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.
4 comments:
That's so awesome, Candie! Good luck with everything. And of course I would love to make any quilty type thing for you. If you're ever in need of something, just pick out some fabric and I'll do the rest. :)
Oh, and Josh and I are coming to Utah in May, but just for a couple days. We're going to be up at the University of Utah for a recruiting trip to try to get people to know about the residency here. Hopefully I'll get to see you, Kevin and the girls!
Candie, I can not tell you how excited I am for you. You are awesome!
Awesome! I love the 6 Pointed Star. It looks like all the elements combined - which show that Beth put A LOT of thought into it. I think it is absolutely perfect! Tell her I said so. I'm so excited about your book. It reads like a roller coaster ride!
Candie, I'm so proud of you! Maybe you'll be the next mega-author. Better start on your sequel or prequel or whatever--next in the series! Hope everything goes great.
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