Writing a Query Letter

This is me at the moment. Ugh! Okay, I’m not blond but I do have green eyes.    Trying to write a query letter. Okay, okay…why a query letter? Well, I have two stories that the synopsis done and one story has the first three chapters done. I’m looking to query submissions on both of them to two different publishers and a query letter is required. Shocked, you are? You really shouldn’t be. I’ve written on two different stories for the past months and both of them are as different as night and day. One is a sweet (heat level) Romantic Suspense and the other is a sensual contemporary set in a small town. Kim, Tony, Forrest and Donna are really screaming at me now and the time is right. I need to get their stories finished so that I can get them out there.

As a newbie writer, a query letter seemed a little old-fashioned to me but as I read more and more about the different publishers and their requirements, they are requiring not only the synopsis but the letter, too. Crap, where to start? Writing the synopsis was hard enough and now a letter, too? Well luckily I remembered and bookmarked a blog that a YA author has that is wonderful. Here is the link: Elana Johnson, Blog

She has even offering her book on how to write a query letter for free. I downloaded it and it has been fabulous. She even has worksheets for the learning impaired like me. I’m a visual person, so the worksheets have been great to work with and get my thoughts on the paper. It’s not pretty on the worksheets but at least now I can work with what I have.

She goes into great detail about the four parts of the first query letter:  The Hook, The Set Up, The Conflict and The Consequence.    I’m sure most of you know about the four parts of a query letter but this newbie did not have a clue.  The book that I sold, sold on a pitch so I skipped the synopsis and query letter part of the process. 

Wish me luck and if/when I hear back from my query letters, I will let you know the status.

Harlie

Special thanks to Mart Ramirez for leading me to Elana’s blog.  *Big Kiss*  Mart’s link is Martha Rameriz, Writer Martha has got links and more links than you can imagine for the newbie and established writer. You really should check it out.