tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026702090530441760.post4459167082769764899..comments2023-09-27T04:48:42.401-07:00Comments on Agent Courtney: The Query Critique, at last!Courtney Miller-Callihanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225069684616730801noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026702090530441760.post-74332510725894117892011-09-15T09:18:49.654-07:002011-09-15T09:18:49.654-07:00Hi Ms. Snip,
That's a great question. I'm...Hi Ms. Snip,<br /><br />That's a great question. I'm not crazy about the line you suggested-- a little flowery for my taste-- but you could say something like "While I don't yet have any publication credits to my name, I've been working hard to educate myself about the business by reading agent and editor blogs, and I've loved reading SF/paranormal/sci-fi since I was a kid. I live in Anytown, USA with my partner and our eleventeen parakeets." Check the back cover or jacket flaps of some of your favorite authors' books for ideas of what sorts of things to include. It's true that you don't want to include anything that's truly irrelevant (as your M.A. or M.Ed. is in this particular case- though it wouldn't be if you were writing an amateur sleuth who's a teacher!), but those small snippets of detail about your personal life can really help you seem like a real person to your readers. <br /><br />I can go into more detail about this in a blog post next week, now that I think about it more. Thanks for the idea!Courtney Miller-Callihanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16225069684616730801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026702090530441760.post-16392551339390812882011-09-15T08:57:40.390-07:002011-09-15T08:57:40.390-07:00The bio paragraph is something I really struggle w...The bio paragraph is something I really struggle with. (I also noticed your agency's submissions call for a brief bio or resume.) If you have no writing credentials, no contest wins and you're writing fantasy/paranormal/sci-fi (so real world experience doesn't exactly apply), what do you include? I have a master's degree in education, but that has nothing to do with the novel I'm writing, and every piece of advice I've gotten says not to include un-related details. The best I've got is - "I have a beautiful imagination that I cherish and am grateful for every day. I love words, writing and skipping through new worlds on the spines of books." Which isn't eactly a query worthy statement. Any advice for debut authors like me?Sara Raynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04679068025825860239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026702090530441760.post-52297929461960026612011-09-14T18:06:20.786-07:002011-09-14T18:06:20.786-07:00Courtney - thanks so much (once again). Very helpf...Courtney - thanks so much (once again). Very helpful advice. I appreciate it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026702090530441760.post-58894879642514060922011-09-14T17:11:41.757-07:002011-09-14T17:11:41.757-07:00Thank you for including the critique in a post. Th...Thank you for including the critique in a post. This was so helpful for me. I can be told a million times how to do something, but being able to see it "done" and see your critique is priceless!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com