What Should Be Included In Your Query Letter

January 30th, 2010

A good query letter catches the agent’s attention and is the first step in how to get a novel published. What should be included in your query letter?

The first paragraph should be a brief synopsis of your novel. No more than 100 words, perhaps 150 words. This synopsis is written in the present tense. You want to hook the agent’s curiosity to read more. It’s a challenge to condense a 100,000 novel down to 150 words, but important you do. Think of the synopsis as a back cover blurb. It gives just enough information to create excitement about the novel. If you need some examples go to the bookstore and look at the back cover blurbs of books in the same genre as yours.

The second paragraph describes the market for your novel and includes the genre. Are you aiming for romance readers, cozy mystery readers or is your book a young adult novel? You can compare your book to other similar books, saying something like “readers of Sandra Brown will enjoy TITLE OF YOUR BOOK. Mention the word count and that the novel is completed.

The third paragraph includes your background as a writer and a brief bio. If you have writing credits make sure you mention them. Many agents don’t consider a vanity/subsidy book or self-published book as a writing credit. If you include the title they will look it up on amazon.com to see who the publisher is.

The third paragraph is where you can describe any special experience you have that could become a publicity hook or gives you an insight other writers might not have. For example if you are a pastry chef and your heroine is also a pastry chef that would be relevant.

End the letter by thanking the agent for their time and consideration and asking if they would like to see the first few chapters or a completed manuscript. The purpose of the query letter is to motivate the agent to ask for the manuscript.

The query letter should be no more than one page single spaced. You could also include a 2 or 3 page synopsis of your novel, but don’t include the first chapter or the entire manuscript.

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How To Write Novel

October 5th, 2009

There is a commonality to the behavior patterns of successful writers, and a commonality to the behavior patterns of writers who just can’t get started, can’t get finished, or stall out at their first or third book.

Successful, prolific writers:

1) Write every day. That’s EVERY day. They sit down, open their veins, and bleed into their computers. Yes, it can be painful, but if you don’t maintain this kind of regularity, rust creeps in. The connection between heart, mind and fingers is broken. And we mistake the struggle for our natural state.

2) Read every day. Reading is priming the pump. It is modeling successful behavior. It is increasing vocabulary, studying plot and characterization, and entertaining the little subconscious demons and angels who actually do the deep work. Never neglect this.

3) Set deadlines and quotas. There is a certain amount of work to be done, on a daily basis. It need not be some huge amount-a page a day will create a book a year!

4) Create a writing space, a place that feels comfortable to them. This is both a physical space (a desk) and a psychological space (created with music, posters, familiar objects, etc.) It may also be a temporal space-a specific time of day or night that they write.

5) Have specific goals. They have committed to being professional writers. This is how they define themselves, and they never forget it. If you accept this definition, then you MUST behave as a professional writer, on a daily basis, or it causes emotional discomfort. They are willing to accept this friendly prod.

6) Don’t listen to the negative voices in their heads. Everyone has them. The voices tell you you can’t, you mustn’t, it isn’t good enough. You must find a way to tell the voices to shut up, to ignore them, or to quiet them. Any flow-based activity will help here: meditation, Tai Chi, yoga, running, Sufi breathing exercises, martial arts…the list is endless. Find one.

7) Are committed to the long-term. They know that if they spend an hour or three a day, every day, for a decade, they will build their career.

8) Expose themselves to criticism and rejection. In other words, they FINISH their projects, and then SUBMIT those finished projects to editors and agents.

9) Involve other people in their “master mind” group. Successful writers know other writers. And readers. And editors. And agents. They befriend them, recruit them, get feedback from them, and listen to the feedback. This is their “brain trust.” Unsuccessful writers hide in their offices, never finish their work, never send it out to risk rejection.

10) Have W.I.T.—they will do Whatever It Takes to ethically reach their dreams, to become the best they can be. They never quit. They know that success is based less on talent or “who you know” than persistence, hard work, and honesty.

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Novel Appoach: Getting By Online Education

August 28th, 2009

The recent trend in the recruitment of teachers for schools have shown scarcity in the number of good and dedicated teachers who can understand the child psychology. It has become a serious problematic area and the education system is facing a big challenge in this regard.

Potential teachers to impart education to the students are reducing in numbers and hence the provision of special education for the teachers has been developed. Now the teachers cannot afford to dedicate time in full-time courses and once again begin studies. So to help them in the most convenient way, online education has developed courses to train the teachers to help out students in their learning. This is a real novel approach the online education has initiated to enrich the entire education system.

Specially educated teachers can be widely categorized into two sections. The first category comprises of those teachers who conduct regular classes in the school curriculum. Another section of teachers is those who teach the disabled children in the schools exceptionally meant for them.

Online education has courses for both the sections of teachers to guide them in the best possible way. The biggest advantage of such courses is that the teachers can continue the course along with the job and get refined ideas with real experience at work. On the other hand this is a boon to the students because the teachers can help them with exact guidance to build up their future.

Teachers have the biggest role in building up the nation. If the teachers are inefficient in any aspect the whole society can be put at stake. The school authorities must take care of this aspect and make it mandatory for the teachers to get hold of the specialized training to impart quality education to the students.

Educational requirements can only then be met in a broader perspective and better way if the teachers are more concerned in not just what they are teaching to the students but in the approach they are teaching or giving lessons. A good and potent teacher must have the ability to read the child’s mind and then incorporate something in his/her thoughts. The real spirit of education lies in the approach of education and online education for teachers is just a way to show this route.

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