tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post8058951668991893917..comments2023-09-29T09:18:38.933-04:00Comments on Bent on Books: It's Really NOT About Who You Know...Jenny Benthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12744171500436166262noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-48191239698799413792012-09-18T12:58:32.135-04:002012-09-18T12:58:32.135-04:00This was an interesting and encouraging article to...This was an interesting and encouraging article to read!<br /><br />One question: when I've been doing my query, every single person says: start with a great, one sentence hook. Nothing about loglines, etc. Then, we're always advised: don't get too personal. No "my books is like this book", etc. And only use bio if it's something that truly qualifies you to write the book.<br /><br />So...is that also correct? Or do we need to follow the format here (which clearly worked), or is there truly no one answer to "how do I write a query letter?" Aightballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10706831888613374173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-66116200797898815562012-08-21T17:54:17.131-04:002012-08-21T17:54:17.131-04:00Thank you miss Bent! Your words truly inspire and ...Thank you miss Bent! Your words truly inspire and the visual defiynitely helps. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06050179591314464615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-25309103856621873762012-07-15T12:41:22.022-04:002012-07-15T12:41:22.022-04:00Thanks! Your advice was definitely helpful and enc...Thanks! Your advice was definitely helpful and encouraging for someone like me: unpublished but trying hard! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-42351330836502257062012-07-15T12:39:20.930-04:002012-07-15T12:39:20.930-04:00Thanks! This very encouraging for me. :)Thanks! This very encouraging for me. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-63199519644340849232012-07-08T23:34:34.439-04:002012-07-08T23:34:34.439-04:00Thank you for the excellent post. It's very e...Thank you for the excellent post. It's very encouraging and the visual example/explanation helps more than anything when trying to learn how to properly write a query.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16922625377866772414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-70013685314210345402012-07-05T04:18:06.981-04:002012-07-05T04:18:06.981-04:00As a friend, I've read the tantalizing pre-edi...As a friend, I've read the tantalizing pre-edited first 75 pages and can't wait to read the full final work when it is published. If you ever meet Yangsze in person, you'll find she is just as interesting as her writing. (and very humble as well!)Kathy in SHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15477356209156351398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-50846231156726489732012-07-02T17:09:20.989-04:002012-07-02T17:09:20.989-04:00Thank you: not just encouraging, but useful info, ...Thank you: not just encouraging, but useful info, too. I loved that Yangsze didn't get tangled up in explaining her qualifications (or 'lack' thereof.<br /><br />PS - the first captcha I was offered looks like the starting point for a science fiction bio-hazard novel ;)Pauline Wileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15387098614220322595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-49716594465361440932012-07-02T09:39:08.351-04:002012-07-02T09:39:08.351-04:00Such a helpful post, and encouraging for those of ...Such a helpful post, and encouraging for those of us who are hoping to break out of the slush pile! And the book sounds fabulous.Linda Avellarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15329742915212936405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-30657697676518396262012-06-28T19:58:34.407-04:002012-06-28T19:58:34.407-04:00Beautiful, haunting, mysterious, intriguing. ;-)Beautiful, haunting, mysterious, intriguing. ;-)Debra Lynn Sheltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08238268767406623274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-47669739719171596852012-06-28T09:50:19.324-04:002012-06-28T09:50:19.324-04:00That query rocks. I agree. I want to read the book...That query rocks. I agree. I want to read the book right now! Kuddos to the author. Thank you for this great article.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15484217892934098218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-39523367008877339222012-06-27T22:38:50.333-04:002012-06-27T22:38:50.333-04:00Finding an agent is like finding a husband. You do...Finding an agent is like finding a husband. You don't just, y'know hop from one to the other in hopes it's going to fit. You choose wisely. They do too. It takes time. It takes the right story- a good story! <br />It also takes a query that not only hooks and gives a clear "sense" of story, but also a sense of its author too. This one slams every bit of that, and there is no wonder to its success! Well done and congratulations!Write Lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11243460609179141414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-88998075995676614132012-06-27T15:22:49.148-04:002012-06-27T15:22:49.148-04:00Thank you for sharing this valuable information wi...Thank you for sharing this valuable information with all of us out here, who continue in their efforts to find an agent for representation.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07274893939571588246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-66696010306055601402012-06-26T21:43:16.111-04:002012-06-26T21:43:16.111-04:00What an inspirational post. I know many authors ha...What an inspirational post. I know many authors have given up the hope of finding an agent or finding the "magical" formula for a selling query. You breathed new life into the fading dreams of many authors. In the end, I think you have to make the agent want to read more just as a simple reader herself.<br /><br />I thank you for the many authors with failing dreams whom you helped with your post. For myself, I have given up the hope of finding that agent and winning query structure. May you have great success in finding high sales for your clients, RolandRoland D. Yeomanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00338410857990551352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-49229423595246141522012-06-26T18:56:30.272-04:002012-06-26T18:56:30.272-04:00I'm just now working on my first query letters...I'm just now working on my first query letters and this information is priceless! Thanks so much for the practical, and motivating material.J.C. Kenneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02324286622529860463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-18191133490951072982012-06-26T17:00:38.152-04:002012-06-26T17:00:38.152-04:00I must say, Jenny Bent, that I'm shocked that ...I must say, Jenny Bent, that I'm shocked that a novel set in the 19th century in Malaysia got so many offers. While probably not as good, my 21st century novel set in China faces resistence. Lisa See does very well with novels set in China over 100 years ago, but novels set in 21st China don't do that well, which is surprising taking into account the influence of China in the world.<br />Feel free to click on my blog to learn about China today.G.M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02652216131823877445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-10591379755327336802012-06-26T16:42:32.168-04:002012-06-26T16:42:32.168-04:00Not only is your post helpful, but the query makes...Not only is your post helpful, but the query makes me want to read this book! Thank you for sharing this!M Writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11989855805628386453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-60593100368314845002012-06-26T15:53:49.542-04:002012-06-26T15:53:49.542-04:00Ty, i hear what you're saying. as someone who&...Ty, i hear what you're saying. as someone who's gone through an MFA program, the view of publishing was hard to pin down easily before I got an agent and a book deal. I would argue that my perception of publishing as it was presented via MFA related writers was different when I compared it to the experience of actual published authors who write for a living (or write and teach part-time). it's not so much that my professors or visiting writers didn't tell me the truth, but sometimes the process is so different for everyone (or happened long enough ago) that there's little to base your expectations on.<br /><br />honestly, agents aren't hard to approach -- there're conferences to meet them in person and all sorts of ways to learn about them thanks to blogs and twitter so when you email or talk to them you can say something intelligent and natural. <br /><br />It's just daunting to consider the things that have to align for a writer to land an agent. not just the quality and content of your project, but what kind of stuff they want to represent. They might already have a book like yours in the pipeline; they might not have the right editor connections to sell your amazing book. sometimes it's not about you but about the publishing environment. <br /><br />Consider what Jenny points out -- that the query cites not just why the writer is perfect to write the novel, but also why Bent is the best agent. Do that for every query and you find yourself doing lots of research and still getting lots of rejection.<br /><br />Let me say this -- i had a couple of referrals for agents from very good writers/friends. I did not get those agents because my book wasn't right for the agent. I actually got a decent amount of positive rejections -- agents that wanted me to succeed but couldn't help me succeed with the project I was pitching. Or I just wasn't the right fit for them (too literary in some cases, too satirical in others, too serious, too this too that). But those positive rejections kept me afloat and made me understand that agents WANT to find good writers but they have so much to consider that it's not always as simple as it seems like it should be.<br /><br />But if you have a book that's ready and your query is strong, then you just keep trying and write something else while those queries are out (so you don't sit by the inbox all day). <br /><br />I queried 80 agents for a short story collection i wrote for my MFA (some agents came to me after reading stories published in Granta, Narrative, and other places); I queried 120 agents for an adult novel (some of whom were people who friend-writers had connected me with); then I queried 30 for a YA novel that I wrote and never knew if I would sell. <br /><br />My agent loved my query and loved my MS but had no idea who I was otherwise. (in fact, I was so used to rejections that i had to read the email from her four times before I understood that it DIDN'T have the line "but I'm going to pass on it for now...")<br /><br /> I was glad she liked it because she was one of my top choices when i queried, but I also knew by that point that my query was strong because I KNEW MY BOOK. and, of course, I suspect my agent would LIKE it, but consider Jenny Bent's post -- it's more about how well you know your work. because I couldn't predict that my agent (and later my editor) would love the things about the book that I thought were really weird (main character talks to an imaginary pigeon therapist and quotes Walt Whitman).<br /><br />So, yes, it's daunting. and when I think about whether my agent would have represented me had the sunshine been at a different angle or if my opening line were different I just start to drive myself nuts. even now.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09467144491669742454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-80918132793187958922012-06-26T14:57:13.260-04:002012-06-26T14:57:13.260-04:00This is such a great post (and a great letter). Th...This is such a great post (and a great letter). Thank you for taking the time to share this. I also can't wait to read the completed novel! And I'm now totally fascinated by this concept. So interesting!Alejandra Ramoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01188236667131395996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-78993802145651212312012-06-26T13:54:27.578-04:002012-06-26T13:54:27.578-04:00The book does sound irresistible! Makes me think o...The book does sound irresistible! Makes me think of Hayao Miyazaki's 'Spirited Away,' except historical fiction in print with a romantic twist! Can't wait to read.Darcy Drakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15263535041680335553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-60801083903358639102012-06-26T12:31:23.234-04:002012-06-26T12:31:23.234-04:00Wow. Just reading the letter made me want to read ...Wow. Just reading the letter made me want to read the book. Thanks so much for the advice, Jenny!Paige Kellermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16201061179479380167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-460650521677645282012-06-26T12:19:33.029-04:002012-06-26T12:19:33.029-04:00This is an interesting, and somewhat encouraging a...This is an interesting, and somewhat encouraging article. I believe what you say, of course, and I believe that naturally not everyone who gets an agent has done so through personal connections and elbow-rubbing.<br /><br />That being said, I still think this may be the exception to the rule, given what I have seen and heard. I don't at all intend to suggest that you don't know what you are talking about, as clearly you do. I mean only that your take on this has, based on my experience fallen into quite the minority. (I hope there are others of you out there with a similar view.)<br /><br />I concede that perhaps my interpretation of this being an exception to the rule may be based on a perception. Yet that perception about literary agents is quite pervasive in the writing world. You must already know that, else you would not have titled the post as you did. <br /><br />As a writer who feels more and more wary about even bothering to look for an agent when the time comes, (I am strongly considering self-publishing), this is somewhat refreshing. But I think perhaps agents as a whole might want to consider just how unapproachable they are beginning to appear to new writers at large these days.<br /><br />What can be done about the perception? I have no idea. Yet it does to me seem to be quite deeply entrenched.Ty Unglebowerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06836504600859993438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3570843285923755385.post-46066596651034738342012-06-26T12:09:08.546-04:002012-06-26T12:09:08.546-04:00Thank you! I just sent a query to you a couple day...Thank you! I just sent a query to you a couple days ago, but this is great advice moving forward and for anyone who hasn't queried you yet. <br /><br />It's so interesting how different agents look for such different things in their queries. I actually love doing the research for each agent! It's like a scavenger hunt. "Does she want me to mention similar books or books I enjoy, or does this agent hate when writers do that?"Ashley Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02545698446086690644noreply@blogger.com