How to Crush That Query

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novel, novel writing, query letters, query tips, screenwriting, screenwriting tips, Writing, writing community, writing query leters, writing tips

 

Hello, Writers & Storytellers,

so I have started a new blog that is attached to my course and membership site which is hosted on Kajabi and I’d love you to head over there and check out my blogs that post every #writerwednesday but it’s okay if you still love it here too!

This week I wrote about CRUSHING YOUR QUERY LETTER. 

Here is the link to the blog over there. TAKE ME THERE NOW

Now, I’ll write about queries here as well! 

It’s not a difficult task to talk about our stories, right? You love telling friends and family and co-workers all about your novel, screenplay, or new idea for a TV pilot–it flows easily but for some reason when we go to write that query letter we get completely locked and it never comes out right.

Why?

This is like playing golf or any sport really, it’s a MENTAL GAME. You psych yourself out that this query is the most important piece of writing and your life depends on the outcome and then you forget how to write and you forget how to talk about your manuscript in a way that draws people in.

The pressure is too much!

It shouldn’t be.

So what I want you to do is change the way you think about queries and trust me, they will get easier.

Also, it is not the end of the world, whomever you are sending it to may or may not be the agent for you, so stop pressuring yourself.

I want you to be successful and I know you can do it! You can, you just completed and revised your screenplay, your novel, your children’s picture book, your TV pilot so you can do this!

I want you to head up to the link I posted before and to make it easy, here it is again.

TAKE ME THERE 

And if you still need more help, I’m offering a FREE look at your query for the entire month of July–meaning you can email me your query and I will look at it and give you some general feedback to help you get it right!

You can get in touch by emailing me at Stephanie@judaniebean.com and put CRUSHINGMYQUERY in the subject line.

Okay, that’s it for this edition of #writerwednesday and I hope you have a super day, week, month, and get that query written!!

YOU GOT THIS! 

XO Stephanie

New Video on Watch Wednesday for Writers! How to Find An Agent!

Tags

agent search, author, author life, author tube, how to find an agent, literary agents, query letters, Writer, writers life, Writing

 

CHECK IT OUT HERE! 

And circle back to yesterday’s post with more on finding the right agent for you!

Tuesday Tips~How To Find The Right Agent For Your Writing

Tags

author, author life, fiction, finding an agent, how to find an agent, literary agents, novel, publishing, query letters, researching agents, screenwriting, show business, TV writing, writers life

Cheers to all the writers & storytellers who are here today!

I want to talk to you about finding an agent because this is something I am asked about all the time.

“How do you find an agent?”

“I have no idea how to find an agent.”

“Where does one find an agent?”

“I heard that I need an agent but have no idea how to find one.”

and finally.

“Do I need an agent?”

Let me start with the last one and work my way back up.

The answer is both YES and NO. It really depends on what YOUR specific goals are for your books. 

If you want to be traditionally published by one of the big publishing houses in New York–then having an agent is definitely the way to go. Of course, like anything, there are always exceptions to this that will prove me and anyone else who recommends you get an agent wrong. Those exceptions might be when a writer meets an editor at a conference, or when a writer wins a contest, or something similar. Some publishing houses allow non-agented submissions too–that’s a horse of another color and I will do a whole blog post about that at some point.

The thing is, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, the reasons to have an agent far outweigh the reasons not to have one. 

Here is one example of a situation where having an agent is a good thing.

If you get an offer from a big publishing house–let’s say that you get really lucky and this happens–without an agent, you really are on your own to negotiate. I don’t recommend this for many reasons. Agents do these deals for a living. They know better than we do what is a good and what is a bad contract. They know the industry and they know what editors will be the best for you and your book.

***I have to stop and say–yes there are bad agents out there-but for the most part they are great to have on your side.

For the film and television writers out there-YES, YOU NEED AN AGENT. For all the same reasons that novelists do and more. The entertainment industry is so crazy competitive AND deals in Hollywood go south all the time. Your agent is the one who will have your back. Not only do they get your script in front of the right directors, producers, studio execs, they will also fight for you when you need it.

It’s the same as novels in that you could get lucky but it’s just not worth it in my opinion. I have worked in the film and television industry for more than 20 years and I have seen so many things go wrong that I would never go at it without an agent.

Yes, agents can make bad decisions too–they are humans, just like us but for the most part, they really are the best career partner you can have. 

“But aren’t all agents just there to make money?” 

Even if this was true and it’s not always true–that’s a good thing. This is SHOW BUSINESS. It’s a BUSINESS. Publishing is a business. The entertainment industry is a business. You want to make money.

***If you really don’t care or want money–you may be okay without and agent.

OKAY—now that we have decided that YOU NEED and WANT an agent.

HOW DO YOU FIND ONE? 

There are many ways to get an agent. 

Tomorrow my YouTube video on finding an agent comes out so please watch as a complement to this blog today!

Also on YouTube, I have a video all about why agents are rejecting your query letter and you can find that here.

Here are some of the ways that I have found to be effective for myself and others.

Join organizations for what you are writing. There you will meet other writers and most likely meet agents at conferences and events that are held within that organization.  Also, most of these websites will have a resource page that has agents listed.

*See resources at the end of this blog

Here is a video on attending conferences.

Writing conferences are great for meeting and making connections.

When you go to writing conferences there are often workshops or pitching events where you get to meet agents one on one. This is a great way to make a connection.  Keeping in mind that this isn’t the place to pitch to agents in the bathroom, hallway, in a workshop–unless they ask you.

Social Media is another great way to find and research your agent. Following them is perfect to find out what they like, want, who they already rep and if they are open to submissions. Don’t stalk them, but following them is really good. Many agents also participate in things like Pitch Wars on Twitter and use hashtags when they are looking for something specific-Manuscript Wishlist #MSWL. Then you go to their agency website, get the submission guidelines and submit.

Twitter and Instagram are both exploding right now (summer 2019) but Facebook is still a great way to make and create connections through groups and just being FB friends.

Social media is NOT a place to pitch unless asked to or as part of a pitching event. 

Trade books like Writers’ Digest Marketplace books—although with the recent bankruptcy, I’m not sure what will happen with those in the coming years.

Query Shark, Query Tacker, Publishers’ Marketplace are all great too.

Asking fellow authors and or writers who their agents are and getting recommendations to submit.

The most important thing to do is your research and take your time.

Don’t send out hundreds of query letters. Would you do that when finding a spouse or significant other? Or if you were hiring someone to join your business? No, you wouldn’t. Your agent is like a business partner, so you don’t want to rush it.

Be selective. When you meet agents at conferences, it’s a great idea to come home and Google them. Find their blogs, social media, and anything else you can about them. You may find that they aren’t a great fit even if you loved their workshop.

I will say that the biggest mistake I see writers making is being too broad and just submitting to anyone who will and or is accepting queries. Don’t be that writer.

This is an important step in your career. Whether this is your first or fourth agent, the process is the same.

I hope that this is helpful for you. Below are links to some great resources for your agent search.

If you have other resources that you would like to share, please do in the comments! 

 

For Children’s Book Writers

http://www.scbwi.org
http://www.kidlit411.com/

For novelists (any genre)

https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/
https://www.authorsguild.org/
https://www.rwa.org/
https://www.writersdigest.com/
https://www.agentquery.com/
https://queryshark.blogspot.com/
https://www.pw.org/

Video for TV writers

For screen and TV writers
https://www.wga.org/
https://scriptwritersnetwork.com/
https://www.hollywoodscriptexpress.com/literary-agents.html
https://screenwritingumagazine.com/2019/01/25/7-ways-to-get-an-agent-or-manager/

 

Resources from Judanie Bean 

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Why You Are Getting Rejected by Agents

Tags

finding an agent, literary agents, query letters, writer tips, Writing, writing query leters, writing tips

Today I have a new video for you to watch, comment, share, subscribe and enjoy.

Are you getting rejections from your query letters?? Are you not even getting requests? Your query is the reason but don’t worry–I know that you can perfect it.

Check out my video here

Have a brilliant day and please come back soon!

Stephanie

www.judaniebean.com 

Let’s Take Action on Your Writing Goals

Tags

author, Film, goals, novel, novel revisions, query letters, screenwriting, Television, writers life, Writing, writing goals, writing tips

Another week and the year is almost half over! 

OMG; how did that even happen?

What?

No way.

In January you may have written down your goals for the year. Get an agent, finish your revisions, get a book deal, get a movie deal, speak at a conference, pay off debts, lose 20lbs, etc and then it’s the 3rd week of June and NONE of that has happened, and you feel like complete and total shit!

This is NORMAL

We always write more goals that we can possibly make so don’t worry, the important thing is that you have these goals. It’s okay if you don’t reach them.

For example. I was sure that I would have signed with a new agent by now. I started sending my novel out again and the rejections have come in. NOW the goal is to revise the book so it’s much stronger and then send it out again next year. It’s disappointing but it is what it is. We have a choice in life to either let the setbacks—or nonreaching of goals–destroy us or move on. Let’s move on.

What are your goals for the next 6 months? July-Dec 31, 2019?

Do you want to finish that revision? Write a new novel? Have a spec written? Have your pilot read by producers? Submitted to several agents?

Be specific and WRITE THEM DOWN!

Then, go deeper. 

What will prevent you from reaching these goals? 

What will help you reach them? 

What will you cut out of your life in order for it to happen?

I find that the more clear I am on goals the better chance I have at making them.

I know that you can do it too.

It takes work, but that’s okay.

I was at a WW meeting yesterday and the leader was talking about getting derailed from weight loss goals and how we have a choice to get back on the path or continue down the wrong way. She used this analogy. If you are in your car and you make a wrong turn, do you continue or do you turn around and get back on the right way? You know the answer, we all do.

I have lost 28 lbs this year. I wanted to have lost 50 by now. I’m a size 6 again and I feel great but that number nags at me. I focus on that instead of celebrating my loss. I have gone down 2 sizes. This is a huge accomplishment.

I also have a couple revise and resubmits for my novel and a couple requests, once it’s revised and yet my brain focuses on the fact that it’s 2019 and my book is still not signed, sold or delivered. Instead, I need to celebrate that I’m getting great feedback and I now have a plan.

See how that works?

I know you can do it. I’m asking you to take action and write out your writing goals for this week, this month, next month, and through the end of the year. What will help you get there, and what will possibly distract you?

TRUST ME. This will help you.

I hope that you all have an amazing week. 

Please find me on YouTube HERE

Sign up for my newsletter, freebies, and information on my Story Concierge course HERE

Join the FB group I created for all storytellers HERE

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xo Stephanie

Query Tips

Tags

novel, query letters, query tips, screenwriting, TV writing, writers life, Writing, writing query leters

Writing queries is something that most writers find terrifying but I find it fun. A chance to get to talk about my novel??? AWESOME! 

I know that they seem hard, but really you can craft a perfect query with some very easy steps.

Remember always be personal to the agent you are querying and always FOLLOW the submissions listed on the agent’s website. This is super important.

Then your pitch needs to be quick and concise and contain a GREAT HOOK. This is what will sell your story.

I have taught writing queries for many years and worked 1:1 with writers perfecting theirs.

You can also find information just by googling. I have also included some links for you and please subscribe to my YouTube channel HERE because I’m going to be covering this in videos on my Story Concierge weekly show.

Eric Smith is an agent and writer who has given his expertise on his website. Check it out. https://www.ericsmithrocks.com/perfect-pitch

John Cusick is also an agent and writer who has given his expertise here. Check it out.

https://johnmcusick.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/a-pretty-much-foolproof-never-fail-silver-bullet-query-opening/

You can also find more information on QUERY TRACKER https://querytracker.net/

Thank you for reading and if you have any specific query questions please comment here or on social media. Please sign up for my VIP list and join my Story Concierge FB group.

Happy Writing xo 

Stephanie