![]() ![]() Issues that seemed insurmountable to the most conservative couples in 1979 ( but who will cook the dinner if Mom works?) are no longer the main focus. ![]() Despite 40 years of new national and international laws, it remains a persistent problem today.” The book is set in 1979, and while feminism, parental custody battles leading to kidnapping, and mental illness in children are very much modern topics, we think differently about them today. In addition to some other arguments that the book is relevant today, the query says, “In 1979, parental kidnapping was not widely considered a crime. Now let’s address the current events angle. Let the agent discover those characteristics when they read the manuscript pages. Assertions like “readers will sympathize” and “an emotionally gripping tale” ring false in queries. For a novel, list two or three comps, books or TV/movies, that are fiction.Īuthors should also watch out for reviewing their own book. Of the seven books, three documentaries, two news organizations and three celebrities mentioned in the query, only three of those media qualify as “current” (within the last few years) and only one of those is a book. Comparative/competitive titles show agents that readers are buying books like yours-but their purpose is to show current buying patterns. It’s great to offer quality comps, though. Half of the 750 words are themes, comps, social issues and cultural movements more suited to self-help or narrative nonfiction than women’s fiction. No matter how well-written it is, sending a 750-word query announces, “I don’t know much about how publishing works.” Plus the query is missing some key elements-the book’s word count and genre (women’s fiction). Most queries are 250–350 words, with some narrative nonfiction stretching to 450–500 words. What’s the lead character’s choice? Where does she take an action that transforms her world? The query’s description of the plot and themes make the book sound like a downer, and it’s unclear where any hope, triumph or change appears. An author’s query must establish three things: this story is compelling, this author understands the conventions of publishing, and the book has a market. In the first 25 pages, as the story flickers to life, it’s drowned in an ocean of backstory.The book feels dated (despite the argument in the query that it’s in tune with current events).The query isn’t selling the book or your professionalism.There are three reasons your book is getting rejected: I am not a BIPOC author and my characters are not BIPOC, which seems to be a lot of what agents are looking for. I have a great story, but maybe for the wrong time. Yet, it has been declined by more than 250 fiction agents who merely decline by form letter. My manuscript has been edited by two top editors on the east and west coasts.
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