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 
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I’m seriously considering offering a consulting service to writer’s who need a boost with their query letters. Having been a best-selling author in print and now an indie author, I know how overwhelming the blank page can be, as well as how daunting myopia with our own work. Good luck on yours!
Ha Ha! If you do, you will make a million dollars. Every author I’ve talked to (or read) feels daunted by the process. I’ll be your first client!
I have this to look forward to when I finish my novel. I’m not eagerly awaiting it so I look forward to any helpful tips you blog about when you crack it.
What made my query letter writer’s block crack was when I had a deadline to get it done in order to submit my book to a contest. I guess I work best when under pressure! If I come up with any tips other than “deadline looming,” I’ll pass them on.
If any newbie can do it, you can. Inspire us all, and use your creative alluring words to paint the picture of your manuscript as the most edible, delightable, savory morsel offered on the bookshelf stands!
Thanks for your support Kreta! That means a lot to me. . .
I think that all it really needs is book title, genre, a tiny bit about yourself and then a two or three line summary of the book. Covering letters are more just about being polite and professional – it’s your book that will (or won’t) sell you as a writer. I think as long as your covering letter isn’t full of spelling and grammar issues and doesn’t go on at length about irrelevant things, then it should be fine. The bit that always annoyed me at university was we’d be told to be confident, then in the next breath be reminded not to be arrogant. Seeing as both are pretty subjective, that wasn’t very helpful!
Yes, being confidently un-arrogant is is tricky!
It’s a nightmare, isn’t it? I’m rather dreading writing the blurb for my book too – so if you have any tips on that, please let me know!
Since I am on the self-imposed deadline of getting it written by the end of the week, I have been working on the dreaded query letter today. So far I have written the opening sentence ten times! The reference I am using today is a good one – http://www.agentquery.com/writer_hq.aspx.
The article is frank, gives good advice, and has some humor thrown in!
The query letter is a nightmare. Even my co-writer, who works in marketing, struggles with this and she is amazing at press releases and general copywriting.
I worry that you have about a paragrah to win the reader. Or is is a sentence. Or maybe two words. Or is it 6 characters ?
Do we say a lot and hope they bother to read it or very little and have them get to the end and still know nothing about the manuscript ?
My best suggestion – get someone else to read it. We found a good editor who will check this stuff for very little money . At least they will be honest even if the response isn’t what we want. At least it’s someone you can test it on again.
I share your worry about how long/detailed the query letter should be. It would be pretty hard to sell your novel in 6 characters and then again, I don’t want them to say “waaaaaaaaaaay too many words on the page, lady!”
Are you willing to share the contact info for the editor you use?
No problem, check our post here:
http://nolanparker.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/feedback/
She’s very good and (importantly for us) cheap. The feedback has been very useful although doing something with it is causing some problems, these are solvable and the effort will be worth it.
Thanks for the info on your editor Phil. It is nice to have a recommendation rather than picking someone out of the air.