FREE KINDLE FOR PC

FREE KINDLE FOR PC
So you can read my books

Friday, July 2, 2010

THE ART OF DRIVING IN POURING RAIN {AND WRITING A QUERY}

Among those killed in action on this day in 1916 at the Battle of the Somme was Alan Seeger (uncle of Pete Seeger), a twenty-eight-year-old poet who had gone to live in Left Bank Paris, and had joined the French Foreign Legion in order to fight in the war. From Seeger's "Rendezvous with Death":


I have a rendezvous with Death
At some disputed barricade,
When Spring comes back with rustling shade
And apple-blossoms fill the air —
I have a rendezvous with Death
When Spring brings back blue days and fair.



Now back to the title of this post :


The art of driving in the pouring rain {and writing a query.}

Yes.

There are similarities between the two.

For instance, the question :

SHE DOES SEE ME, DOESN'T SHE?

The truth? No. No, she doesn't.

In her mind's eye, she sees the face of her friend as she's talking into her Bluetooth headset. By the dashboard clock, she sees that she's 10 minutes late. In the rearview mirror, she sees the bouncing image of her lips as she tries to apply lipstick without ending up looking like Bozo the Clown.

But you? You she doesn't see.

Not to worry. Just drive as if everyone around you is going to do the stupidest thing imaginable, and you'll be just fine.

THE AGENT TO WHOM YOU'RE WRITING DOESN'T SEE YOU EITHER.

She sees the precious sleep she's missing by reading query after query into the wee hours of the morning.

She sees the worst pieces of prose from past queries that stick like cockle burrs in her mind.

She sees the long list of things she has to do the next day on less sleep that she wanted.

She sees the sad face of that editor saying "No" to her earlier in the day when she was so sure he was going to say "yes."

She sees the mounting bills she has to pay ... BUT SHE DOESN'T SEE YOUR QUERY ... at least not clearly.

What do you do?

With a driver, you honk the horn. With a weary agent, you reach out and shake her awake to truly see your query for what it hopefully is : engaging and intriguing.

How? However you do it, you have to do it in 10 seconds. That's how long you have before her routine of "Wax on; wax off" is finished. Actually, it's read, yawn, reject.

For you to get through to her, it has to be a one - two punch. Hook of a title. Then, wham! A fascinating one paragraph summation:

PROJECT POPE : Robot priests construct their own Pope in their search for God. Then, the unimaginable happens. They find Him. {The classic by Clifford D. Simak.}

2nd Way Querying is like driving in the pouring rain :

JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN DO A THING DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD.

Hundreds of thousands of drivers die needlessly each year by insisting on driving the speed limit in blinding rain.

In writing a query, you have fantastic leeway. You can write in any voice you choose. Frivolous. Condescending. Antagonistic. Suicidal, oh I repeat myself.

Your query is a business interview. Treat it as such and treat the agent as the potential employer. Be professional. Follow her website's guidelines. And show respect.

3rd Way Querying is like driving in the pouring rain :

YOU HAVE TO ALWAYS KEEP THE BIG PICTURE IN MIND :

In driving that is looking past the hood to at least 200 feet ahead of you. Flick your eyes from side to side to prevent nasty surprises. Keep looking at the rearview mirror to see what may be charging right at you.

In Querying :
Keep in mind the ultimate goal : intriguing the agent enough for her to want to read more.

You don't have to cram 500 pages of story into one page. In essence, you're writing a movie trailer. Remember the latest movie trailer you saw. Did it give the whole story? No. It teased, giving you the hero, the antagonist, and a glimpse of humor and danger.

And if you're beginning to despair that no agent will be interested in your novel, someone convinced a movie studio to spend millions of dollars on this :




Then, there's this song, an echo of yesterday's post :




12 comments:

  1. Excellent advice! I am not yet at the querying stage of my process, but I'll keep this in mind when I get there. As far as I know most books where I am from (that would be Norway) don't go through agents, but are sent directly to the publishers. The same rules should apply, though. Only I'd imagine it would be a little more like driving in heavy snow (climate wise this also fits better) - which is also a dangerous business...

    Great post! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cruella : I don't believe anyone in Louisiana would know how to drive in heavy snow. The whole state would grind to a halt! The book publishers here will not look at an unagented book -- except for the small press companies. Good luck with your writing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Interesting post, for a minute I wondered about equating a 'Rendevous with death with Querying'. LOL. I hope its not that drastic. I am nowhere near querying but I think the old advice 'Keep Calm and Carry on' rings true. From the blogs I've read alot of advice and hear many rejections. I think its good to keep your eyes 'past the hood' as you mention. I also think it is about grabbing the agents attention in a short few sentences so they have to be the best. Good Luck!!!

    Ps: I have a butterfly for you on my blog. ;-))

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi, Roland. We went to Venice yesterday. A Brit had on a tee shirt that said, "Keep calm and carry on." And today it pops up on the comment above. Interesting. Actually, when it comes to agents I have mixed feelings. Yes, the query letter has to interest them. But it's also part of their job to realize there's a major difference between writing a book and a letter. They should know the talent doesn't always transfer. I sometimes think too many expect the writer to do too much of everyone else's job.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Talei : Thanks for the butterfly. And even more thanks for all the kind words. Keep calm and carry on. Good advice.

    Kitty : You were in Venice? See Sam McCord and the ghost of Cole Porter? Just joking. Isn't it odd how the phrase "keep calm and carry on" suddenly rears up it head unexpectedly? Maybe God is tapping us all on the shoulder. Stay safe.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I need to get better wipers. It is dangerous out there. Love the simile

    ReplyDelete
  7. Interesting comparison. Thanks for the advice!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm getting closer to the querying stage (I think!) - thanks for the tips :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Actually these days, movie trailers DO give away the entire movie. It drives me nuts!

    Great analogy and tips, Roland! I'm not querying yet, but will be in the near future if all goes well. :) Thanks for the advice!

    ReplyDelete
  10. You give such engaging advice, I love it! It may have taken me about three months to let all those guidelines sink in, but now I know I'm doing it right!

    And I love Anna Nalick's Just Breathe. It's beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love the way you tied all that together. I'm either gonna have to copy and paste all this excellent advice...or you could just write an advice/how to book and publish it...I would buy it, promise!

    ReplyDelete
  12. A movie trailer, I like that. That's a very good way to put it. Great minds think alike, I just wrote about querying on my critique group's blog, Scribe Sisters. It's all about getting right down the heart of your novel!

    ReplyDelete