Christine Kelly Reads and Writes

Surprise! I’m now open for queries again. And since I’ve gotten a few queries under my belt as an agent (and author), I wanted to share some common themes across the board I’m seeing.

First, please know your genre word count. I will not be accepting queries for books that are astronomically beyond the word count for you genre. There are many resources out there, but you can refer to this Master Class article for guidance.

Additionally, please use comps. This helps me understand where your story will sit on a bookshelf, and *for me* it sets the tone of the query (along with stating your genre). But beyond that, you tell me your story is like the Taylor Swift song Enchanted, with a gender swapped Cinderella retelling, I’ll understand the assignment. Remember, you’re selling your story to me, because I’m going to have to sell it to an editor. Don’t sell yourself and story short by no including these essential pieces.

Now to the query itself. I saw so many that didn’t tell me anything, only using vague terms that could be compiled from movie trailers or back cover copy. Now, back cover copy can be useful when writing a query, but it’s kept purposefully vague. HOOK me with WHY I need this full and entice me to read it. Am I looking for this on my MSWL? Are the comps enticing? Hook me in and make it easy.

The BOOK portion is where you tell me about your book without giving away the ending. You need to explain the stakes and the wants of the main character, the obstacles that are keeping them from getting what they want, and give a general idea of what the character arc will be.

Lastly, the COOK is about you. It can be a one or two sentence biography that can provide writing accolades or generally about your life. “When I’m not reading or writing, I can be found in my garden with my two dogs and feral child.”

I hope this helps. There are SO many resources out there, so I won’t lie; when a query doesn’t have some of these key elements, it raises red flags that this author isn’t ready to query yet. ***This may sound harsh, but I take this from experience. There was a time I disregarded word count (SHAME!), and hadn’t had my query peer reviewed. My story was NOT ready and I learned from it. It’s hard to hear when you’re SO excited to get your story out there, but this is not a process to rush. Take your time, make sure your story is ready. Because it will take longer to get a agent if you don’t.