On Writing Romance_ How to Craft a Novel That Sells - Leigh Michaels [140]
Remember that, no matter how it feels at the moment, the pitch is not a life-or-death moment. Don't be so nervous that you shoot yourself in the foot.
A SUCCESSFUL SUBMISSION PACKAGE
Even if you've made a successful personal pitch and the editor wants to see more about your story, she probably won't ask you to send your entire manuscript. Instead, she'll ask for a submission package, which is likely to be either a query letter or a proposal (a combination of cover letter, synopsis, and often a portion of the book). Listen closely to what the editor asks you to send, and follow instructions.
If you're submitting cold, without an invitation from an editor, you'll need to check the publisher's Web site, tip sheets, and/or market listings to see what its editors want to look at. Most often, editors expect just a query letter at first; if the editor is interested in the story, she'll request more material.
Here are the basic sales tools you should have at hand, and the things you'll most likely be requested to send.
The Query Letter
The query is a one- or two-page letter that summarizes your manuscript and indicates any particular strengths that make the author especially qualified to write this book. A query letter is roughly equivalent to a mini-synopsis and cover letter, but it is constructed in one piece rather than two. A good query letter will:
• State your story's hook.
• Summarize in one or two sentences the manuscript's strong points.
• State the number of words in the full manuscript.
• Be based on a completed manuscript.
• State the line it is intended to fit into, and why you feel the book belongs there.
• Give the flavor of the book (funny? dark? tender?).
• Tell the editor important things about the characters.
• List your qualifications for writing this particular story (for example, it's a historical set in Tudor times and you have a degree in English history).
• Briefly list your publication credits, if appropriate (any publication for which you were paid, even if it wasn't romance or fiction, is an indication of professionalism).
• Reflect your personality.
On the other hand, a good query letter will not:
• List self-published or subsidy-published works as publication credits.
• List the titles of your other, unpublished manuscripts.
• Say, "My mother thinks this is the best book ever!"
• Include a pen name.
• Go into detail about your education or experience unless this is pertinent to the book's subject.
Basic formatting guidelines apply here, so your letter should be single-spaced in a plain twelve-point font on plain, letter-size paper, or on a simple letterhead. Do not handwrite your query letter or use odd-colored ink, graphics, gaudy stationery, or unusual type styles. Be sure to include your full name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.
To see a sample query letter based on my contemporary romance Ties That Blind, turn to Appendix A.
The Cover Letter
A cover letter is a one-page letter that accompanies a synopsis, sample chapters, or manuscript. (It is not necessary to include a cover letter with a query letter.) The cover letter is especially important if you're submitting to an editor who has requested to see your work, but a good cover letter can help ensure that any submission gets to the right person. It should include information similar to the basic information included in a query letter. It will:
• Remind the editor if and when she met you, or if she requested the submission based on a query letter.
• State the number of words in the full manuscript.
• Be based on a completed manuscript.
• State the line it is intended to fit into and why you feel the book belongs there.
• Give the flavor of the book (funny? dark? tender?).
• Give a short (no more than two-line) description of the work.
• Give a brief summary of your qualifications and publishing credentials, if any. A good cover letter will