Sunday, January 22, 2012

That Pivotal Moment

*Crawls out from under rock*

*Checks all critique partners' comments have been actioned/considered*

*Smooths hand over completed manuscript and sits back*

*takes a deep breath*

I'M READY TO QUERY!

At least, I think I am.

After years of blood (paper cuts), sweat (it's really freakin' hot in Australia right now), and tears (usually critique partner-induced ... KIDDING!), I have finished Waiting for April. My baby is ready to go out into the world.

BUT.

How do you know if your query letter is good enough to give your manuscript a chance in the world of agents? Well, there are sites where you can offer your query up for critique by agents, including (but not limited to):
Janet Reid (FinePrint Literary Management): http://queryshark.blogspot.com
Jessica Faust (BookEnds, LLC): http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/
and
Lauren Ruth (BookEnds, LLC):  http://slushpiletales.wordpress.com/

These generous ladies critique regularly, and the advice they give can (usually) be interpreted and applied to all queries. However, if you're lucky enough to be following some amazing agents on Twitter, you'll find that most, if not all, will at some stage host competitions where they'll critique your query/first page/partial/full manuscript. Fantastic? Yes. Yes they are.  

One such agent is Meredith Barnes, of Lowenstein Associates. Right now, Ms. Barnes is offering up query critiques to people who mention some (or all!) of the authors featured in this post: http://merbarnes.blogspot.com/2012/01/you-scratch-lorena-dureaus-back-ill.html

So here's MY entry! And honestly, I've already bought some! ;) I love me some romance novels!!! (I'm especially keen on Lorena Dureau's The Last Casquette Girl, and Deborah Camp's The Butler Did It.) :D


  • Deborah Camp (A mix of contemporary and Old West Historical romances...over 40 coming in the near future, but here is a list of 10 or so available now)
  • Lorena Dureau (Historical Romance: American Colonial South and West. Very Sexy)
  • Dan Streib (thrillers with a James-Bond-meets-Anderson-Cooper main character)
  • Barbara Keesling (her too-hot-to-blog nonfiction is herehere, and here)


So there you have it. Ms. Barnes is helping those, like me, who are ready to query, and by doing so, is spreading the word about Lowenstein Associates' authors. Everybody wins! If you'd like to enter, simply follow the guidelines here: http://merbarnes.blogspot.com/2012/01/you-scratch-lorena-dureaus-back-ill.html

But hurry! The celebration closes at midnight, Sunday 22nd! (So I'm feeling a little Back to The Future here in Oz, where it's already midday on Monday the 23rd).

TTFN!

P.S. I'll update as I query, and promise to blog more. :D