The heat of summer did nothing to slow down my writing projects. I recently completed the final revision of The Man Who Fixed Things (TMWFT) and submitted it to Erica for proofreading and editing. It weighed in at over 86,800 words and Erica promised to have her work done by the end of the month. I feel its’s my best, most personal effort. As much as I’ve loved working on TMWFT, I’m happy to be done with it.
Starting in early August, I began building my agent targets. I am using a wonderful database tool called Query Tracker. I keyed in three genre categories, commercial fiction, humor/satire, and family saga. I chose only US-based agencies who allowed simultaneous submissions. The number of possibilities came to 385. Now I’m meticulously opening each listing’s website and learning the interests of the specific agents. I’m finding that activity whittles down the number by about half. So eventually, I expect to have 140 targets.
Two other query-related tasks, the cover letter and the one-page summary, have also consumed my time. My cover letter for each agent will probably contain the same key contents, like a quick story summary, my background, word count and genre. Each one will have one difference. For example, I’ll try and use a book from their list as a comparable, or throw in a a connection, e.g., I heard you at the AWWP conference in February.
In my mind, the most important piece of the query is the one-page summary. I’ve heard enough agents interviewed to know that they are as interested in finding an exciting new author as new authors want to be discovered. But agents get paid when they sell a manuscript, so skimming the slush pile is important part of their job. Therefore, they have to do it as efficiently as possible. This is where a one-page summary comes in handy. The agent can learn what the story is about and get a hint of my writing style. My summary has been scrubbed and edited and is ready to go.
Next month, I’ll share with you the other requirements for sending out queries.
Last month, I’d booked my flight and hotel to attend the 2021 Bouchercon conference in New Orleans. The conference is one of the bigger events celebrating writers of crime and mystery. I looked forward to meeting face-to-face several of my Level Best Books friends. I also scored a panel slot, a seat at a book signing table, and an opportunity to do some speed-dating pitching Do It for Daisy. Alas, the Covid Delta variant surge in New Orleans intimidated me, and I pulled out. A day later, the conference was cancelled. I’ll try again in 2022 when it rolls out in Minneapolis.
My next writing project is a duel between whichever new novel generates the most creative heat. My commercial fiction novel, The Girl was a Manatee is going against my Nic Knuckles true crime parody, A Scream in a Small Town. I’ve sat down at the keyboard during my creative morning time and started letting the stories flow. My goal is to pound out a thousand words a day, so I can have two worthwhile projects by mid-September.