Let's Write This Thing! vol. 3
Updated: Aug 29
Champagne
A Good Night's Sleep
and The Query Process
Curious reader (CR): Welcome Mr. Pierson! It’s so nice to meet you here on the keyboard again. Catch us up on where you are with your writing and publishing journey. Anything new?
Mr. Pierson (MP): Yes, big news, in fact. I’ve finished the final draft of my fourth novel! I spent over two years on it, several months longer than any of my previous books.
Curious reader (CR): Congratulations! What comes next after finishing the final draft, sir?
MP: Three steps. Fortunately, I’ve finished the first two.
1. Champagne
2. A good night’s sleep
3. Begin the dreaded Query Process. (Cue Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor.)
CR: Tell us about the query process. I’ve heard it can be onerous. How does one start?
MP: The first step in the query process is writing the query letter, with the goal of enticing a literary agent to represent the author and sell the book. Doesn’t sound so bad. One simply needs to make the agent feel chosen and honored (The Courtship), describe the 350-page novel, ideally in one long sentence (The Hook), explain why the book belongs on the same shelf as two successful novels of the same genre (The Comps), and promote one’s own chops in the literary world (The Bio). All in one page, max.
CR: That's a lot. How do you go about writing a successful query letter with all those criteria?
MP: It starts with reading hundreds of blogs and social media posts, each claiming they have the one thing that most writers get wrong in their query letter, and then discarding 99.44 percent of that. Fortunately, I’ve found a wonderful mentoring program that includes a step-by-step tutorial covering the entire query process, not just the letter. By my estimate, the query letter isn’t even the tip of the iceberg timewise. It’s the single splat of bird poop sitting on the tip.
CR: Ouch. How long, on average, does it take to reach the goal of landing an agent?
MP: One to two months would be amazingly fast. Six to twelve months is not unusual. Never is always a possibility. So, between one month and whenever the author gives up the search.
CR: Sounds daunting. Is there a silver lining?
MP: Funny you should ask that. I closed my eyes last night thinking, “What if I never find an agent? What will I have gained just going through the process?” And I realized there is a silver lining: the process has given me the opportunity to read a lot of good books in my genre--upmarket family drama--as I search for appropriate comp titles.
CR: So all that suffering comes with a reading list. Tell us about a few of the better potential comps you’ve read.
MP: Let’s save that for a future missive—coming soon to a newsletter near you.
CR: Can’t wait! Meanwhile, let's invite our readers to leave a comment with the best book they've read in the past year. Let's see what everyone's been reading.
MP: Great idea. I'm always looking for a good read, and good books deserve to be shared!
Don, from left to right:
L: the brightness of the sky and water caught my eye, not the woman
C: dislike totally
R: I did not see the face in the frame right away, a bit dark for my taste but best overall
Hi, Don. I agree with most of the others - the far left book reminds me of Harlequin books and they’ll admit their love in the end. Middle cover isn’t helpful. Left one gets my interest. Often, I don’t even read the inside flap as it can give me too much info. I would consider brightening the font on the teasers or slightly enlarging it.
Lately, my favorite author is Robert Galbraith, aka J.K. Rawlings, and her Comeran Strike novels. Most of my reading is actually listening, and I’m binging her eight Strike novels right now. Several of the books are well over 20 hours and well worth your time if you like British mysteries.
With retirement has come the luxury of being a prolific reader and I go though my fav authors rather quickly now I find. I am always browsing in book stores and self admittedly drawn to a new author by the cover that initially catches my eye. In the ones you have offered #1 would make me look deeper into the book, perhaps read the inside flap. #2 is too plain and honestly just a title and the complexity of #3 during a quick visit to B and N would not allow me the time to spend getting at the crux of the issue. Books are like wines, its the label that catches the eye whether the wine is good aw…
I like the one on the right as I believe it gives you more details. When I choose a book it is either because someone recommended it or because the cover was intriguing to me.
Congratulations on completing the book. I can’t wait to hear that it is available 👏
Many times I’ve been here with my author husband. Everything winds up looking the same. Couldn’t tell which war which general or what uniform but he knows every intricate detail . Trust your gut Don and don’t bug Valerie