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Perchance To Dream 7

Dec 18, 2020
by Caroline Miller
finding an agent, John Steinbeck, Rules of Query Road, Travels with Charley., writing a query
4 Comments

Courtesy of pixaby.com

(The Rules for Query Road)

Some months have passed since I’ve shared information about my search for an agent to represent my memoir, Getting Lost to Find Home.  With embarrassment as well as humility, I must report I have contacted over 100 representatives and have been ignored or gently told my book is unlikely to sell well enough to warrant attention.  My travels abroad and what I learned is of interest to no one. In today’s market, I doubt John Steinbeck would have published his delightful, Travels with Charley, a journal about his drive across America with his eponymous dog if he hadn’t written The Grapes of Wrath first. The publishing world belongs to the famous, infamous, or tormented.

Even so, I believe everyone has at least one story to tell. That’s why I’m flaunting my failure. Others might benefit from knowing the rigors of walking Query Road.  Here are a few tips for beginners.

Rules for Query Road

To write well is taken as a given. Skill alone won’t get anyone through an agent’s door.  The Subject matters more than craft.  A book about 52 shades of grey might work, being derivative and additive.

Most agents won’t bother to reply to a query unless they are interested.  Don’t wait for a reply. Continue to circulate the manuscript, even if someone asks to see 10 to 50 pages, That’s common these days. 

The rule changes if an agent asks to read the full manuscript, which in my case has happened twice.  At that point, stop submitting elsewhere.  A commitment to read the full submission is the agent’s understanding that he or she has the first right to make an offer. After six weeks, if there’s been no reply, the author is free to enquire if the manuscript is still under consideration.

These are the elementary rules for Query road, of course.  I’m opening the door to further questions.  Leave one here if you have one and I’ll reply.  Be advised, I do not read or edit manuscripts.     

 

 

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4 Comments
  1. louis wachsmuth December 18, 2020 at 7:36 am Reply
    Then another type of insult. A person writes what they think is an interesting essay on a current topic, then to present it to family members, thinking they would enjoy and encourage. But, individuals merely comment, 'Oh that's nice,' quickly dropping it and changing the conversation elsewhere.
    • Caroline Miller December 18, 2020 at 8:37 am Reply
      I must agree. Disdain from a family member is the unkindest cut of all.
  2. Janet Jordan December 18, 2020 at 2:18 pm Reply
    One does wonder how manuscripts make the successful journey to a bound book. I wander through bookstores and love to read the little book recommendations. I pick up a book, read a page or two, put it down puzzled as to why they highly recommended the book and continue on my bookstore journey. How does a publisher decide? I picture them behind a desk piled high with manuscripts and I think they just flip coins on which one to pick up and read next. I am glad you continue to challenge them. I feel that one day the coin will flip your way.
    • Caroline Miller December 20, 2020 at 12:26 pm Reply
      I wish major publishers did decide. They don't. They leave it to agents who must pay their rent. Publishing houses with fuller coffers used to take chances. Apparently, they've abdicated the hunt for good writers, preferring good profits instead. What's left for the reader to decide gets reduced to a narrow pool of offerings.

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