![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thehefnerThe good news: so as some of you know, I have a rather high-profile contact in the literary world who has offered his hand in helping to get my novel published. Now aside from some revisions, my book's finished and pretty much ready for review, and my guy is ready to put in a good word with his agent.
The bad news: I need to think up a smart, sexy, and *short* pitch for my novel, along which he will put in a good word for me. But like the leagues auditions this Tuesday (GAAAK!) I have one shot at this and very little time/space at my disposal, so it has to be good.
Wait, did I just do that in parenthesis above? I'll say it again. GAAAK!
I haven't the fainest clue what to do, what to say. I have one or possible two book synopsis, but how do I write this letter? How do I make it eye-catching and memorable? How do I get them to want to read my manuscript? Think, Heffie. Think think think.
In the meantime, I finally have an animated Sad Jesus icon from the Simpsons. As God said to Homer, "I sent my son down to earth once. I don't know what you people did to him, but he's never been the same since." The sheer perfection of that Jesus depiction can keep me amused, even when I'm stressed and concerned.
The bad news: I need to think up a smart, sexy, and *short* pitch for my novel, along which he will put in a good word for me. But like the leagues auditions this Tuesday (GAAAK!) I have one shot at this and very little time/space at my disposal, so it has to be good.
Wait, did I just do that in parenthesis above? I'll say it again. GAAAK!
I haven't the fainest clue what to do, what to say. I have one or possible two book synopsis, but how do I write this letter? How do I make it eye-catching and memorable? How do I get them to want to read my manuscript? Think, Heffie. Think think think.
In the meantime, I finally have an animated Sad Jesus icon from the Simpsons. As God said to Homer, "I sent my son down to earth once. I don't know what you people did to him, but he's never been the same since." The sheer perfection of that Jesus depiction can keep me amused, even when I'm stressed and concerned.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-06-13 04:29 am (UTC)* Most importantly, they read a billion of these letters. Eye-catching is good, but mostly he's going to read the first paragraph of the book, then flip to the middle, then scan the last page. That's more important than the letter. That's how he decides whether he's going to refer it to some intern to actually read.
* That said, your letter is one extra page he's going to read. In general, the letter should say, "Here's my book. It's about a guy who does X. It's really important because of Y. I'm heavily influenced by P, D, and Q. It's really funny/dramatic/scary/combo. Thanks for reading it." Basically, tell him why it's going to sell.
* Be short. Three or four paragraphs, top. Less than a page; leave some white space at the bottom. If he thinks the letter is going to be a slog he's not gonna want to read it.
* Yeah, it sucks to try to summarize your book in a page, so don't. The book will speak for itself. The "guy who does X" part really can be a single sentence or paragraph; no more. You're just trying to let him know what it is he's reading so he knows what to expect. That's how he thinks he can get away with evaluating the book by reading just three pages (first, last, and middle). Give the poor guy a break.
Finally: if Tazira contradicts me on any of this, she wins. I've sold a few books (one book and a few booklike long articles) but no fiction, so she has trumps.