An Online Discussion on the Querying Process: And some new friends!

In addition to writing personal essays for my honors thesis, I am also enrolled in a Beginning Novel class where I am working on my first ever novel!  Last week, one of the girls in my class sent out an invite to join a live, online chat session on October 11th with a few published authors discussing the querying process at Annie Laurie Cechini's website.  It started with Michelle Davidson Argyle, talking about where to start the querying process, then Lydia Sharp, who discussed the fundamentals of a query letter, and then was wrapped up with Sierra Gardner, who discussed ways to stay organized and keep tabs on queries.  Ashley, the girl in my class, ensured us that they were friendly people and would be thrilled to share their information to those who are new to this scene, so I decided to check it out.

The archived version of the chat session I participated in is not yet posted, but I will link to it once it is.  Here are a few main things I learned:

First, querying seems to be much easier with twitter, blogging, and other online venues that help writers know what publishers are interested in.  Michelle said that there is a blog called Query Slushpile that is a great place to workshop query letters in a public sphere.  There is also http://openquery.blogspot.com and http://querytracker.net.  Sierra suggested that most information could be found out through following up on blogs.  

Query Letter Basics:

A query letter IS a brief pitch meant to hook an agent and a professional business letter.  It is not a full synopsis of your book, a way to "test the waters" with agents, and should never be sent before your novel is finished and ready.

Basic Format for a Query Letter:

Lydia outlined this, but recommended that writers always check the agent and their guidelines before sending it in.  

Dear Mr./Ms. Agent:

[pitch -- about 200-250 words, usually 2-3 short paragraphs.  Keep it to character, conflict, choice, and start with a defined character]

[title, genre, word count]

[briefly state why you are querying this agent specifically]

[brief bio, *relevant* publishing credits, *relevant* unpaid writing -- blogger, book reviewer, degree in English/creative writing, etc]

[brief thank you]

Sincerely,
[your real name here]

[contact info, website]

Several of the panelists commented on the importance of online presence.  Publishers will look you up.  Annie said that one she got her first request for a full draft and found out later that while her query wasn't the best, her online presence was what made the difference.  Genuine networking, according to the panelists, by being supportive and kind, gets you far. 

And the coolest part?  I got to participate!  I won a free query workshop (which means I should really get going on my novel).  I'm very excited to browse through these writers blogs and see some of their previous posts on issues I am comforted with as I am just starting out as a writer.  Many of the hot topics like self-publishing, etc. seem to be covered, so stay tuned! 

(Photo credit to jobgoround.com)