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Why We Reject Your Manuscripts by Jodie Rhodes Reprinted from the San Diego Writers Monthly Reason #1: The Query Letter There are many reasons an agent sends you a rejection letter, and over the next several months in this column we'll discuss in detail what they are and how you can avoid them. We'll start with the query letter, because if it turns an agent off, he or she will probably read no further. You have been told the purpose of the query letter is to sell your work to the agent. This well-meant advice has resulted in agents rejecting writers by the carload. The word "sell" has a distinct connotation in the lexicon of our country. We spend our lives selling and being sold to. It's a combative word. When we sell, we go out to do battle; to impose our will on another, convince them to buy what we are offering. Words have power, they evoke emotions, create an attitude. Often you are unaware of their effect. When you write a query specifically designed to sell us, it puts you into a mindset that makes you come at us like used car salesmen. We are bombarded with adjectives like riveting, spine tingling, gripping, haunting, lyrical, electrifying, compelling, etc. when you describe your work. One writer earnestly assured me her book would bring tears to my eyes and it did, although not for the reasons she intended. Sometimes you use veiled threats. You ask us to reply quickly because other agents have also received your masterpiece and we could miss out. You address us by our first names, which has the opposite effect of what you're attempting. Change your mindset. Don't try to sell us, try to give us what we're looking for. Giving is a much more positive word than selling. If you write to us with that in mind, it'll come through in your letter. And that can have very pleasant benefits for you. Rumors to the contrary, agents are human beings. We are swayed by our emotions. A writer who comes across in a query letter as honest, hard-working, dedicated, likable, and interesting gets special attention. We want to know about you as well as your writing. Not in depth, I hasten to add. Forget your life story. Brevity is the key to a good query letter. But if you're writing a children's book, let us know if you're a teacher or a foster parent. Writers with jobs that involve dealing with people in need, in trouble, in crisis, are always interesting for they have such a rich source of stories to draw on. We like to know if you have expertise in certain fields, if you have unusual avocations. Agents and editors want writers who know what they're talking about. Give us some credentials. It's not as hard as you think. Look around the magazine racks in drug stores, supermarkets, health food stores that are filled with free publications. They need material and they pay peanuts. So they'll consider your story or article and if you did a good job on it, odds are they'll print it. Agents don't know what they paid you, if anything. Agents do know that someone thought your stuff was good enough to print. Believe me, that counts. An investment of $12.80 could provide a miracle for you. With that money you buy 40 stamps. Twenty go on SASEs, 20 go on envelopes addressed to a carefully selected group of publishing houses. Write to one of the head honchos, a top editor, at each. Contact both major companies and smaller publishers. Ask the editor for five minutes of his or her time. Explain that you will be using an agent to submit your finished book. You simply want to know if your story idea is one that would interest them. You state what it is clearly and concisely. You enclose the first page of the book, so they can see how you launch the story. You mention that a SASE is enclosed and tell them you would very much appreciate their comments. If you do a good enough job, and you're lucky, you could end up with a positive letter from an editor. That will definitely impress us. |