tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post5748706484905520586..comments2024-03-28T17:53:43.541-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: Query LifeDarwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-90867535622223775912018-10-28T22:57:25.867-04:002018-10-28T22:57:25.867-04:00Kathleen,
Thank you!
Somehow or other it will se...Kathleen,<br /><br />Thank you!<br /><br />Somehow or other it will see print. It's still out at a couple agents and one publisher. And if that doesn't work out, I'll go the indie route.<br /><br />It's very sustaining through this process to know that people enjoyed it.<br /><br />Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-38913405159903863692018-10-28T12:14:44.890-04:002018-10-28T12:14:44.890-04:00I don't have any advice for you, but I really ...I don't have any advice for you, but I really enjoyed reading the book--was so delighted each time you published a new chapter.Kathleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07023469274544648759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-56194131986113905202018-10-08T00:09:01.632-04:002018-10-08T00:09:01.632-04:00"She takes the job, but within days her fears..."She takes the job, but within days her fears are confirmed by an email from her new boss. She’d better dust off her passport. She’s got to be in China next week."<br /><br />I would have cut this paragraph out of the query letter. I think that if you leave it out, the reader will feel more intrigued and wanting to know what will happen next.Catholic Bibliophagisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10697706672495544901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-38874453953026446052018-10-05T01:31:13.634-04:002018-10-05T01:31:13.634-04:00It's a pencil?
I - I thought it was the balli...It's a pencil?<br /><br />I - I thought it was the ballistic missile of rejection.Jocelynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07944294719903973020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-45159371958389852502018-10-04T09:09:45.340-04:002018-10-04T09:09:45.340-04:00FIND WORK at the tip of the pencil is funny.FIND WORK at the tip of the pencil is funny.Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13472686909226073213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-8785839941747908382018-10-04T09:07:26.569-04:002018-10-04T09:07:26.569-04:00If you have expanded thoughts on the issue, I'...If you have expanded thoughts on the issue, I'd be happy to hear them here or via email (darwincatholic at gmail)<br /><br />There's also the issue that I'm running out of agents at this point. But there are probably enough lest we could perhaps even do something interesting like construct a blink control group to see which query letter structure and length works better.<br /><br />The current version got four positive responses and nine negatives out of the last thirteen responses, so that seems like a dense enough data set we could maybe bet a test read on a test/control strategy, so long as I can identify a group of another forty or so agents to send to.Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-10718576896389609262018-10-04T09:02:42.965-04:002018-10-04T09:02:42.965-04:00Anon,
I'd certainly welcome detailed thoughts...Anon,<br /><br />I'd certainly welcome detailed thoughts on revision of it. The current version is one I got to through extensive workshopping with the forums on QueryTracker, but I don't consider myself any kind of query letter expert. (Actually, I kind of hate query letters as a genre.)<br /><br />It seemed like the "housekeeping paragraph" could be either first or last, and I ended up going with format QueryShark seemed to favor with putting it last.<br /><br />The amount of story to cover in the letter is something I've gone back and forth on. Right now I'm covering the first three of eleven chapters, which is kind of the first act. Or perhaps there's a more terse way to cover what's being covered.Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-53761743060723132392018-10-04T06:38:36.375-04:002018-10-04T06:38:36.375-04:00Suggestion: that query letter needs to be half tha...Suggestion: that query letter needs to be half that length, and the last paragraph should be the first.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com