posted
Forgive me if I'm asking this in the wrong forum, topic, etc. and please redirect me---but I must know the correct answer.
I think I know what an unadorned, unaccompanied letter means. Unadorned means nothing about you, no curriculum vitae, or themes and subtexts of your submission; unaccompanied is do not send your work until requested.
Is what they actually want a 'synopsis and nothing more' told in present tense as per OSC in his How To Write Sci-Fi & Fantasy?
In this initial query is a 400 word synopsis too long for a 1000 page manuscript?
On a project of a quarter of a million words should the work be complete before querying, or is 50% sufficient?
posted
I think most agencies want a query letter. The "novel teaser" (something of a synopsis) should be in the letter body itself. Some agencies ask for an accompanying synopsis; others will request it if your query letter tickles them. Make sure you check the specific guidelines of the agencies you are querying.
Absolutely you need to have your story written, revised, rewritten, revised, etc. You need to put out your best work. Post agencies specifically say no partials, and I believe the industry convention is to have completed works (it's different for non-fiction).
As for a quarter of a million words... I'm afraid that's going to be a tough sell. Even Stephanie Meyer says she likely would have been rejected had the editor's assistant who reviewed her query letter realized just how many pages 130,000 words would entail. Consider cutting, revising, or breaking it apart.
A query and a synposis are different beasts. An "Unadorned letter" is probably a query which will have information about you and your story. A synopsis is something different. Agents will tell you what they want on thier website or in Writer's Market. Follow those quidelines as if your life depended on it. Your writing career does.
A query is professional introduction letter with a short (250 words or less) snippet about what your story is about. Think of this as your resume when you job hunt. The snippet is somewhat like back flap copy. It goes in the query letter to hook an agent/editor to take a further look at your work.
The synopsis is the next level up. Generally it's a one page (depending on what's requested some agents/editors/houses allow 3 -5 pages) version of the story. You need to take the major plot elements and string them together in coherent short story format. This version "tells all" as it were. So by the end of it, we should know what happened to your MC and where the novel ends. You should have multiple lenghts to be ready for whatever you are asked for: 1 page, 3 pages or 5 pages. The primary difference, if course, is the amount of details you delve into.
You thought writing the novel was hard, querying is worse!
Also, unless it's nonfiction, in which case you should pitch on an outline, the novel MUST be completed before you query. What happens if you send your first 3 chapters and the agent loves it and says "I want to see the rest" and there's no "rest?" First, you've just wasted the agent's time. Second, you've lost what might be a once in a lifetime opportunity because of any # of factors you can't control - market trends, agent likes/dislike and such. Third, agents have long memories and she might pass on the final version if you've wasted her time by querying her on an unfinished work.
posted
Thanks for everyone's comments. Queries are nerve wracking.
annepin, I thought publishers wanted 125,000 word minimums, 500 manuscript pages. This is genre stuff too, not mainstream. Let me mention this query is going to an agent, not a publisher.
As a newcomer I'm proposing a doorstopper fantasy tome that's first in a series <egad> and <worse> continued. A 1000 page manuscript translates to 650-700 printed pages and the fantasy genre demands page counts like that. I already have 125K, the first of three arcs that are the infrastructure of the book. If I reel it in it'll shortchange the potential, this is a long story and I think my best work, in comparison to nothing else but my other work, so I can't not write this. I'm in my fifties, acquired many rejection slips and know better than to get my hopes up, but it sounds like an impossible sell. All I can do is keep writing and never relinquish the dream. But I don't want to queer the deal when it's time to go to the marketplace.
kings_falcon, for the query I need a blurb about me and a 250 word synopsis with hook?
What about me, how much me? Is the 'hook' in present tense?
posted
Generally speaking, publishers are looking for shorter first novels. As a "new" writer you are a risk. The more pages, the more expensive, the bigger risk. Sci Fi/Fantasy have larger tolerances of larger works but anything over 130-140K is pushing the envelope. 250K is probably unpublishable as a first work. There are exceptions, Stephanie Meyers is one. She wrote a YA which is generally in the 60-80K range but "got away" with a fantasy lenght. Dave Farland/Wolverton who is a very established writer had one of his novels slashedf in half to meet the publishers limits. Does he still complain that he lost 1/2 of the depth? Sure. But, sometimes it's what you need to do. Try breaking it at a natural end of one of the main plot arcs.
A query (and there are some good ones if you flip through this site or google search the net) - generally has an intro - why I picked you as an agent, and what your novel is in terms of genre, name and word count. Next pargraph is about your novel - the 250 word blurb The last paragraph is a bit about you, your writing accomplishments, if any, why you are the write person to have written this (ie set in ancient Egypt and your day job is an archeologist specializing in Egypt), and thank you for your time and attention. Just like a resume. In fact, it is your writing resume. The work takes center stage.
posted
do a search in the box at the top right corner for "Query." You should get all our attempts at them (mine included ). Also at one point, She Who Must Be Obeyed had a query template up.
If you do a websearch for "query" you'll get load of sites, including about a dozen agent or published writer sites on the issue.
I found some ideas and got a letter written, three paragraphs. 1. hello to the agent and why I picked him, 2. synopsis, 3. mentioned my few pubs and winning 3rd place in a story contest. The whole letter is 317 words, the synopsis 186 of them. I wrote a one sentence synopsis and used it as a lead sentence on the expanded synopsis, surprised I could shave over 200 words from it.
Due to the discussion about the viability of long novels I'm considering abandoning the long novel idea and wrapping everything up in another 50-60 pages instead of writing another 500. Seems like a real artistic cop out . . .
posted
FYI, one thing I've heard from an editor or two is that for previous publication you should only list professional publications. The reason they stated for this is that, in their eyes, a semi-professional publication implies that you couldn't get those stories published in a pro publication.
These same editors suggest never submitting anything to semi-pro.
I don't agree about never submitting to semi-pro: If I can't sell to pro, I'm sure as heck not going to just retire the story without exhausting the possibilities.
But regarding the cover letter, I'm inclined to follow their advice and leave out non-pro publications. The choice is up to you, of course, but I thought I'd share what I'd heard. Of course, for me it doesn't matter yet, because I've no publications to my name, pro or otherwise.
Also, regarding the story contest you got 3rd place in, some selective wording might help there. For instance, saying you won a prize in a writing contest sounds more positive than saying you got 3rd place in a contest. And you might want to consider the above comment regarding the contest as well.
posted
While reading the query examples on various sites I saw one that recommended noting info like being published in a newspaper. I mentioned the contest and that I wrote a column in my school paper. I'm not particularly proud of either and don't like the way the paragraph reads.
Should I say something like?
"This is not my first novel but I am an unpublished author."
posted
It's like the first date. If you can't say something positive - don't say it. So DON'T say I'm unpublished or this is my first novel. Or worse, "this isn't my first novel" but the other ones made better doorstops than reading so I'm sending you this one.
Just stick to the facts. You have a novel you want her to represent.
posted
I agree strongly with kings_falcon. Along the topic of other things not to say: How long it took you to write the novel. Posts: 299 | Registered: Oct 2008
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). Also at one point, She Who Must Be Obeyed had a query template up. 
