tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post3200258436975897105..comments2024-03-27T23:59:01.850-07:00Comments on Writing About Writing (And Occasionally Some Writing): Writing Query Letters (The Very Basics)Chris Brecheenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07819138776404280633noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-29189923205822632682019-09-15T13:41:18.767-07:002019-09-15T13:41:18.767-07:00Thanks Chris. I remember your previous comments ab...Thanks Chris. I remember your previous comments about NaNo, so I'm not surprised. Also, there's a sense of "it's too close to X to start something now", where X could be 5pm or Christmas, or some other major occasion, and querying in November felt like a bad idea. My inbuilt procrastinator welcomes your suggestion and will aim for March 1st. That gives me more time to strive for perfection and a concise query letter... Thanks again!David Stentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07993498842344746171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-34051069872662985172019-09-15T12:49:29.981-07:002019-09-15T12:49:29.981-07:00That's a great question, and I'm going to ...That's a great question, and I'm going to add part one to the post here. <br /><br />1- Yeah, actually, you don't want to query in the winter. Basically any time after NaNoWriMo starts until January or February. The market is simply FLOODED with bad queries, early drafts that people think are brilliant, and (though I have mixed feelings about NaNo itself) lots of pretentious writers. NaNo is such a phenomenon that the entire industry reacts for MONTHS by becoming salty and extra cynical. Do yourself a favor and shoot for March at the earliest and October at the latest. <br /><br />2- Most of the English speaking world is run by a globalized publishing industry and is pretty homogenous. I don't know if specific agents in places like England or Australia might have different querying guidelines, but I suspect that most fall in line with the industry standard. There are a lot of reasons for this (New York City DOMINATES the global publishing industry; one page is really all you need--a lot like a cover letter on a resume; it gives a very quick window into a writer's ability to be concise--which is harder than being verbose--and follow directions; etc...)Chris Brecheenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07819138776404280633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-80844692637028385932019-09-13T18:12:10.602-07:002019-09-13T18:12:10.602-07:00Thanks for this, Chris. I expect to have a complet...Thanks for this, Chris. I expect to have a complete (and yes, I mean complete) manuscript by the end of October, so this advice is timely. Two quick follow-up questions though.<br />1. Is there a bad time to query? (I'm thinking of the approaching festive season.)<br />2. Does this advice also apply in the UK? (I suspect it does.)<br /><br />Thanks in advance.David Stentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07993498842344746171noreply@blogger.com