Farris Literary Agency, Inc.

Tips for Writers

WRITING THE QUERY LETTER

You get only one chance to make a first impression and, for new writers, that chance is typically the query letter. So how do you make that first impression a good one? How do you let the prospective agent or editor know that you have a good concept and that you can write it well? After all, every agent and editor is ultimately looking for a good story well told. The clues to whether you are holding such a treasure can be found in how you make your first impression.

The following suggestions apply whether you are sending your query by snail mail or e-mail. Don’t think that just because you’re using e-mail, it’s not a business letter.

The first part of first impressions is appearance. Is your hair brushed or combed? Are you wearing clothes suitable for the occasion? Is there spinach in your teeth? Never discount the importance of appearance. So how does this translate to your query? Well, it should, on its face, appear professional and well done. For starters, it should not be more than one page. After all, as Shakespeare said, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” It’s also at the heart of concise writing.

The query should be typed, not hand-written, on clean stationery. Letterhead is not necessary but does help with appearances. The margins should be clear and distinct, and there should be plenty of white space on the page. Make it easy on the reader’s eye.

Address it to the agent or editor by name, not “Dear Sir or Madam,” or “To whom it may concern.” Let the agent or editor know you’ve done your research and that you know specifically to whom you are making your pitch.

There should be no mistakes or typographical errors. Don’t merely rely on spell check for this. Spell check doesn’t know if “here” or “hear” is the right word or “there” or “their.” Use your own eyes and a dictionary. If you can’t spell, have a friend proofread it for you.

Once you’ve taken care of appearances, you’ve got to concern yourself with the substance of the letter. Just as in personal meetings where even the best appearance can lose its luster if you have nothing worthwhile to say, the same is true of your query letter. Start by briefly telling the reader the title and, if fiction, the word count and genre of the work. If non-fiction, let the reader know what kind of non-fiction it is, such as how-to, self help, political, biography, and so on.

Next, give a brief description – and by brief, we mean no more than two paragraphs (and preferably one) of four or five sentences each – of what the story is about. For fiction, this means identify the central character, tell what his or her dilemma or goal is, what the obstacles are to getting out of that dilemma or achieving that goal, and how it is resolved. For non-fiction, follow the two-paragraph rule, but tell the reader what your central thesis is, how you’re going to prove the thesis, and what your conclusions are. Be very straightforward, without including your own rave assessment of the book. Let us decide that for ourselves.

In a final paragraph, tell a little about yourself. Show how you are qualified to write this book. If you’re in the medical field and you’ve written a medical thriller or scholarly work, tell us that. If it’s simply a subject you are interested in and have done research about, tell us that. If you’ve written or published before, or if you’ve won awards or accolades for your writing, include that information, as well.

Conclude by asking if you may submit your work for consideration. And be sure to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE). Then sign your name and mail it or click “send.” You’re through.

DO’S AND DON'T’S

· Do include an SASE.

· Do address it to an agent or editor by name.

· Don’t let typos or grammatical mistakes creep into anything you send to agents or publishers. You're trying to convince these people that you're an author. Typos and gaffes won't do it.

· Don’t exceed one page.

· Don’t tell us that your family and friends loved it.

· Don’t tell us how fantastic it is.

· Don’t query us if the novel isn’t finished. The exception is for non-fiction, but a completed proposal is mandatory whether the work is finished or not.

WRITING THE SYNOPSIS (FOR FICTION)

If we like your idea, as pitched in the query letter, we may ask you for a synopsis. If you talk to ten different agents, you will get ten different stories on how to write a synopsis. The truth is, there are few hard and fast rules for writing one. The idea is to simply tell your entire story, from start to finish, as briefly and succinctly as you can. If you do that, then it really doesn’t matter what form your synopsis takes. But that’s a lot like the United States Supreme Court’s view on obscenity: “We can’t define it, but we know it when we see it.” The same is true for a good synopsis.

That being said, let us tell you what we look for in a synopsis.

The first thing most people want to know is how long it should be. I once asked that very question of a college professor about a research paper I had been assigned. He replied that “Good writing should be like a woman’s dress: Long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to make it interesting.” In the case of a synopsis, we believe a woman’s dress should be one to three pages long, and no longer.

Write the synopsis in third person. It doesn’t matter if the novel is written in first person, write the synopsis in the third. It’s easier to summarize the story that way. And write in present tense, all the way through. Again, it doesn’t matter if the novel is written in past tense, write the synopsis in present.

Start at the beginning of the book and work your way straight through to the end, summarizing the action. Tell everything, including any twists at the end. You want to tease the reader of your book, but that comes after it's published. To get it published, you have to first convince the agent that it works, so that the agent can convince the publisher that it works. To do that, you can't withhold the twists and surprises from them.

When you reach the end of the book, stop. You don’t need to sum up or restate any of what you’ve already said. The synopsis should end just as the book ends.

WRITING THE NON-FICTION BOOK PROPOSAL

It’s extremely rare to sell a novel for publication unless it has first been written. The same is not necessarily true for non-fiction. Often, publishers buy non-fiction on the basis of a good book proposal and may even pay an advance to the writer to write the book based on the proposal. So how does one write a non-fiction book proposal? Well, it’s not as hard as you might think – provided you’ve got a good idea and what it takes to actually follow through on writing the book.

Start with a title page, which should include the title (how clever), your name, and contact information. Follow that with a one- to three-page overview of the project. The overview should explain the thesis of the book and how you will prove your thesis. Follow that with a biographical section, explaining who you are and what your credentials are for writing the book. Include past writing, past publishing experience, honors and awards – this is where you sell yourself as the writer. Be truthful about yourself, but this is not the place for modesty.

Now that you’ve marketed yourself, the next section deals with marketing the book. Include a marketing analysis for your work. What is the target audience and why will people buy this book? Convince the publisher, who is in the business to turn a profit, that he can make money with your book. If you can convince him, the deal is as good as done.

Follow the market analysis with a “competition” section. Here, you’ll list other works that are comparable to yours, at least in tone or subject matter. Publishers say they want something new and different, but they also want the security blanket of knowing that your “new and different” book will sell – and they get this by seeing how other similar projects have succeeded. But then you must take the next step and show how your book is different, better, or bigger than the competition. This can be tricky, I know, but you’re a writer. Use your creativity. After all, if it’s not different, better, or bigger, why are you writing it in the first place?

Next comes a chapter-by-chapter outline of the book. This is the real heart of the proposal. Let the publisher know exactly what you’re going to include in concise, succinct summaries of each chapter. Even if you haven't written the book yet, you do have to know what you're going to write. Essentially, this becomes your working outline for actually writing the book.

Finally, you should attach sample chapters. Although sample chapters are optional for some publishers, we believe they should be included. After all, this is your best writing sample in the whole proposal. Let the publisher know you can actually write the book – not just talk about it.