The blurb is what sells your book and it’s likely the first thing I read, it’s definitely the most important thing I readThe blurb is what you should spend your most time on. I often suggest writers work on the blurb before they start writing the book. It can be a useful piece of the writing process. Whether you’re a pantser or a plotter, the blurb is your point of reference to whether your story is holding up and remains marketable. Writing a blurb can point you in the right direction to creating that dynamic book idea. Most importantly, it can keep you on course as you’re writing. The blurb is essentially the cover copy of your book. It is what your agent will use to base their pitch on and what the editor will likely use to pitch the book to their team and to write the cover copy. The blurb is important. It doesn’t need to be more than two paragraphs. If necessary, three. That’s it. The trick to writing a good blurb is already on your bookshelves. What books did you comp? Read their cover copy and emulate what the professionals did to sell the book. That’s what I do when I write a pitch. I’m not going to include sample blurbs here because they exist all over Goodreads. Some hints though, you only need to name one or two characters focus on the hook–what makes your book different from all the competition the catalyst is the most important thing–not the backstory know what will sell your book if readers are lining it up against all the competition write in a style that reflects the genre–comedy should be humorous, suspense should be dark, etc.
Generally, each book gets a page in the publisher’s catalogue, and all houses use the same general formula/template
The first sentence is the hook or the handle or the one-minute elevator pitch. The next paragraph highlights the story itself. The third paragraph describes the book’s competition, its comparable books. The fourth paragraph tells you about the author and her credentials. Off to the sides of the main text, you’ll generally see quotes or reviews. Draft your query letter as if it’s catalogue copy. Of course the letter will sound clunky and artificial at first, but you’ll be able to smooth it out.
The Query Letter
simple 5-6 paragraph format
Paragraph 1: Introduction This is a 1-2 sentence introductory paragraph that provides the agent with your book’s title, genre, and word count. This is also a great place to briefly explain why you thought the agent would be right for the book. Maybe you read on the agent’s Manuscript Wishlist page that she was looking for middle grade books set at summer camp, or maybe you feel your book is similar to another book the agent has done. You might also briefly describe the hook or themes of the book. And I mean briefly. This paragraph really shouldn’t be more than 1-2 sentences. Or you might compare your book to another book or two on the market. Here are some sample introduction paragraphs: “I would love to send you STACKED UP, my 88,000 word narrative nonfiction book that reveals the hidden lives of hoarders.” “I am looking for representation for my young adult psychological thriller that I’d describe as Sharp Objects meets We Were Liars—I’LL NEVER TELL (75,000 words). You mention being a big fan of both books on your MSWL profile, so I thought you’d enjoy it.” “Given your interest in otherworldly historical fiction, I present to you my historical magical realism novel that addresses race, power, and what it means to belong—THE HARVEST. It is complete at 68,000 words.”
Paragraphs 2-3: Plot Your plot may seem like the most straightforward part of your query, yet I see authors continually struggle with knowing how much of their plot to describe. Some authors believe that they’re supposed to describe the entire plot of the book, which isn’t the case. (Save that for the synopsis.) Other authors focus more on abstract themes than physical action, which is too vague and doesn’t give me an idea of what actually happens in the book. So how much plot is enough? The kind of plot description I’m looking for in a query sets up the primary conflict and/or the protagonist’s primary goal, shows the stakes for the protagonist, describes some of the rising action around that conflict/goal, and hints at the climax. I don’t need to know about every battle your protagonist wins, or every clue he follows. The plot description should remain focused on the primary conflict and the things that directly complicate it. Most plot descriptions I see are made up of two paragraphs. Generally the first plot paragraph sets up the conflict and stakes, then the second shows the rising action and hints at the climax. Some authors sum all this up in one plot paragraph, which works too. It doesn’t matter whether you use one paragraph or two so long as you cover all the important elements. If you want to briefly touch on the themes of the book, that can be a nice addition to your second plot paragraph. (Or if you just have one plot paragraph it can act as your second plot paragraph.)
Paragraph 4: Comp Titles/Audience Comp titles are published books that you consider similar to yours in some way. (I wrote a blog on comp titles a few months ago that you can read here if you’d like a more in depth look at the various ways of using them.) Even if you mentioned comp titles in your introductory paragraph, you can mention other comps here if you have them. The main purpose of this paragraph is to show the audience for your book. Your audience may be readers of a certain book, author or genre. (Hence the need for comp titles.) It may be viewers of certain TV shows or movies. It may be readers of certain blogs or magazines. It may be members of certain associations or fellowships. Or it may be even more specific. For instance, if your book is a self-help book on parenting autistic children, then clearly your audience is parents of autistic children, though it may also be psychologists, teachers and others who work with autistic children. Whoever your audience is, be sure to identify them in this paragraph.
Paragraph 5: Author Bio/Publications/Platform The kind of bio information I’m looking for is something that relates to your credentials for the writing the book. It could be previous publication credits if you have them, such as published essays, short stories or books. It could be writing prizes or honors you’ve received, like being nominated for a Pushcart Prize. If you’re writing prescriptive nonfiction, then this is the place where you explain why you’re qualified to write the book and what your platform is. If you want to add a cute line about your cat figurine collection or your teaching job, that’s fine, but the focus of this paragraph should be on your writing career and/or your career that relates to the topic of the book (if applicable).
Paragraph 6: Closing Your closing paragraph should be simple and polite, perhaps thanking the agent for their time or showing how you followed their submission guidelines. Something along the lines of: “Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.” Or: “As per your submission guidelines, I have pasted the synopsis and the first two chapters in the body of the email below. Please let me know if you’d like me to send you the complete manuscript.”
My preference is for your personal details/bio to come after the story pitch. I like the query to open with the reason you’re querying me and the key info about your project: word count, category, title, comps. Then the story pitch, followed by your writing credits, associations, conferences, and any life or career experience that informed this book.
If an agent wants trigger warnings, what’s the best way to incorporate into the query? A good query rule-of-thumb is to keep things short and simple, so I suggest including the trigger warning in your opening, alongside your personalization to the agent and your word count, category, and comps. Perhaps something like: “My 78,000-word psychological thriller THE GREEN LIGHT will appeal to fans of Amy Gentry and Rena Olsen. Please be aware, my manuscript includes a graphic depiction of child abuse.”
Where do you usually stop reading in a manuscript? If you make it 75% would you finish? It varies from manuscript to manuscript how far I get before I realize it’s not going to work for me. If I request your full after reading your query and 25 pages, that means I’m hooked on your concept and drawn in by your writing, so as I’m reading I’m hoping that that potential holds up all the way through! If the story starts to fall apart in a way that I don’t have a vision to fix, if I can’t buy in to the character’s choices, if I find my attention wandering or realize I’m just not enjoying the read, I’ll feel sad, but I’ll probably move on to the next MS. Sometimes that’s page 40, sometimes it’s page 125; once I know it’s a No, I’m not going to waste both of our time just for the sake of finishing. On the other hand, if I’m reading and editors are coming to mind who would like it, or I find myself wanting to keep reading when I get off the subway, or I get excited about how to fix plot issues, then I read looking for reasons to say Yes and position the book for success!
If you query a new literary agent at a reputable agency but find little about her online, any query tips to personalize your letter? I suggest phrasing it in a way that reflects your research on the agency and your understanding of the benefits of working with a newer agent—new agents are eager to find great talent for their lists and often have more time for debuts than more experienced agents with deep lists. “I read you’re newly building your list at Tony the Tiger Literary Agency and hope that your agency’s expertise in cookbooks alongside your enthusiasm for debuts will be the perfect combination for my 68,000 book club novel, A FROSTED FLAKE LOVE STORY.
Show me the hashtags. In addition to the hashtag specific to the event, use hashtags to specify the genre. This helps agents more easily find books that fall under the genres they’re interested in. Some agents will actually filter the event feed by these genre hashtags, so if they’re only looking for YA during #pitmad, and you don’t have a #YA hashtag on your YA pitch, they won’t see it. You can use both hashtags that specify the age group of your genre (like #A for adult, #YA for young adult, #MG for middle grade, #PB for picture book) and the plot-based genre (like #SF for sci-fi, or #LF for literary fiction).
Show me the special. Think about the bones of your story. What about those bones makes your book unique? It could be the setting, the time period, the protagonist, the conflict, or ideally, some combination of all of the above. For example, I love books set in the Victorian era. If I see a pitch set in 1880s Philadelphia, I’ll probably request it, especially if the pitch also describes an unusual conflict, like a lady detective trying to solve a series of murders. If the pitch doesn’t describe a conflict, or if the conflict is stereotypical (like the lady having to choose between following her heart or her father’s wishes), I might not bother. Or the point of interest might lie in the character. For example, I’m actively seeking out YA featuring transgender characters, so if I see that in a pitch, I’ll probably request it. Though again I might not if the conflict isn’t clear or feels cliché.
When I see a pitch that reads, “Melissa struggles to adapt to her a new town, while learning about life, love and family,” I move on to the next one. Why? Because a pitch like this tells me not much happens in the book. It hasn’t given me an idea of the overt action or tension that propels the plot forward. Yes, struggling to adapt to a new town is a conflict and there can be a tension related to seeing whether or not she manages to adapt, but I don’t feel any urgency surrounding her ability to adapt. If the pitch showed that there was a reason she needed to adapt quickly, I might be interested. For example, if it read, “Half-human/half-robot Melissa must blend in in her new town where a drop of human blood can get you killed,” this shows me why it’s so important that she adapt. Even better is “Half-human/half-robot Melissa must blend in in her robots only town before the Grand Executioner learns her secret.” This builds on the previous one by naming a specific person who’s after her, which makes her adaptation seem even more urgent.
Show me the comp titles. Another thing we agents love to see in a pitch is comp titles, or books the author thinks are similar in style or theme to his book. Comp titles give us an immediate reference point that tells us what to expect from your book. And if your comp title is one of our favorite books of all time, we’ll be especially excited to read it. Just make sure your book is actually similar to the book you’re comparing it to. I can’t tell you how many Gone Girl-esque books I’ve requested that didn’t meet the mark. Now when I see Gone Girl in a pitch I roll my eyes, (but usually end up requesting it anyway and being disappointed again). It also helps if you juxtapose two very different books as your comp titles. If I saw a book pitched as “Gone with the Wind meets Hunger Games”, I’d pounce on it just because it sounds so crazy that I want to know what it’s about.