I get lots of emails and calls from people saying: I’ve written my novel, now what? How did I go about identifying a Publisher? How did I contact them and what did I say to them?
To begin with, the query letter is the most important document you’ll ever write, perhaps more important than your novel itself. It is your sales pitch.
Just to give you an idea, when I wrote Kkrishnaa’s Konfessions, I wrote 92,000 plus words in six months. Which works out to about 500 plus words a day. But when you consider the fact that those six months include about two months of rewrite, the figure is much more impressive. Contrast that with the fact that I spent three weeks writing my query letter of 500 words.
Anyway, I did some research and stumbled upon Noah Lukeman’s “How to Write Great Query letters.” Lukeman is the bestselling author of books like First five pages, The plot thickens and A dash of style.
He is also an agent who represents a lot of literary heavy weights including many New York Times bestselling authors and Pulitzer prize winners. As such he has reviewed over 100,000 query letters, i.e., 10,000 letters a year for 10 years.
He recently posted a FREE e-book on Amazon which I’ve found to be one of the best books on the subject of query letters. Check it out.
When tall, suave, handsome Kaustav Kapoor walks into her office, ditzy private investigator Kasthuri (aka Katie) Kumar has anything but detection on her mind. He is, after all, a scion of Bollywood’s first family—perhaps he has a role for her? Perhaps she will, at last, get to sashay down the red carpet in a designer gown, with flash bulbs following her every move?
But Kapoor’s intentions are much more prosaic: he wishes Katie to trace the heroine of his new blockbuster (and, if Katie’s read the glossies correctly, his life) who is mysteriously AWOL. Despite her misgivings, Katie finds herself unable to refuse the task entrusted to her, and thereon follows a bewildering hunt for the film star across a trail of corpses.
And if that isn’t excitement enough, she has to contend with the maddening and mysterious, but, oh-so-hot, Tejas Deshpande.
The first in a brand new detective series.
COMING OUT IN FEBRUARY 2010
this one is a great post.. helping out your fellow writers.. I am yet to read your book.. After reading it, I will give my review..
@kanagu, thank you and do do that
Smitajain, thanks for that wonderfully informative and relevant post. I’m someone who’d love to write, but never gets beyond blogging etc… maybe I haven’t got anything to say…
@gigdiary, everyone has something to say:-) Perhaps you’ve never considered writing a novel?
I’d love to write a novel, but that’s where I come unstuck. I can blog, opinionate, rant or relate, but where is my tale, my story…
I don’t know that I have one in me…
@gigdiary, perhaps finding your story is a journey unto itself:-)
This is very cool indeed! Thanks for sharing!
I am a first time visitor of your blog.
Great work.
About this article.
The whole article gives us wonderful insight.
Thanks!