12 Ways an Agents Considers Your Query

I am not an agent, I’ve never had an agent, nor have I ever personally known an agent. Why then, am I the one to write this article? Well, I’m probably not. Still, I’ve been walking this path for a while now and I have learned to use those senses located around my face. This article is what I’ve learned as I’ve traversed my chosen trail.

An agent is in the business of selling books to publishers. They are business people like every other business person out there. They contend with P&L’s, customers, contacts, inventory control, and all the rest. They are looking for authors, even aspiring authors, for without us they are unemployed.

We, the authors clacking away at our keyboards until the dawn lights the morning sky, are their inventory. It is their job and profession to see their inventory put into the hands of their clients, the publishers. The secret, as with any business, is to choose the correct inventory to sell to the correct client. The query letter is one method they use to locate that inventory.

Though not necessarily presented in the order of their thought processes, this is my understanding of when they receive your query, how they look at it.

Is the story within one they can sell? If their contacts weigh heavily toward romance publishers, sending a query touting a nonfiction book on the weaknesses in the Theory of Relativity is wasted on them. They may have no background in selling this type of book and they’ll most likely pass.

If they’ve just sold a similar book, they’ll probably not try to do it again as they’ve already pitched their contacts on the storyline.

If the story within is not interesting, they’ll pass. If this is your storyline is dull, overused, out of date, etc., the agent knows none of their contacts will buy the book from them.

If the story within is not unique, they'll probably pass. If your hero is named Luke and he’s an orphan living on a farm in some far, far away galaxy and he will soon discover he has the power to summon the forces of nature to his aid and… Well, it’s been done. You may have a slight chance if your work has a unique aspect to it, but save yourself the trouble and write a new story.

If your query is not professional in nature, it tells them you are not a professional. These guys are pros, and they want to surround themselves with like-minded individuals. Learn what each agents wishes to receive and give them that.

Their time is valuable and limited. Assuming your query even reaches their desk, you have maybe twenty seconds of their time available to you. If your query starts with, “I am so important to you,” or some such nonsense, you don’t even get the twenty. However, if you start with a good hook that catches their interest, you’ll get the extra ten seconds that previous blowhard squandered.

They look to the quality of your writing. They consider your query a sample of your writing skills and seek those who are well versed in the craft. Why would they try to sell inferior inventory? That is what you are if you have yet to learn how to write.

They do consider your provenance, if you will. Why are you the one to write this work? If you’ve not stepped into a classroom since you quit school in the seventh grade, they will not consider you the best source for recommending how to alter the educational landscape. If you write spy novels but have never seen the thin end of a pair of binoculars, you’ve probably chosen an incorrect genre. Write what you know. No, you need not have a writer’s pedigree, but you do need to exhibit knowledge of your subject matter, be it fiction or nonfiction.

They want to know why you chose them. If you’re querying every agent in the known universe, that’s fine from your perspective, but to them it’s a sure sign of your lack of professionalism. Query them for a reason and tell them why you did.

They do respect the recommendations from within their sphere. Wouldn’t you? They have clients and contacts they trust to know their desires and markets, and a confidant is their most efficient method of finding a new author. Try to get a recommendation. As difficult as that may be, it is your truest path to publication.

They want to know you’re in this as a career. They don’t earn as much money off a single book as they do a number of books. If they have your book published and twenty thousand copies are sold, how man dollars get into their pocket? How much do they earn if they sell twenty of your books at twenty thousand copies per? This is a business for them, even if it is not for you.

This is a subjective business and they will often pass on a manuscript for a reason as simple as it does not “call” to them. Sorry, guys, but life is unfair and so is the publishing world. That is why you query multiple agents.

If your query does not exemplify these qualities, I recommend you keep trying to improve your writing and querying skills.

I’d love for an agent to comment on this as to any errors in my thinking or omission in the list.

Until my next posting, kind readers, may all your books be best-sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze

A Dozen Ways to Create an Opening Scene

We’ve all heard readers must be caught up in your novel from the very first page if you wish them to finish this book and purchase your next. But how does one go about creating that initial burst of excitement?

There is any number of options open to us as authors, but here’s your list of a dozen that’ll work well, if crafted correctly. (Ah, the ever-present caveat!) See if any of these will work for you.

1. The proverbial Great Line. I once read and still remember this one. “When I was little, I would think of ways to kill my daddy.” How’s that for grabbing the imagination. To develop this Great Line, compress your novel’s major conflict into a single sentence, then polish.

2. Have the bad guy show up early and in a big way. Your opening might be something like, “The assassins bullet…”

3. The likeable hero can be introduced right away, but be certain to include his worthy goal. Think along the line of, “His mother understood early in Johnnie’s life he would need unique attention.”

4. Introduce humor in the opening paragraph. Make sure it fits your audience. Toilet humor might work in VYA, (Very Young Adult), but the church elders will probably, uh, “pass.”

5. Introduce a feeling of danger right away. “…he saw men on horseback, riding hard, their horses kicking up a swirl behind them.”

6. Write a scene that’s easy on the senses in a conversational tone. Make it natural but lyrical. Paint a picture with which your audience will identify. “The landscape looked as if an artist had brushed his fondest vision of nature on his canvas.”

7. Introduce an ominous foreshadowing. “Carrion birds floated in a languid circle off to the south. Something was about to die.”

8. Begin with formidable obstacles your hero must face and overcome. “Exhausted, he crested what he thought was his final obstacle but saw a snowcapped mountain range still to his fore.” (Hey, I’m working on the fly here, cut me some slack, huh?) They need not be physical barriers, of course, but you get the idea.

9. Use immediate action. Stuff blowing up is always fun, but it can just as readily be an argument, a personal conflict or even one having to face humility. Just make is pop right away.

10. Open with high level of tension. Use a heavy dose of emotion mixed with high drama. Think of the last argument you had before you demanded a divorce. That’ll get ‘em worked up.

11. A clear representation of an appealing setting might work for you. Consider your “safe place” in all its glory and invite your reader to join you.

12. An effective joining of humor and tension. “When the bullet ripped into his flesh, he knew the day was not going well.” Trite, I know, but use that as your example and get off my back.

So there ya go. A dozen easy openings to hook your reader and sell more books. Good luck.

So long for now and may all your books be best-sellers.

Patrick

Believable Characters

I’ve heard there are only a dozen or so stories to write and believe it’s true. You know what I mean, boy meets girl, boy wins girl, boy looses girl, that sort of thing. The ability to retell this limited number of storylines is derived by creating imaginative setting and characters.

So, how is it we create these elusive, yet all-important, characters?

As authors, we’ve all heard the old saw our reader must “identify” with our characters for our stories to fly and our books to fly off the shelves. Yet, despite this sage advice, all this identifying is so very difficult to achieve.

Or is it? Not so much as you might think.

Consider those you appreciate in life. What is it about them that calls to you, makes them interesting or likeable? Now, armed with those thoughts, can you guess what traits your characters require? Yep, those very same characteristic that resonate with you will probably do so with your readers. Personally, I’ve often gravitated to those who color outside the lines, just enough, and my best characters always seem to be those who are a tad irreverent.

Do your friends have a dark side, a weakness, a hidden strength, a freakish mannerism? What is their failing in life? What type of emotions do they possess and what brings those to the fore? What challenges them or excites them?

Once you’ve determined what makes your friends tick, by translating their idiosyncrasies to the page, you’ve got credible characters. They’re believable because they are real.

A cute trick I often use is to mix personalities to create a whole new person. In my newest manuscript, I’ve created a single character with the cross-pollinated personalities of all my siblings. He sort of the priest-who-murders-for-fun type. (Yeah, I did have an interesting childhood…)

You now have all the fundamental tools needed for effective characterization. However, there are a few tricks you can use to enhance your readers’ enjoyment.

Find that universal human experience and put them in it. For example, how do people feel when they lose a love? How about losing a child? (God forbid!) Use this sort of situation to bring their true inner being to life.

Face them with a timeless truth. Is every boss kind and generous? Not a chance! Have them face this type of conflict.

Give him a life-sustaining mantra and kick him in the teeth with it. “Always say something nice or don’t say nothing at all,” is an easy one. Put your character in a situation where there is nothing nice to say. It’s the old fish-out-of-water trick and it’s real effective.

Let your character become a better person. Personal growth is always accepted by your audience and, in fact, necessary for a good story. Let your protagonists learn and people will identify.

Read my previous post for more clues to effective characters.

There are a thousand ways to improve your characterizations, but this is a good start. Take it to heart and you’ll be a better writer for it.

Until my next post, may all your books be best sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze