Thatโs so insightful, thank you! Just a quick question, for memoir queries, are there any differences or is the process the same? Besides not needing to send the final draft.
Oh my goodness, this is gold dust. Massive thank you to Jane, Karin and Erin for talking so candidly and at length! I thought I'd read everything there was to read on submissions/ covering letters but, clearly, that wasn't true at all. Slightly gutted though, as I just inserted the 'seeking representation' thing into my query letter as I read that I should. Grrrr! Crossing everything now that this won't be a show stopper on the five subs I've sent over the past few weeks... Thanks again, much appreciated.
This is a great price, but if I may, out of around 60 queries for three different projects, I received one rejection - which is absolutely 100% as it should beโฆ but the 59 times nobody could be bothered to acknowledge I even sent anything really stings regardless of the quality.
Itโs letting the side down.
Sure, itโs hard to keep up with the admin and I sympathise but as a magazine editor, I somehow managed it and Iโm just as lazy as the next person!
I get it, I can have a rough guess at how many emails an agent will get every day but itโs made me look at agents in a spectacularly bad light. At my worst, I can say they seem to have time for award ceremonies and to do podcasts, so why not some time to reply to a few emails?
At my best, I get disappointed with the entire process and then depressed and sometimes, wonder what the point is in even trying if this is the way it is.
In writing this, I could well find myself on a naughty step but I know Iโm not alone.
(Hovers finger over whether or not to actually activate this comment - but what the hellโฆ)
Wow. Coming from a filmmaking background looks like the book world has fully transformed into the film world. High concepts, grabby loglines, taglines, nods to established IP, pitch decks evenโOh my!
In the sample pitch, Most Ardently Yours, there was no character flaw, no obstacles, and no stakes, but it was intriguing, so I guess that's all that matters.
Sounds like a writers success is based of of what is already out in the market and not on new creative ideas. I wonder if people get bored of reading the same story over and over.
I think its interesting that Artist always have to have a thick skin in this world. If Artist support artist maybe we wouldn't have to develop such "thick skin".Maybe if we all just Self Publish our own stories and the people that enjoy our work will support us. What a crazy world this is that we all have to turn ourselves into rhinos and elephant just to have our art recognized on a professional level.
I love this! I would love to see something like this specifically for nonfiction. Some things will cross over but there are some areas that might have quite different advice.
In terms of the one sentence pitch, the examples are definitely helpful but only seem to cover single POV narratives. What if you're writing multiple POVs, or something akin to Game of Thrones?
Thatโs so insightful, thank you! Just a quick question, for memoir queries, are there any differences or is the process the same? Besides not needing to send the final draft.
I really appreciated this article! So helpful!
Oh my goodness, this is gold dust. Massive thank you to Jane, Karin and Erin for talking so candidly and at length! I thought I'd read everything there was to read on submissions/ covering letters but, clearly, that wasn't true at all. Slightly gutted though, as I just inserted the 'seeking representation' thing into my query letter as I read that I should. Grrrr! Crossing everything now that this won't be a show stopper on the five subs I've sent over the past few weeks... Thanks again, much appreciated.
This is a great price, but if I may, out of around 60 queries for three different projects, I received one rejection - which is absolutely 100% as it should beโฆ but the 59 times nobody could be bothered to acknowledge I even sent anything really stings regardless of the quality.
Itโs letting the side down.
Sure, itโs hard to keep up with the admin and I sympathise but as a magazine editor, I somehow managed it and Iโm just as lazy as the next person!
I get it, I can have a rough guess at how many emails an agent will get every day but itโs made me look at agents in a spectacularly bad light. At my worst, I can say they seem to have time for award ceremonies and to do podcasts, so why not some time to reply to a few emails?
At my best, I get disappointed with the entire process and then depressed and sometimes, wonder what the point is in even trying if this is the way it is.
In writing this, I could well find myself on a naughty step but I know Iโm not alone.
(Hovers finger over whether or not to actually activate this comment - but what the hellโฆ)
Well. I'll definitely be keeping this one in my back pocket!
This was very helpful, thank you!
Wow. Coming from a filmmaking background looks like the book world has fully transformed into the film world. High concepts, grabby loglines, taglines, nods to established IP, pitch decks evenโOh my!
In the sample pitch, Most Ardently Yours, there was no character flaw, no obstacles, and no stakes, but it was intriguing, so I guess that's all that matters.
Sounds like a writers success is based of of what is already out in the market and not on new creative ideas. I wonder if people get bored of reading the same story over and over.
I think its interesting that Artist always have to have a thick skin in this world. If Artist support artist maybe we wouldn't have to develop such "thick skin".Maybe if we all just Self Publish our own stories and the people that enjoy our work will support us. What a crazy world this is that we all have to turn ourselves into rhinos and elephant just to have our art recognized on a professional level.
I love this! I would love to see something like this specifically for nonfiction. Some things will cross over but there are some areas that might have quite different advice.
Thankyou for the great article. Very informative and my nerves are well and truly shot now :)))
In terms of the one sentence pitch, the examples are definitely helpful but only seem to cover single POV narratives. What if you're writing multiple POVs, or something akin to Game of Thrones?
I always say: stories are windows to the soul, but so are cover letters...
This was helpful. Thanks for the advice.
https://ianmcniff.substack.com/p/why-i-write-this?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2lo6de