Advice

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Things I Wish I Could Include in a Query Letter

By Tanner ⋅ February 24, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

Query letters are the bane of an aspiring writer’s existence. They’re the literary equivalent of a world-class chef having to create her trademark meal – all seven courses of it – only to shove the whole thing into a blender. Once the meal has been pulverized into a gooey mess, the chef must then send a cup of mush to restaurants with the hope that they’ll love it and interview her for a job. Query letters are almost that ridiculous. So how could the system be improved? As usual, I have some ideas…

How to Write a Proper Query Rejection Letter

By Tanner ⋅ February 18, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

As many of you know, I’m currently undergoing the arduous task of sending out query letters for my YA novel. A necessary part of this process involves researching query letter advice – and Google has no shortage of tips. For example, the search “how to write a query letter to a literary agent” returns almost 300,000 hits. What I find surprising, however, is the total lack of articles on writing a quality query rejection. And, based on the number of query rejections I’ve received, I think agents and publishers could use a bit of advice…