Category: Blog Of Writing +1

My First Query Letter Attempt

So… Hindsight… 20/20… Yadda Yadda.

I imagine the folks at HarperCollins who may have received my manuscript for Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse most likely opened the file for a single moment before deleting it. Harsh right?

No.

In fact, now, I wouldn’t blame them.

I kind of let my excitement and nerves get in the way of rationale and sanity. When I sent it through, first I hoped I’d sent the right file. Second, I hoped I’d sent the right story. Third, I abandoned all hope and wrote the whole ordeal off as a mistake. Back to square one? Don’t mind if I do!

Fast forward… uhh… to a few weeks ago. I started getting Writer’s Digest emails because I’d been looking at their Writer’s Market books. This all stemmed from my partner asking her favorite author, Diana Gabaldon, for some advice on writing for me. She actually replied and with some good tips to boot! On her recommendation, I began to look into the Writer’s Market books but couldn’t take the plunge. Just too expensive in my mind and I couldn’t really get a feel for what they were actually about.

As if by some divine guidance, an email dropped into my inbox.

Now 75% Off! 2017 Writer‘s Market Books!

75%?! That had to be wrong. I mean, I know the 2018 editions are coming soon but 75%? That meant I could get five books from there including shipping and it would cost me less than two of them with free shipping from Book Depository (let’s not even talk local bookstore pricing, yeesh). The order was placed with the support and approval of my lovely partner (who by now was wondering why I hadn’t already bought them).

Shut-up-and-take-my-money

Then, as if guided by the hands of fate herself, the books arrived in record time from the US and just in time for my day off. Not only that but we were informed our house may be ready by the end of next month, which means my writing room could be right around the corner!

As everything falls into place, I began reading the beginning of Writer’s Market 2017 which has a wonderful section about query letters. These are essentially the resume cover letter that we were taught about back in high school, but geared toward the writing industry and your product. It’s not just me I’m trying to sell anymore (yes, I see what I wrote there… close enough) but it’s the story too. Limiting yourself to a single page for all the important details is a fun challenge (read: the tears come at night) but I think I’ve managed.

The question is, what do you think?

<Insert El Editor’s Details Here>

Dear El Editor,

My 98,000 word novel, Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse, is fantasy fiction in the same vein as the Harry Potter series of novels but with a hint of influence from Star Wars as well.

Jefferson is a teen orphan whose feeling of being the outsider leads him to seek out the circus for its oddities and curiosities. Here, he discovers a performing magician, Gabriel, who introduces the boy to the wonders of real magic.

Finding his place in a secret society of magicians, Jefferson walks a dangerous line between the rise of forbidden arts and learning magic. As Gabriel becomes more erratic and dangerous, Jefferson finds he is the key to saving or defeating him.

From cursed magicians and multiple personality disorders to magical battles and time travel, Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse is familiar to fans of fantasy while taking a new approach to the question, “Where does magic come from?”

Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse would ideally fit in with Harry Potter or Dragonlance series of novels. Your website noted that you were seeking out fantasy novels over 75,000 words and this fits those criteria.

I have been writing and editing many of my shorter works for the below website and blog. My short story, Circle of Vengeance, was critiqued and edited more than twenty times before being self-published. You can find this on my website below as well as at lulu.com and on the iBooks store.

As stated in your guidelines I have enclosed the first 30 pages. Thank you for your time and consideration of my novel, Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse.

Sincerely,

TJ Edwards

<Insert My Details Here>

Let me know if there’s anything I could do better! I need all the help I can get!

Also… any tips out there for submitting manuscripts?

Thanks a bunch, as always you folks are legendary!

Story Genius & Author Accelerator

A few months back I was standing in an independent bookstore, staring at the plethora of books that are always both inspiring and demotivational to a struggling writer such as myself. I was searching for Writer’s Market 2017 (which I now realise I still haven’t bought) and stumbled across a little gem called Story Genius by Lisa Cron. First, I must admit… I hate getting writing advice from someone I’ve never heard of. Secondly, reading the writer’s memoirs from the likes of Stephen King and Ray Bradbury always had the same inspirational/crushing effect on me. Not sure why.

I slid the book from the shelf and weighed it up for some odd reason. It felt light; Could it be that there wasn’t enough printed in it to be worth it? Who knew what I was actually thinking, perhaps this was just some sort of ritual, like two dogs smelling each other. My writing at home was begging for me to come back, the dozens of novels I wanted to read and reread groaning at the idea of another book entering the fray. I flipped through the first few pages, read the blurb and returned to staring at the cover.

Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere)

Ironically not the most concise title for a book on writing, but it was catchy and got its point across. At this point, I’d already finished Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse and was avoiding it like an ex-girlfriend. It needed editing desperately and I simply wasn’t the man to do it. Not then… and not now. You see, the problem I have is one of experience. Of writing? I have roughly two decades of story writing behind me. Of novel editing? Well, roughly three weeks of it before I got fed up and started writing something else.

My biggest problem (aside from editing) is that I was very disorganised when I began writing Jefferson. I broke it down into five parts (Intro, Journey, Antagonist Reveal, Climax and Conclusion) and let the characters take me on a journey between points. There is a lot of dialogue. A LOT. Not as much description though, which removes the reader from the world. That being said, I need to work on introducing those things. I’ve travelled a fair bit since then and hopefully, that will help my writing.

So now, as of today, I’ve submitted my application into Author Accelerator. I’m actually unsure of why I’ve done it or what it will actually entail. I saw pricing on there that was $199 for a 10-week class and I wonder to myself if I’m ready to start spending money on that sort of learning for my writing. Not only that, but 10 weeks will take me straight into the build of my home and I wonder if I will have time to devote to it properly.

For now, I’ll simply wait, for tomorrow is a new day where we will choose the kitchen for our house. Maybe tomorrow I’ll do a bit more editing on my novel. Maybe.

Maybe.