CHASING THE DREAM
One of the first questions I get from my writer friends when I tell them about my forthcoming book is: how did you get an agent?
For anyone who’s tried to get published, you know that agents are the gatekeepers. Most traditional publishers will only accept agented submissions. No agent, no book deal.
The internet is replete with articles and blogs about how to write an effective query letter. If you need a good way to procrastinate, I recommend you read them all – I certainly did. Personally, I do best when someone provides me an example to follow. So, with a boatload of caveats – every agent is unique; different rules apply to non-fiction and other forms of writing; I’m definitely not saying this is a perfect or even particularly good example – here is the query that landed me an agent, annotated with the lessons from the internet that I applied to write it.
Dear Mr. Kim:
I previously queried you about a YA novel, which you declined in such a kind way that I have been a fan ever since. Given your legal background, I'm hopeful you may have greater interest in my latest work, an adult novel titled False Claims.
Make it Personal. Some people recommend querying a bunch of agents at the same time to maximize your chance of success. I disagree. Agents are people, and people generally want to be treated as individuals. Research your agent and tailor the greeting and opening paragraph to them. (If I had it to do over again, I would’ve said “domestic thriller” instead of “adult novel,” which makes my book sound like erotica. And yes, my agent is also named Kim — and no, he’s not my dad.)
Beth Lindstrom is a beautiful pharmaceutical exec who has it all: a handsome husband, two adorable daughters, a designer wardrobe to kill for, an English Tudor mansion in Princeton and a custom-built NYT Sunday Styles-featured weekend home on the Chesapeake. But after Beth enters Alderson Federal Prison Camp, sister-in-law Hannah Min slowly discovers that the seemingly perfect Beth also has a closetful of secrets that could choke a clotheshorse, including the mystery of who might have conspired to file the whistleblower lawsuit that tore Beth’s world apart.
Keep Your Summary Short and Snappy – and in Your Book’s Style. I struggled with this one. How do I condense my 300-page book into one short paragraph? I suggest you write the summary, walk away for a day or more, edit mercilessly, share with a trusted friend, and then edit again. Repeat until you can’t stand reading it any more. And then repeat one more time. Think to yourself: if I read this summary on the back of a book, would I buy it? (If I had it to do over again, I’d pare down the details of Beth’s luxurious lifestyle – OK, we get it, she HAS IT ALL.)
False Claims combines equal parts dysfunctional family satire (The Nest) and alternating POV domestic noir (Gone Girl, Girl on the Train), observed with a gimlet eye and garnished with the zest of Orange is the New Black. Be careful because this fizzy cocktail goes down so smooth that you won’t realize what a wallop it packs until the end. You’ll have to read it twice for maximum effect.
Know the Market. I struggled with this one too. (What didn’t I struggle with?) Some helpful tips I learned along the way: Don’t compare your book to one published 20 years ago. Don’t compare it to a book no one has ever heard of. Don’t compare it to a book that got a lot of buzz but didn’t sell. Don’t compare it to a movie. If you don’t know the market for your book, then you need to do your homework and read more.
They say you should write what you know. The premise for False Claims came to me as I was writing my 100th letter to my sister-in-law, who is serving time at Alderson. We weren’t close before she went to prison, but over the past four years, we’ve come to appreciate our shared experience: hard-working immigrant daughters turned high-flying lawyers, doing our best to balance career, marriage, and motherhood.
Unless You Have Something Worth Mentioning, Keep Your Bio Short. I utterly failed on this one, but to be fair, I panicked. I don’t have an MFA. I don’t have published stories. I don’t have any artist residencies. If you have any of these, be sure to mention it in your query. Lacking any such qualifications, I wrote this paragraph out of desperation. I’m lucky my agent was forgiving.
False Claims is complete at 87,000 words. Per your submission guidelines, I have included a synopsis and the first ten pages directly below. I appreciate your consideration.
Follow the Rules. Every agent has their own query rules. Some want the first chapter, others want the first five or ten or 50 pages. Some want a synopsis, others want to be surprised if and when they ask for the full manuscript. Some want you to fill out a form with all sorts of information, others are fine with a simple email. Research your agent and do what they ask. Like I said above: No agent, no book deal.
Keep your query to one page. The shorter, the better. In the words of PT Barnum, leave them wanting more.
You may be wondering: “False Claims? I thought the book was called The Rules of Privilege.” After working for over a year on my manuscript, another six months trying to find an agent, and another full year revising the manuscript before sending it out to publishers, I was asked to change the title.
But that’s a topic for another blog entry.