The workshop, “Can I Hook You on My Book? Tips for Writing Effective Query Letters to Agents” draws on industry research and interviews with agents including Josh Getzler (HG Literary), Paula Munier (Talcott Notch Literary), and Melissa Richter (Fuse Literary) to provide current advice about the query letter, which is really a genre all its own. Even for established writers, it is a challenge to take a book of 80,000 to 100,000 words that we know and love (and of which we no doubt have sections memorized!) and not only distill it down to fewer than 300 words but to go “meta” on it in a way that will entice an agent. Like a good novel, the effective query letter both tells and shows that you and your manuscript are ready to be represented.
The workshop begins with a discussion of how to find agents to query. Then, we break the query letter into four parts—(1) shape the hook, (2) pitch the book, (3) pitch you, and (4) KISS at the close—and review examples of both poorly crafted elements and more effective ones. The presentation includes “rules of thumb” to help writers avoid pitfalls as well as “instant turnoffs”—elements that cause an agent to set aside the letter.
Participants will be shown some successful query letters and will be given Paula Munier and Melissa Richter’s query information.
Contact Karen at karenodden@gmail.com for participation information.
Karen Odden’s presentation “Can I Hook You on My Book?” turns the frustrating and difficult job of writing a query letter into a simple (if not always easy) task. She presents the query letter template, and then walks through many examples that clarify each element of the query. Especially hard for any writer is the task of summarizing a plot and character arc while maintaining voice and specificity: Odden’s “good” and “better” examples were very helpful in showing how to achieve this. She also freely shares information about real-life querying experiences. By the end of the workshop I felt confident about constructing a query letter that will generate requests for partial and full reads.–Mysti Berry, President of Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths; author and publisher of the Low Down Dirty Vote anthology series
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About Karen Odden
Karen received her Ph.D. in English literature from New York University and has taught at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Down a Dark River is her fourth novel. She resides in Arizona with her husband, two teenage children, and a ridiculously cute beagle named Rosy. Her first novel, A Lady in the Smoke, was a USA Today bestseller and won the New Mexico-Arizona 2017 Book Award for e-Book Fiction. Read More
Karen Odden 