Do Not Mark "Fragile"
I've been dipping my toes into the querying world lately and have shuddered at the difference in temperature from the writing world. Querying is like...like...superwriting! Gah. How do you cramp allllll this work into one page, single-spaced, and do justice to it?
Plus, is it just me, or does it seem like decent query advice for SF&F (that isn't werewolves, vampires, or dragons) is really hard to find these days? I simply had to repost Kristin's (from Pub Rants blog) query-killer list, as I hadn't found comparably specific advice elsewhere. Thank you, Kristin, for your fantastic top 10 list.
On a side note, wouldn't it be nice if Writers' Digest did a sci-fi/fantasy-focused issue? Chock full of topics like, "Revitalizing Swords and Sorcery for a Modern Audience" or "Character Development in a Plot-Driven Imaginary World." Ahhh.
KRISTIN’S TOP 10 LIST OF WHY ADULT AND CHILDREN’S SF&F QUERY LETTERS GET A REJECTION (With my commentary in italics)
Reason 10: Generic descriptors of the story
Reason 9: Overkill on World Building details and not enough about the story itself.
Reason 8: Explaining that unlike already published SF&F novels, your work has character development. (Ha. Ha. Haaaaa.)
Reason 7: Popular trends (such as Vampires, Werewolves, or Zombies) with no unique take clearly spelled out in pitch. (Shoot me now)
Reason 6: No mention of or insight into the characters who will be driving the story.
Reason 5: The manuscript is 250,000 words (or more!) and this is unpublished, debut author. (Eeek! What about those of us with the opposite problem? I'm at 52,000 words. Is that too few?)
Reason 4: The work is called SF&F but it sounds more like a mystery or thriller or something else.
Reason 3: Convoluted Plot that I can’t follow in the pitch paragraph.
Reason 2: SF&F stereotypical archetypes as the “hook.” (Aaaaaaaaand, fellow sf&f writers, prepare your cigarettes, hard candy, and/or other addictive substances....)
--the mysterious object
--the unexpected birthright
--the quest
--the villain that has risen again
--exiled to another planet
--mayhem on spaceship to new planet
--Androids with heart of gold
--The main character as the key to saving the world or species
--the just discovered talisman
Reason 1: No hook—or mention of a plot catalyst that is new or original in this genre.
(And we're back to the drawing board.)
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