Where Does The Food Coma End, And Your Query Start!?

It’s Thanksgiving week! I wish you all quick access to that state where you're so full you can feel the food at the top of your throat. Don’t be alarmed by the extreme distress that ensues. It’s normal.

With a looooooong weekend staring you down, you might consider other things you could do besides eat yourself into misery. No? Well, me either. But hypothetically if you were going to do other things, you might devote some time to your query. And I’ve got an idea on where to start.

Start your query where the action starts. Where your character faces their first big choice. Tell us what the choice is, then tell us what will happen if they choose path A vs. path B. The query can’t start with your character’s backstory. How they came to be a lawyer or a detective or a sorceress. Or what the “themes” are or the “universal truths” the book “grapples” with. These may be the heart of your book, and it’s hard to accept that they have absolutely no place in your query. But it’s true.

The query should tell the agent what happens in the book. The plot. The action. The stakes. The themes and universal-truth-grappling, if done right, will just emerge as the agent reads. But she’s only going to read if you tell her what goes on. The plot will tell an agent whether what you’ve written is a good fit for her list and current needs.

My suggestion, if you can wade out of the food coma, is to write down your plot. Make it four sentences or fewer, as bare bones as you can, and focus only on your main character’s trajectory. You’ll need to do some finessing, probably, but this could very well be the first paragraph of your query. Also, read Janet Reid’s blog, Query Shark. Not only will you learn, but you’ll laugh. And I’m told that burns calories.