I feel like the witch in Hansel and Gretal, reeling in the Literary Agents with a piece of candy.
Writing a query letter is worse than writing a resume. It was harder than writing the book! My first very amateur attempt at a query letter crashed and burned like the zeppelin. I mean, how do you sum up three years of writing into a few paragraphs? After I got my rejection letter I reread what I had written and they were right, I wouldn't want to read it either.
So I worked around and around until I had something I liked. I needed an introverted look and I really had to spoil the entire plot to make it capturing.
But the worst part was talking about me. What would I say? I'm a Cancer, my favorite color is green, and if you don't look at my stuff, you're stupid. In the first one, it was something like, "I'm a mother of two beautiful girls. They are my sincere inspiration... married for twelve WONDERFUL years to the man of my dream... blah, blah, blah..." I really wanted to vomit. It wasn't me at all.
So this is what I wrote straight from the letter,"I was born and raised in Utah. I am the forth of six children, the oldest girl and unknowingly the cause of my mother's semi-mental breakdown. I love humor and wit, the smarter the better. I love laughing at lame movies and geeking out at nerdy shows, books, whatever is silly."
I got my first nibble. I think it was the "Geeking out" part. That or the "Mental Breakdown."
Wish me luck!
This is a drawing of Naomi's mark on her neck done by my friend and neighbor Beth Ipson. I'm going to send it in with the manuscript. I love it! Those who have read it will understand.