I was actually making good progress with my first draft, but I was given some advice that convinced me I have to rethink the style and tone of the book. I’m okay with the advice, but I’m working on a way I can make the adjustments but still feel that the book reflects my ideas.
I hope you have a few good alpha readers. I know how stressful writing a book is...I rarely let anyone but one person, my domestic partner, read my work in progress - otherwise it feels to me like I've let loose a half dozen squirrels in the house - things go a little crazy.
I’m getting feedback from someone I trust. I’m writing an instructional book about songwriting, and the tricky part is that much of the advice I give goes against conventional wisdom. I’m trying to present that material in a way that won’t turn novice songwriters off, and it’s tricky because my instinct is to just say, hey, the system you’re using now isn’t working! I’ve been advised, I think wisely, to present the material in a more positive way. But this has meant I have to rethink the way I get the ideas across.
This is the first query advice I’ve seen that doesn’t recommend novel comparisons, a one(ish) sentence summary, genre, word-count, a pitch that could be the back-copy of your book, or the intended audience. These fall under ‘tell the agent why the book will sell’, an area not loved by creatives but important for the business end of things.
The method above is delightfully more about connecting and interesting the agent in your work—but is it viable in the current market?
To be candid, many agencies ask for different components in a query letter and the increasing use of QueryManager asks writers outright for much more information than what you'll usually find in a traditional query letter. It's best to look at each agent's/agency's website to see what optimally a query should contain.There is really no rule other than to be concise, clear, and straightforward, i.e. no "I know you'll love this book because I'm a great writer. My friends tell me so..."
I’m not ready to do any of this yet, but it’s encouraging to see that all of this looks like things I could manage to do. Thanks for posting!
Once you get a draft written, you can always refine it/edit as needed. It's the first draft that can be a gnarly beast.
Aargh, yes, I’m struggling with it now.
the hard part is often the summary - if you write the other short paragraphs, at least you'll be on your way.
I was actually making good progress with my first draft, but I was given some advice that convinced me I have to rethink the style and tone of the book. I’m okay with the advice, but I’m working on a way I can make the adjustments but still feel that the book reflects my ideas.
I’m getting there, I think, but it’s a struggle.
I hope you have a few good alpha readers. I know how stressful writing a book is...I rarely let anyone but one person, my domestic partner, read my work in progress - otherwise it feels to me like I've let loose a half dozen squirrels in the house - things go a little crazy.
I’m getting feedback from someone I trust. I’m writing an instructional book about songwriting, and the tricky part is that much of the advice I give goes against conventional wisdom. I’m trying to present that material in a way that won’t turn novice songwriters off, and it’s tricky because my instinct is to just say, hey, the system you’re using now isn’t working! I’ve been advised, I think wisely, to present the material in a more positive way. But this has meant I have to rethink the way I get the ideas across.
Great advice!
Thank you, Staci! I aim to please/demystify!
This is the first query advice I’ve seen that doesn’t recommend novel comparisons, a one(ish) sentence summary, genre, word-count, a pitch that could be the back-copy of your book, or the intended audience. These fall under ‘tell the agent why the book will sell’, an area not loved by creatives but important for the business end of things.
The method above is delightfully more about connecting and interesting the agent in your work—but is it viable in the current market?
To be candid, many agencies ask for different components in a query letter and the increasing use of QueryManager asks writers outright for much more information than what you'll usually find in a traditional query letter. It's best to look at each agent's/agency's website to see what optimally a query should contain.There is really no rule other than to be concise, clear, and straightforward, i.e. no "I know you'll love this book because I'm a great writer. My friends tell me so..."
Thank you!