218 replies to this topic

[Gerry Souter]

I have been around the horn with writer groups and most have been populated by shiny new writers as eager as puppies who want success, but have no idea of the odds against those who do not want to polish the chair and learn how to write. I've done book doctoring, held clinics, judged manuscripts and judged published books in award competitions. The pure jewels, the polished nuggets of prose are rare. I'm joining this group with hopes of choosing a new agent to replaced my previous representation who has retired. If I can help anyone or answer questions while I'm here, that's fine. It's good to give back. For more information on me or any of my 50 books, check my Web site: www.avril1.com, Amazon.com, Google or any other authors' directory. In the meantime, it's nice to be here and let's see what happens. Gerry Souter

[Pete Morin]

Welcome, Gerry!

Take a look around. There are plenty of queries in the query critique group than need an experienced eye.

[Litgal]

Welcome to AQConnect! Pete is right, the query-critique-threads round here are plentiful and seasoned opinions are very welcome.

[mwsinclair]

Welcome to the experienced writers and the eager puppies and guppies. All are welcome, all are welcome.

[thrownbones]

Welcome, Gerry!

[bigblackcat97]

Hi Gerry! welcome to AQ!

[kjones]

I could use some help to one specific question: I would like to query a memoir I have written. Some agents put memoirs under "fiction" (asking for sample chapters) and most don't specify. Should I consider a memoir "non-fiction" (usually requiring a proposal) or "fiction" for purposes of a query letter (thus allowing me to send sample chapters) if the agent does not specify? I can't find the answer to this anywhere. Thank you!

[jmarshburn]

I am new to AQConnect, and very excited about getting started.

Still finishing up my first novel, which has been several years in the making. However, I do feel close enough to start thinking about next steps. Just reading this thread, I get the feeling this is a useful and considerate community to be a part of. I look forward to connecting with fellow writers.

Jenn

[Progressive]

Hello:

I am looking for an agent to help me promote my recently published book, Progressively Restoring American Greatness. I published it at
Lulu.com, so I am just on my own trying to get the word out. You can visit this site where I have put up some sample chapters->
http://www.theprogre...restoration.com to get a feel for what it is about.

Thank you for your time,

Anthony Watson

[Kristina]

Hello and welcome to AQC, Progressive!
Unfortunately, I have to come up with bad news, regarding your "I am looking for an agent to help me promote my recently published book, Progressively Restoring American Greatness." statement. You may wish to read this thread http://agentquerycon...ent-weighs-in/. Pay attention to articles from posts #1 and #18.

[Daceria]

Hello, my name is Alicia Hamilton-Keister and I dream of being a published writer and am working on getting published as we speak. The only thing I have published are short stories in the Williamsport Sun Gazette in the writer's nook. The most famous of these short stories is the one I am now trying to publish as it has been kind of a Wow really? Kind of thing. I attend a writer's group called Page Grinders in Lewisburg Pa and none of us but me if offically published. They all have been published in magazines and they are a joy to be around. Well to the point The Wolf Within was one of the short stories I published in The Williamsport Sun Gazette and for the first time last year I part took in NANO. I have never been so challenged before and there were times I thought about quitting but I pulled through and finished my novel for NANO. I submitted the first chapter to writer's group to give them a break from A Wolf's Journey (A series 7 years and going in the making). When I went to writer's group and heard what they said about The Wolf Within, I knew where I was headed, the path I had always dreamed of, getting published. This is my introduction and I hope to make friiends here and learn things but most importantly we are all writers and we all know the being published is often the hardest part of being a writer but me, I'm never going to give up my dream because I truly believe that I will be famous. I just don't know when.

[JessM]

Hi all. I'm brand new to this website - just found it this morning when I was searching for tips on query letters. I'm so happy to find a place like this, both because I need all the advice I can get and because it's nice to find a group of people who are willing to support and help each other out. Like many of you, I'm sure, I don't get to spend as much time writing/reading and learning about writing as I would like, given that I have two kids (8 and 5 - awesome but frequently exhausting!) and a husband in grad school to support. The past few years have been pretty tough, but the one good thing that's come out of this rough period is my first completed novel. I started work on it a year and a half ago and at first it was just a total escape - all sex and not much else. But it slowly changed, based on what I was going through, and one day I woke up and realized I had written a romance novel (still with lots of sex). So I now have a rough draft finished, which I'm revising (while trying to get up the courage to have other people read and critique it). In the meantime, I also need to start focusing on the next step, which is how I ended up here!

So right now I'm going to take a look around before I have to deal with household chores, but I'll be back again later. And thanks again for this site - I'm looking forward to being an active part of the group!

[Gift_0_Gab]

I'm a newbie...very nice to see so many people offering warm welcomes and words of wisdom. I'm excited to share thoughts and successes with all of you.

-- Sherae

[Miss Brittany]

Hello,
I'm new and I really relate to Phoebe. Those darn query letters I cant seem to master. Trying to master it now that my, current, stories are finnished. I feel very welcomed! But I notice that people have very few "friends" on thier sites or pages(whichever) and so I guess I'm asking is this less like facebook and more like a e-high school lunchroom where you sorta hang or "friend" people you have most in common with?

thanks,
miss Brittany

[tlbrtstv]

Fresh as new-fallen snow to this site. I have a project that is two years in the making and now that I am drafting a query letter I am finding myself hesitant to put it out there. I have written for as long as I can remember but they have always been personal bodies of work that I felt confident nobody else would be bothered to notice. Something compelled me to investigate the world of publishing and now my feet are as cold as if they were bare and planted firmly in that metaphoric snow that describes my newness to this site.
But I digress. Thank you for posting a thread of helpful hints on how to confidently navigate this site.

Steven

[Jean Oram]

Miss B., the "friends" function is a bit of a strange thing really. It means nothing. I guess in some ways you could see which circles people travel in... but really, it's just a gimmick here. I don't think anyone pays any attention to it.

Steven, welcome and enjoy!

[RC Lewis]

Yeah, the only thing the "friends" function here really does for me is dictate whose status updates show up in my email notifications, that's all.

[jeanineg]

Hi,

My name is Jeanine. I am new to the site, and writing novels. I am writing my first novel (Starvation of the Soul). I was told that I need to find a partner or 2 to critique my work as I write. I would love and appreciate feedback from people who not family members or friends. I don't know how to find such people, however. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I am writing historical fiction. Thanks so much. Look forward to being part of the site! Best to all...

[briget]

Hi! I'm Briget! I have 3 published books, but I want to be REALLY published! I want my screenplay to be on the silver screen! I want my books read by teens everywhere - and others who don't like to read, but want a good fast-paced story.

Check out my website at www.booksbybriget.com

[mwsinclair]

I could use some help to one specific question: I would like to query a memoir I have written. Some agents put memoirs under "fiction" (asking for sample chapters) and most don't specify. Should I consider a memoir "non-fiction" (usually requiring a proposal) or "fiction" for purposes of a query letter (thus allowing me to send sample chapters) if the agent does not specify? I can't find the answer to this anywhere. Thank you!

Sorry, I just noticed this. Memoir is nonfiction, but it's queried much like fiction. Unlike most nonfiction (how-to books, for example), the manuscript needs to be finished, but you'll also need to know what else has been done that might be similar to your work. Having sample chapters ready, then, should not be a problem. The manuscript has been written. Of course, it also should be obvious that the manuscript needs to be polished and ready.