these helpful videos!
That was super helpful, though I'd definitely wanna hear more about all the times authors were being weird in their queries xD
I never did understand shortening James to Jim. Like, who wouldn't want to be called "Jam"? It's a delicious food and excellent 80s band.
Hi there. Good to see the both of you together in a social distant setting. Are comps in your letter a MUST or does it depend on subject matter, genre, etc?? Thank you so much for all that you do. This channel has been a blessing. Keep up ☝ keep light and enjoy this historic awakening we are all experiencing. 🙌🐶😊
THE DYNAMIC DUO IS BACK!
You can't imagine how happy this makes me. :D :D :D
I love you guys!
Such a great tip to remove the Ms/Mr salutations! Thank you for that. ☺️
Y'all look so comfy, cozy and being safe at the same time. I love watching you Joe and Jasmine. :D :D Wait, those aren't your names?
You guys are a lot of fun and most informative.
What's interesting is, James has learned to yawn without opening his mouth.
I watch him and he doesn't breathe.
I wonder if he's taken 50 deep breaths in his life.
Do keep up the great work.
He's quite proud of it... LOL thanks for watching
Another great video filled with great info. I have an idea for another video topic. I am a 'newbie' writer - though at 64 years old I am sure I am among the oldest 'newbies around - lol. I have found a lot of conflicting and rather nebulous info out there on genre types. A video with a bit of definition and clarification might be a helpful thing for beginning writers. Perhaps a clearer picture of what exactly IS 'Upmarket" fiction. How does it differ form 'Literary' fiction? Can a book be both? Anyway some general guidelines might be a help. Something you might think about. Anyway, love the videos - always entertaining and informative.
It's on our list!
Thankfully my query passed in all the points ☺☺
❤️
Even socially-distanced, your charming patter is alive and well!
Ahhh. Another great video. I have to work on how not to be weird. Lol. (James tip #9)
@19:37 is what it's all about.
Kind of on the topic of typos, or small annoying errors, what do you think of writers who don't put any spaces after periods or commas?
11:58 - When an agent uses Query Manager and it has the word count, etc. separate, do we still include our full query letter? Or should we omit that from the letter section? Does it matter?
It's me again (I added a picture to my profile). Would you consider doing a video specifically on memoir query tips? It seems everything I read or watch on querying suggests some guidelines, then adds, "except for memoir." One question I have is if I write the main query in first person, do I switch to third person for the blurb (which is how blurbs appear on book jackets)? Thanks.
Hemingway once wrote to Maxwell Perkins and apologized for the letter being so long. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to write a short one,” he said.
Intro
Technical Stuff (Page Count, genre, etc ...)
Blurb
Bio
Does the one-sentence "hook" fit anywhere in there? Separate sentence or buried in the blurb? Or discussed outside the query?
Thanks.
Hey BookEnds, I've been watching your videos for the past few months as I plug away on my second draft, and I have a question. If a writer has a novel that straddles the line between genres, and has elements of many genres, how would they best market that to agents? For example if there was a book that was both a romance and a thriller, would it make more sense to go find one specific genre that serves as the main, and focus your pitch and marketing to that? Or would it make sense to find an agent that works with both/multiple genres and pitch to them? Personally I'm working on a story with four major POV's that each have their own tone, themes, and genre elements that come together to make a more complete whole. I don't want to lie to an agent and say I've got a crime thriller on my hands when it's also a fantasy novel.
You pick one genre. If it has fantasy elements, then it's fantasy.
Brandon Sanderson's mistborn is a heist story, but it's still a fantasy.
Where does one find and join query critique groups or author's editing circles? As a newer author finding support groups is tough. I'm not entirely sure where to start.
Hello, I was just wondering if there was a demand for pictures books right now? Knowing the answer to this, well help guide me in the direction and angle in which I can be best successful in getting my picture book published. If there is a demand, and what i have is very good, then I wont be wasting my time trying to submit my work to agents.
Should you mention a degree in literature/writing in your author bio for fiction?
This was such a great video. Thank you!
Although I disagree with Jessica about the length of a query letter.
250 words as one page is accurate, but only when it comes to the manuscript formatting with double spacing.
Which is probably what she means.
Write the query to suit the personality of the agent.💃🕴💃
Wow. My query letter is WAY too long. Time to kill some of my darlings. Thanks for another great video!
Another great video! I have a question about titles when querying. I'm considering using a line from a famous poem as a title, but the poem is not in the public domain, so I believe I would need to be granted permission to use it before publishing. Is it wrong to query with that title before seeking permission?
Using it as a working title shouldn't be an issue. Later, if you need permission, your publishers will be ready to advise you on how to do that (and if it's possible at all).
12:24 That's what she said 🙊
Hope this doesn't come back to bite me when I query James this summer 😅
🤣🤣
You mean opening my query letter with "Jim-Jam My Main Man!" won't start things off on the right foot?
Question to Jessica and James: when writing under a pseudonym do list your legal name in the About Me section?
How in the world can you get the agents name wrong? I don't understand that one. I would be SO annoyed if someone got my name wrong in a professional setting.
So, would someone writing a query say something such as: "Dear Jessica Faust, After seeing that you are looking for mystery queries and that you have clients such as [x], [y], and [z], I knew I had to send this query letter to you." Or, is that too 'weird'? This comes from a framework of you've researched the books the agent represents and believe that yours would be a good match for theirs since there may be similar underlying themes, etc.
That sounds good! It's even better if you explain how you think you fit in with those clients (do you write with similar themes? prose? settings?)
@@BookEndsLiterary, awesome, thank you so much for that information! Really appreciated while I'm still in the query trenches.
holy shit my blurb alone is 256 words lol. gonna edit that down i guess.
You have a good start. Intro and outro only need to be a short paragraph.
@@ClintLoweTube i actually edited the blurb down to 187 words cause i don't want the query to be longer than 300 words.
What is a debut novel? Is it your first novel ( self-published) or the first novel you publish mainstream?
First book in either format.
Writing used to be about talent. Doesn't matter how talented you are, if you don't have a big enough platform, most agents won't even read your book.
It's all about the bottom dollar.