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writer, the game of
getting published seems hard. No one really tells you what to do,
and as games go, the publishing game seems mysterious from the
outside. Agents and editors both are busy, and to get your book or
story across, you need to capture their attention quickly so
they'll take a second look and want to read your finished book or
partial.
    You can improve your chances in having your
book—or books—seriously considered by a publisher or an agent by
creating a winning query letter.
    This is my current tip for aspiring novelists
that I hope will help you cut through the confusing clutter of
advice about pitching your novel—whether in a query letter to an
agent or an editor, or if you actually get to meet an editor and
sit face-to-face at a convention or other gathering.
    I know how rough it can be, particularly when
starting out. Believe in yourself, in what you write, and keep
learning the craft.
    The DO NOTS:
    1. Do not go on and on in your query. No
matter how wonderful you are, and no matter how fascinating it is
to you to describe hundreds of pages of your novel in loving
detail—it's boring. Accept it and move on.
    It's the reading of the book that needs to be
engaging and engrossing, and the only way an agent or editor may
get to that is if your synopsis in your query letter is engaging,
too.
    2. Do not suck up. Seriously. No kissing of
the derriere will sell your novel to any editor or agent, even if
it works with your boss.
    On the other hand, don't insult 'em either,
obviously.
    Be direct, respectful, and as brief as you
possibly can (but make sure you get across the gist of what's great
in your novel.)
    All right, here goes.
    This was part of a letter I sent to an
aspiring novelist who asked about the query. It includes two "off
the top of my head" synopses of novels of mine put in the form that
I believe it is good to think about.
    Do not imitate what I've written. Get the
SPIRIT of it.
    Your book has got to sell itself. The best
you can do is pitch it, and step out of the way so your novel can
work its magic on the editor or agent.
    Having said that, you absolutely need to make
your story come alive in a few sentences. I can't do that for you,
but you can.
    HERE'S THE DEEP DARK SECRET OF PITCHING YOUR
NOVEL:
    Imagine you have less than a minute to tell
your friend about a great movie you just saw, or a terrific book
you just read. In fact, pick one that you loved.
    Describe it quickly, on paper. I bet you can
do this in under a minute. If you can't, then practice, practice,
practice.
    Find out what is unique and compelling in
your book and put that into a few sentences.
    Work on it.
    Cut, shape, and take ten minutes afterward to
make sure these sentences work.
    The premise of your novel needs to be strong
enough to be summed up quickly—otherwise, it stands a chance of
sounding like a muddle or a series of abstractions that can't find
anything concrete to rest upon.
    Plus this synopsis has to be interesting. And
brief.
    If you really want this book to sell, you
have to be tough on this kind of stuff and make the leap to
professionalism.
    It's simpler than you suspect.
    If your novel has a strong premise, and you
understand this premise (as you should—you had to believe in it
enough to write an entire novel, right?) whittle those words down
to three to six sentences that are compelling and at least tell
what's most important about the story:
    Think in terms of the big picture.
    EXAMPLE ONE
    Here's an example for my
novel Bad Karma ,
written under my pen name Andrew Harper:
    "A beautiful, murderous patient of a psych
hospital for the criminally insane is obsessed with the psych tech
who cares for her. When he and his family vacation on Catalina
Island off the coast of California, she goes on a rampage and
escapes to hunt them down—because she believes that he is the
reincarnation of a lover from her past life—Jack the Ripper. This
is a fast-paced thriller dealing with reincarnation, human