Query Letter for OUT OF THE BROOM CLOSET

Here is my query letter for OUT OF THE BROOM CLOSET.  Personally, I like it.  I wrote quite a few before I came up with this one.  It can be customized a bit depending on who I'm sending it too.   There is so much conflicting info out ther about how to write a query that it boggles my mind.   At one point I just had to say ENOUGH and just write one that "felt" right.  

Dear ______________________,

I am writing to you because your agency represents _____________________ and I feel my book is in the same vein as her work.  A modern day paranormal romance set in Salem, Massachusetts, OUT OF THE BROOM CLOSET is the first book in a proposed new series and is complete at a fast-paced 140,000 words.

   

Feisty, sarcastic Darcy McCrane is just trying to start over in life.  She’s left her boring hometown, her dead-end job, and her lackluster boyfriend.  Starting over in Salem, she gets a job managing the Enchanted Forest, an occult bookshop in the heart of town.  Her friend and coworker, Lily, decides to invite some friends over to Darcy’s place on Halloween night for a séance.  Darcy reluctantly agrees and learns the hard way that a Ouija board, too much wine, and two mysterious strangers can stir up a whole cauldron of trouble.

A pair of hunky vampires, a ghost boy, and a few “otherwordlies” later, Darcy discovers that she herself is a witch, and a powerful one at that.  The vampires reveal to her that she has been prophesied to be the leader of the chaotic world of magical beings and that they’ve been assigned to be her guardians.  They also do nothing to hide the fact that they’re both drawn to her romantically and she finds it hard to resist their vampiric charms.  Darcy comedically struggles with her newfound knowledge and magical powers while fighting off foes who would stop her and the two irresistible men who would steal her heart.

I have been a librarian for nine years, giving me a wide exposure to literature.  I was a published book reviewer for KLIATT magazine for two years.  I am also a member of the Romance Writers of America.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Time to start the dreaded querying...yuck!

    Okay, so I've written two novels...Now what?  Querying, that's what.  What a pain (a necessary one, of course, but a pain nonetheless.)  When I started writing Out of the Broom Closet back a few years ago I really had no clue how all this stuff works.  (I still feel a bit clueless, to tell you the truth.)  I wrote my book, had my "fan club" give me feedback, made some edits, then sent about 20 queries out to different agents to try to get representation.
    See, for those you not in the field, it turns out that generally you are supposed to get an agent to rep you before you even approach a publisher.  I can't just go up to HarperCollins, for example, and say, "Hey dude!  You want my book or not?"  You have to have an agent do that for you.  However, much to my frustration you can't just "hire" an agent.  It's not like they are all waiting out there for writers to come along and pluck them from a lineup.  It's quite the opposite!  Think of it as a job interview.  The agent has to be interested in your query letter (your "resume") enough to give your book a chance (the "interview") and then they decide whether to rep you ("hire you") or not.  
   When I did my first batch of OOTBC queries I got all "no thank you" responses (or NO response which sucks even more) except for one.  I had one agent who was interested in reading the first 50 pages of OOTBC.  When I got this email I was THROUGH THE ROOF with excitement.  I bundled up the first part of my baby and sent her off...waiting patiently for a few weeks until...I got a rejection letter.
   This bummed the hell out of me but I realized (after much researching on the internet, talking to other writer-type folk, and doing some soul searching) that I need to BUCK UP and that rejections would be much more plentiful than the elusive "YES, I WANT TO REPRESENT/PUBLISH YOU"  response. 
    Since this all went down a couple years ago I have half heartedly sent out another dozen queries for OOTBC, all to be met with negatives.  My thought is that my manuscript is too long...approximately 140,000 words (which is AT LEAST 20,000 too long for a first time author in the paranormal romance category.)  See, publishers don't want to take a chance on printing a large book if the author is new and untested.  More pages means higher pub costs, less copies fitting on the shelf at Borders, etc.  Realizing that OOTBC was probably too long I dropped it like a hot potato (for now...) and decided to focus on a YA project, SHADOW GIRL, keeping the wordcount in mind the whole time.
    Now SHADOW GIRL is done (and only 65,000 words...a proper length) and the first round of edits are finished.  I need to start querying for it but, man, I'm just a huge slackass procrastinator when it comes down to it. Every week I say, "This is the week I'm going to write my query letter and start sending it out." Alas, I've yet to write it.  Instead I spend my time reading OTHER writers' books or doing possibly pointless things like creating blogs no one will read.
    I'm putting it down on paper (well, internet-y blog faux paper) that I WILL get my query letter done in the next week OR ELSE I'M A HUGE SHAMEFUL LOSER WHO DOESN'T DESERVE TO HAVE HER DREAMS COME TRUE OR EXPERIENCE FULFILLING HAPPINESS!  (Think that will work?  Too dramatic?)
    While I'm at it, I need to get my stinkin' synopsis done too.  That's usually a several page summary of the book.  Harder, IMHO, than writing the freakin' book.  One problem at a time though.  Get the damn query written and then I won't have to live with the self-imposed shame waiting for me.  Today is 1/23/11...I've got until 1/30/11.  Better get crackin'!  
     In the mean time, I'll post my query for OOTBC so you can see what I'm talking about.  I LIKE my OOTBC query (this was not my first draft at all.  I changed it a lot.)  Apparently the agents don't like it though...Still think it's the 140,000 words scaring them away.

SHADOW GIRL synopsis

SHADOW GIRL is my second novel.  I decided to write for young adults since I read so many YA novels for work (and, honestly, for fun.  I must still be a teen at heart because I love YA books.) It is in the paranormal romance genre.  I plan for this to be a series.  

 Cora Reilly is not your normal seventeen year old.  Despite her kind demeanor, keen intelligence, and striking appearance she’s a social leper.  People avoid her at all costs, seeming to dread being in her presence.  Besides her parents and a handful of others, Cora is alone in this world.  

    Alone, that is, until she meets Shyla Martin, a new student at Bayberry High.  Shyla and Cora become fast friends and it isn’t long until Shyla reveals her secret: She’s dead and Cora is her “shadow keeper,” a magical human who can communicate with (and sometimes manipulate) the dead.  

    Watch out, because Shyla is back from the spirit world to assist Cora in her transition from timid high school outcast to kick-ass revenant wrangler.  Once Cora peels back the layers of reality, who knows what she’ll uncover, including the love of her life!

OUT OF THE BROOM CLOSET synopsis

OUT OF THE BROOM CLOSET is my first novel.  It is an adult paranormal romance (and first in a series!)  Here's a brief synopsis.

Feisty, sarcastic Darcy McCrane is just trying to start over in life.  She’s left her boring hometown, her dead-end job, and a her lackluster boyfriend.  Starting over in Salem, she gets a job managing the Enchanted Forest, an occult bookshop in the heart of town.  Her friend and coworker, Lily, decides to invite some friends over to Darcy’s place on Halloween night for a séance.  Darcy reluctantly agrees and learns the hard way that a Ouija board, too much wine, and two mysterious strangers can stir up a whole cauldron of trouble.

A pair of gorgeous vampires, a ghost boy, and a few “otherwordlies” later, Darcy discovers that she herself is a witch, and a powerful one at that.  The vampires reveal to her that she has been prophesied to be the leader of the chaotic world of magical beings and that they’ve been assigned to be her guardians.  They also do nothing to hide the fact that they’re both drawn to her romantically and she finds it hard to resist their vampiric charms.  Darcy comedically struggles with her newfound knowledge and magical powers while fighting off foes who would stop her and the two irresistible men who would steal her heart.

Welcome to my blog!

     During the spring of 2010 I designed and launched my "writer's website", erinlukensdarr.com, in the hopes of a) making a presence for my writing on the web, b) appearing more professional, c) motivating myself to work harder and, mostly, d) to procrastinate on the querying and editing, both much less fun than writing and much less fun than creating a website.  Since that time, however, I've done little updating on my site, other than keeping the progress monitor of SHADOW GIRL up to date as I wrote it.  (I finished it in August 2010 and unfortunatley haven't done much to the site (or my books) since.)
     I recently started a book review type blog for my day job (school librarian) and realized how easy and fun it is to do by using blogger.com.  My "writer's blog" using iWeb was a bit more cumbersome and I wasn't keeping it updated, therefore disappointing not only myself but my 2.3 fans out there who were looking at it.  SO, a moment of clarity struck me and I decided to jump on old blogger.com and start up my "writer's blog" using that, hoping that I would work more often on it but with less angst.  
     I plan to use this blog to not only post excerpts and updates about my books and what I anticipate to be an excruciating quest for publication but also to kind of police myself and make sure I'm writing.  See, I tend to be a slackass.  While a small part of me can pat myself on the back and say, "Hey, chick!  You've written two freaking novels!" a larger part of me (who sent out a whole dozen queries for her first book...with no positive results) gives up pretty damn easily.  I am an immediate-gratification-girl and when I see the long road ahead I often sigh, turn my back on it, and curl up on the couch with a couple of cats and a movie.  Unfortunately, soon the guilt and self-loathing sets in and often puts me into a rather morose state.  My poor husband suffers from my self-sabotaging but in my deepest, darkest bouts of crankiness I often think, "Hey!  I'm 'suffering', I MUST be a writer!"
     So, thanks for stopping by and for reading this far.  If you are one of my 2.3 fans, YOU FREAKING ROCK!!!!  If you are like, "Eh, maybe I'll give this chick a chance and read on," then you can easily join the FREAKING ROCK club too.
     Check out my main site, erinlukensdarr.com and visit here often.  My goal is to update at least once a week with sometimes not-completely-self-absorbed drivel.  Wish me luck!  (BTW, hobo gloves rock!  They keep your hands warm when you're writing :P)