The Internet abounds with information on jump-starting your writing when you are paralyzed by the plague of writer’s block. Bookstore shelves groan under the weight of “How-To’s,” “You Should Try’s” and “1,001 Tips for Conquering Writer’s Inertia.”
I am fortunate in that I have never experienced writer’s block. Ask me to do a 500-word essay on paperclips, and I’m your gal. Ask me to write the all-important query letter for my first novel, and I freeze.
There is more information on the Internet about writing query letters than there are Justin Bieber photos. The problem is the articles coach and guide on how to do it, and then in the next breath say, “Don’t screw this up. You’ll never be published and agents from around the world will be laughing at you at their annual conference.”
The advice encourages and intimidates me. I have written dozens of query letters to only crumple them up and throw them into the fireplace. Environmentalists have a hit out on me for wasting paper.
My promise to myself this week is to write a perfect query letter, send it out, and start praying an agent thinks my book is worthy. I’ll keep you posted.
Robin Coyle 