6 Ways to See Your Work Through an Agent or Publisher's Eyes - Part II
6 Ways to See Your Work Through an Agent or Publisher's Eyes - Part II
Agents and acquisition editors read thousands of queries every year, but end up picking only 10 to 12 new writers to retain or publish. A writer needs to understand what these busy industry professionals are looking for when reading a query and, more importantly, what they aren't looking for. Part II focuses on publisher/agent reactions to your material and how to anticipate what will get you and your work in the door.
This tutorial is presented by Charlotte Robin Cook, an experienced publisher and story editor, and Jon James Miller, an award-winning screenwriter and debut novelist who retained his first literary agent with a compelling query letter in 2011.
In this 32-minute tutorial video, you'll discover:
- How to identify the elements of a great query letter
- How to keep an agent and acquisition editor reading your material
- How to make your material fresh yet familiar to an agent and acquisition editor
- How to follow their guidelines; and at the same time, submit your best material
- How to assess your materials strengths and put them in the query letter
- How to make a fan of your writing out of an agent and acquisition editor
- How to ascertain what an agent or acquisition editor is looking for in a query
- How to employ a decision making tree,similar to what the professionals do
- How to make sure your writing style, characters, and plot stand out
Agents and acquisition editors develop their first impression of a writer and the writer's material very quickly. (And they have to make decisions quickly because of the thousands of queries they receive every year.) Gaining attention in a positive way is the most important job a writer will ever have. The secret is seeing through an agent and acquisition editor's eyes and giving them exactly what they're looking for.
