WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.870 --> 00:00:09.640 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Welcome everyone. Welcome 2 00:00:09.690 --> 00:00:14.490 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: if you can see and hear me. Please drop your location in the chat. 3 00:00:15.070 --> 00:00:18.679 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: and I'm going to drop some links for you 4 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:28.229 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: is our last 5 00:00:28.490 --> 00:00:31.420 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: webinar of fantasy writers week. 6 00:00:31.560 --> 00:00:36.359 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: It's been such a great week, and we are so glad that you've been here with us. 7 00:00:37.810 --> 00:00:43.900 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: I see Brian from Canada, Alden from Massachusetts, Bria from Colorado. 8 00:00:44.350 --> 00:00:48.480 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Hello, everyone, Deborah, from Santa Cruz. 9 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:50.370 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Welcome. 10 00:00:50.840 --> 00:00:52.590 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Katie, from Canada. 11 00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:58.369 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: All right. They're coming in quickly now. It looks like you can see and hear me. Just fine. 12 00:00:58.480 --> 00:01:04.790 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: I'm gonna drop those links again here just in case you missed them before you joined. 13 00:01:04.910 --> 00:01:08.120 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: and we are going to get started in just a moment. 14 00:01:08.900 --> 00:01:10.709 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: But first I have just 15 00:01:11.010 --> 00:01:13.330 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: a couple quick notes for you. 16 00:01:13.630 --> 00:01:31.730 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: So your replays from our sessions from Monday through Thursday, and those slides offers. All of that are on the regular fantasy week. Hub that we've been linking to you this week. But today's materials will be on the premium hub. So make sure you're going there. If you want to see the replays, slides 17 00:01:32.070 --> 00:01:51.410 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: session transcripts, special offers all of that. And then those replays will also be going to our community page next week. So by May third, you'll be able to view the replays there as well. In addition to replays from our previous writers, week events. So there's a lot of great content on the community for you to take advantage of. 18 00:01:52.120 --> 00:02:08.890 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: If you would like to keep talking fantasy, writing and view this video content that I just referred to. Please join us in our online writing community. The link is here, and it's also in the chat you just log in with your prorating aid account information. It's totally free. And there's a lot of great conversation happening. We'd love to have you there. 19 00:02:09.130 --> 00:02:33.610 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: We would also really appreciate it if you could share your feedback with us in this type form. It's it will only take you a couple of minutes to fill out, but it really helps us to gather your thoughts and opinions on how we did this week. We love hosting these writers events, and your feedback helps us tailor them and make them better, and also continue to have them. So we'd really appreciate it if you could take a moment to do that for us 20 00:02:34.680 --> 00:03:04.490 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: reminders for today's session. If you have a question, please put it in the QA. Box, so it does not get lost in the chat, and if you would like to chat with folks who are who are here today, you are welcome to do so please just make sure you select everyone in the dropdown menu so that everyone can see your messages, because by default they just come to us. So change that, and then you can chat away and once again reminder that all of today's links materials replays. They will be on the fantasy 21 00:03:04.490 --> 00:03:16.390 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: writers. Week premium hub, not the regular hub. So the link is in the chat for you again there, and we also have some special offers and links from our speakers, so make sure that you check her links out. 22 00:03:16.430 --> 00:03:21.539 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: And with further, without any further ado, I am so excited to introduce our speaker to you. 23 00:03:21.870 --> 00:03:29.509 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: marvelous. Michael Anson has been writing for over a decade, and has self-published a thriller his dark reflection to critical acclaim. 24 00:03:29.510 --> 00:03:52.450 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: She was shortlisted for the future World prize in 2023 winning mentorship from the top. Uk. Editor. Her debut fantasy novel, first born of the Sun, was shortlisted for the 2022 Jericho writers, Friday night live competition, and the 2022 kit to Wall Bursary was long listed for the 2023 Rev. Pit competition and won the 2023 Jericho writers, self edit. Course Bursary. 25 00:03:52.500 --> 00:04:17.340 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: In addition, Marv is a filmmaker who wrote and and produced an award winning short film in 2016, and is the recipient of the 2017 Afrif Film School Scholarship Program. She works as a technology consultant during the day and a storyteller at night. She is a member of the Society of Authors, Alliance of Independent Authors, and the British Fantasy Society. She is represented by Akio Lupo from Binary Agency. 26 00:04:17.630 --> 00:04:22.749 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: I'm going to stop sharing welcome, Mar, we're so happy to have you here. 27 00:04:22.750 --> 00:04:42.050 Marvellous Michael Anson: Hi, thank you. So sounds like such an impressive buyer. Thank you. For introducing me, and I'm so happy to be, and I can't even believe how many people on the call. Thank you. Everyone for joining are you okay for me to start. 28 00:04:43.420 --> 00:04:47.440 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Yes, take it away. I will just be here in the background, learning with everyone else. 29 00:04:49.280 --> 00:04:51.360 Marvellous Michael Anson: Hey? I'm just gonna share my screen. 30 00:04:54.260 --> 00:05:11.019 Marvellous Michael Anson: Okay? I have a few screens, so I'll be looking left and right. But just I'll I'll I'll come back to you. But today this workshop really is going through query letters. What to do, what not to do? I'll show you a few examples. 31 00:05:11.323 --> 00:05:26.180 Marvellous Michael Anson: I'll show you mine that got me my agent. And I have a few submissions from you guys. That I'm going to show you the kind of questions I asked. When I'm critiquing some of the feedback that I give, I'll do that for about 3, 32 00:05:26.180 --> 00:05:44.570 Marvellous Michael Anson: and then we move on to questions and answers. So if you have questions and I welcome you to have questions, just put them in the question. And so you can start now. You could start as I go through the presentation, or when I go through the queries and I'll make sure that there's enough time at the end to come back and answer all of them. 33 00:05:48.310 --> 00:05:55.639 Marvellous Michael Anson: So we've already gone through this. So I would just skip the bail section. But 34 00:05:55.720 --> 00:06:02.309 Marvellous Michael Anson: one thing I just want to. Highlight is that my fantasy novel? First one of the sun is coming up with Penguin Michael Joseph next 35 00:06:02.500 --> 00:06:03.510 Marvellous Michael Anson: Paul. 36 00:06:03.830 --> 00:06:09.739 Marvellous Michael Anson: So we're just at least over a year out. Very excited for that and I hope that 37 00:06:09.900 --> 00:06:14.029 Marvellous Michael Anson: you know you read about it and are excited about it, too. 38 00:06:14.140 --> 00:06:16.050 Marvellous Michael Anson: But today we're here to talk about 39 00:06:16.260 --> 00:06:30.119 Marvellous Michael Anson: query letters. And this is what the agenda kind of looks like. We're looking at. Query letters, the elements of query letters. So I'm going to break that into small chunks and talk about in detail what goes into each section. One thing about letters is that 40 00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:46.855 Marvellous Michael Anson: very much like how you write, cover letters for businesses or like job applications. There is a standard, and there is a format that agents expect when you when you send them those letters. And you want to make sure that you're setting yourself up for success 41 00:06:47.190 --> 00:06:56.210 Marvellous Michael Anson: and setting up yourself to be read, really, because when you attend festival, so you meet agents in person, you, you know, hear them often say that 42 00:06:56.880 --> 00:07:09.570 Marvellous Michael Anson: they're able. They're often able to tell if they're going to continue reading even just the letter or moving onto the manuscript reading seconds. And so you want to make sure that you've kind of presented yourself in the best way, as we're going to go through what that looks like. 43 00:07:12.430 --> 00:07:17.472 Marvellous Michael Anson: So what is a query? Letter? This again. It's a formal letter. 44 00:07:18.440 --> 00:07:47.680 Marvellous Michael Anson: because of how publishing is now, and how accessible, more accessible it is than in the past. It tends to feel a bit a little less formal, but it really is a very formal letter, because it's your introduction. If you consider yourself as a writer as an offer to be a business. It's your introduction to a business partner, and that's exactly how you should consider these letters to be. So these letters can be going to agents. It can be going directly to publishers, their publishers, who 45 00:07:48.082 --> 00:07:59.767 Marvellous Michael Anson: would have like open submissions, you know, different times during the year. Or you could be directly to magazines or anyone else who is taken in submissions. 46 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:09.964 Marvellous Michael Anson: The standard for these kind of letters is anywhere from 200 to 400 words. Depending on your type setting. So say, you're using times new Roman 47 00:08:10.770 --> 00:08:15.099 Marvellous Michael Anson: with like a size of 12 you can get away with up to 500 words 48 00:08:15.640 --> 00:08:16.539 Marvellous Michael Anson: I would 49 00:08:16.570 --> 00:08:25.249 Marvellous Michael Anson: strongly advise not going over a page. But any. I think any amount you can fit onto a single a 4 paper is generally okay. 50 00:08:25.940 --> 00:08:41.940 Marvellous Michael Anson: and it says, Here you're, you're trying to include in this letter the topic of your work, the target audience, a short description of the plot, and a bio section for of the office. So this is everything that's going into that one single page. A query letter is different from a synopsis 51 00:08:41.940 --> 00:08:53.447 Marvellous Michael Anson: synopsis is a summary of your entire book. I'm not gonna go into that into in much detail during this kind of workshop, but the purpose of your synopsis is to give a summary of of your book. 52 00:08:53.750 --> 00:09:13.270 Marvellous Michael Anson: And so this can be one page ideally, if it has to be 2 pages. You need to kind of justify it. So if you're writing up to 2 pages, and the story is dragging 80 to be, or you're bringing in too many point of views into the synopsis. Then you, the person reading your synopsis, might then get feel a bit out of it. 53 00:09:13.581 --> 00:09:37.759 Marvellous Michael Anson: It's very much a technical letter. So you're not in in itself, specifically, you're not really looking to be flowery or have the best pros or anything like that. You're just trying to say, you know she woke up in no, should not. She woke up in the morning, but she did this, and then she did that, and then this happened, and then that happened. And and then this is how it ends. I mean synopsis. You would always want to say how it ends. You say all the tips and all the tricks. 54 00:09:38.404 --> 00:09:43.845 Marvellous Michael Anson: Any mystery, any suspects. Everything is unveiled in that synopsis letter. 55 00:09:44.920 --> 00:09:48.199 Marvellous Michael Anson: in your query letter, however, you want to keep the 56 00:09:49.000 --> 00:10:11.389 Marvellous Michael Anson: the ending twist a mystery. You want to not let them know what it is. Because it's a pitch. It's it's, you know, part of what's in your query would be what your agent will use would be what your editor would use. What some of it might even eventually end up on your blurb in your book. So it's the thing that picks interest as opposed to the thing that explains what the book is about. 57 00:10:15.130 --> 00:10:31.509 Marvellous Michael Anson: So when we look at the key elements of query. Letter writing. I've kind of broken it down into what addressed to. And so this is the agent or agency that you're applying to. It's really important with this to research your agent and have a list. 58 00:10:31.812 --> 00:10:52.049 Marvellous Michael Anson: I'm a very spacious person. So I have an excel sheet of all the agents that I wanted, what times they were open! If they were open or closed, what agencies they belong to, what their timelines for responses. Where what genres they wanted, what they said in their manuscript wish list. So it takes a bit of research, however, in my writing process. 59 00:10:52.050 --> 00:11:15.579 Marvellous Michael Anson: this was the kind of research that I like to do. This was the fun bit just like when you're editing, and you're tired of that, or you're just tired of looking at your work, and you want to do something productive. What's not quite writing? That's when you want to pick up, you know, doing research like this, and there many, many platforms where? You can, you know, do this research treat it being one of them manuscript wish list as a website that does some of them. And 60 00:11:15.810 --> 00:11:28.068 Marvellous Michael Anson: the goal with this is to make sure that you're picking an agent one that is open for submissions to the accepts what you're sending in. So the accept stories in the general that you're sending in 61 00:11:29.730 --> 00:11:32.009 Marvellous Michael Anson: and but 3 is 62 00:11:33.930 --> 00:12:03.610 Marvellous Michael Anson: on. For example, when you look at the amount manuscript, wish list. You think you see things that they like things that you don't like, things that you know. Often agents will have a list of books that they've enjoyed, or you know they would say something like this. And so you can generally tell from the vibes that they put on on that paper on that kind of page. Whether or not you think there'll be a good fit. I often advise having a longer list and shorter. Th! They are incredibly lucky people that will send out, for. 63 00:12:03.650 --> 00:12:23.529 Marvellous Michael Anson: you know, queries, and they will have like 2 offers out of that, or all 4 in my case, I created about 50 agents out of that I probably had about maybe 15 full requests, and then ultimately, like one offer. So I definitely would recommend you having a larger list 64 00:12:23.911 --> 00:12:29.630 Marvellous Michael Anson: than a smaller one. And when it comes to sending in badges I'll come back to this, but 65 00:12:30.350 --> 00:12:49.220 Marvellous Michael Anson: sometimes the advice is to send in batches of like 10 but things have changed very much. Post pandemic. So pre pandemic, you know everyone the the response. Times were a bit better, and so you could afford to wait. But now people are waiting 5, 6 months to 66 00:12:49.220 --> 00:13:09.192 Marvellous Michael Anson: get any sort of response. So even the feedback that you might be waiting for in other to implement those changes in your query letter might not come in a timely manner, so I personally recommend sending in as large a batch as you can. So when I was querying, I probably sent about 10 a week, and that's cause 67 00:13:09.520 --> 00:13:23.969 Marvellous Michael Anson: for some of them. I would personalize the letter. You don't have to personalize the letter. I would not recommend doing it for more than 10 to 20% of your entire sample size. And that's because it's really time consuming and not everybody cares. You know. What they want to read is what's in your 68 00:13:24.228 --> 00:13:50.639 Marvellous Michael Anson: what? What is your pitch? What your story is about? If you've met them through like a tweeter pitch, maybe they liked your page, or you met them at a conference, you you pitch to them in person. If you have kind of any connection specifically that you want to mention. Then I would advise for you to have that personalized note to say, Oh, you know, this is how I have interacted with you. Do you remember me not. Don't write. Do you remember me? But it will be a prompt for them to remember you from that interaction. 69 00:13:51.593 --> 00:13:53.310 Marvellous Michael Anson: Otherwise I would say, just 70 00:13:53.610 --> 00:13:57.479 Marvellous Michael Anson: send it. In your introduction. 71 00:13:57.790 --> 00:14:26.340 Marvellous Michael Anson: It is really important for you to have your metad metadata, which includes your title, your word, count comparative titles, media mashups. And again, personalization is optional depending. You know who you sending it to. I'm going to a bit more detail with this. I'll just skip along the pitch or your in your query generally is about 3 paragraphs long. It's in the middle of your letter. And it's so so important to make sure that it's concise you're not. 72 00:14:26.660 --> 00:14:38.239 Marvellous Michael Anson: You're not necessarily telling the story again the way you would do in a synopsis. You're more trying to excite the reader. On what's happening within this story. 73 00:14:38.736 --> 00:14:46.713 Marvellous Michael Anson: And then fun. Finally, in your body, you want to make sure that you're professional but friendly people tend to be. Sometimes 74 00:14:47.540 --> 00:15:12.739 Marvellous Michael Anson: it'd be negative in that. Oh, I know you don't have enough time. But please just look at this. You want to make sure that because again. This is your business partner. When you're querying it very much. Feels like you're waiting for someone to say yes to you, but that that switch kind of flips immediately you get an offer, because then the agent is then pitching themselves to you to say, Would you like me to represent you because you are the creative. You are the talent you are the. 75 00:15:13.270 --> 00:15:30.350 Marvellous Michael Anson: you know. It's your work. That kind of pays them in the end. At the end of the day. On a commission kind of basis. And so you need to present yourself as someone who is confident and self assured, and bring in a business to someone as opposed to kind of anything else. 76 00:15:30.864 --> 00:15:37.890 Marvellous Michael Anson: Here, you want to make sure that you mentioned any writing experience you have. You don't have to have any. 77 00:15:37.890 --> 00:16:02.870 Marvellous Michael Anson: but anything that you do have is worth mentioning. So if you've been shortlisted or long listed in any competitions or awards if you've started writing again, you don't have to have any of these things, but if you do, just mention it, and if you have absolutely none of these things. Just say, this is my first novel, and you know, thank you for considering me, or something like that. You don't have to go on about how you've been writing since you were in. 78 00:16:02.870 --> 00:16:26.050 Marvellous Michael Anson: or how important the stories to you. They already kind of know all of those things. You want to make sure that it's straight to the point. And anything that you mentioned. Say, if you've written a book about a meeting club, and you are like a great need to you, you know it's a hobby, or it's a profession. Then you mentioned that because it kind of sinks outside of things that sync in those ways. You just want to go straight. 79 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:34.786 Marvellous Michael Anson: So I have put my own query letter here to show you an example. 80 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:52.929 Marvellous Michael Anson: there are many, many examples. I always recommend query, shock. There's over 300 queries on there. But you know Janet had kind of gone through and put feedback on it's highly highly highly recommend. I I spent many hours reading through and even though you know. 81 00:16:53.060 --> 00:17:05.829 Marvellous Michael Anson: I never had my own query, have had have feedback from her, but just watching what the original query was that was sent to her, and how she kind of deconstructed it and gave feedback on that is really really helpful. 82 00:17:06.190 --> 00:17:08.760 Marvellous Michael Anson: you know, even just for research, for your own work. 83 00:17:10.430 --> 00:17:13.470 Marvellous Michael Anson: So here I start with greeting, Hi. 84 00:17:13.490 --> 00:17:21.940 Marvellous Michael Anson: agents, first name and last name. Just. It's safer to not assume if someone's a miss, or misses, or Mr. Or whatever just 85 00:17:22.349 --> 00:17:28.739 Marvellous Michael Anson: copy and paste is the way to go here in terms of pick their first name their last name. Just say 86 00:17:29.290 --> 00:17:31.850 Marvellous Michael Anson: you know Hi! First name and that last name 87 00:17:32.530 --> 00:17:34.610 Marvellous Michael Anson: that's enough. Nothing else. 88 00:17:35.247 --> 00:17:36.829 Marvellous Michael Anson: In your introduction 89 00:17:37.130 --> 00:18:00.830 Marvellous Michael Anson: I will show you. You know, examples in the query list as that we'll go through in a minute. Sometimes people start with other things. I think it's best to just start with, you know I'm thrilled to share with you, or I'm glad to introduce to you, or I would like to share with you my novel, and then just go straight to the point. So here I'm introducing first one of the sun, and when I priority it was about a hundred 38,000 words. 90 00:18:01.196 --> 00:18:30.220 Marvellous Michael Anson: It's a big book. It's currently about 155 with my editor. When I had finished writing, it was 170. I don't think you should query 170. It was too big. I cut it down to 150, and I got my first rejection rejection within like 5 Si don't even think she opened issues just like Nope. I'm not going to read 150,000 words. Which is fair, but and it forced me to kind of go back and do some big cutting like that was the kill, my darlings moment! 91 00:18:30.260 --> 00:18:33.460 Marvellous Michael Anson: And then I ended up a hundred 38, and I just 92 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:50.279 Marvellous Michael Anson: hope to God that you know you wouldn't put anyone off but it's an epic fantasy. And so it kind of justifies itself in the in the way this story's told. So it's also really important to know the guidelines, for the word counts within your genre if you're writing young adults. Usually 93 00:18:50.440 --> 00:18:56.379 Marvellous Michael Anson: they would want you to be a hundred 1,000 words, not much more. You can get away with 110, 94 00:18:56.390 --> 00:19:02.346 Marvellous Michael Anson: you will find that they publish novels, the young adult and they go 120 or higher. 95 00:19:02.660 --> 00:19:27.600 Marvellous Michael Anson: I would recommend you editing it to be as tight as possible, so that if you have to expand it and you not have to add more words, there's room for that for you to do with your editor, because again I created 138. By the time I edited with my agent it was 150 when my editor bought it shows like, Oh, we need to reduce the word count. And after the edits were now 155, so I don't think it will grow much more than what it is now. 96 00:19:27.600 --> 00:19:41.930 Marvellous Michael Anson: but that there does need to be room to grow. And you know, you know, publishing those how many things like papers, expensive and all of that. And everyone's trying to be as concise as possible. So it's just something to keep in mind to make sure that you don't kind of get yourself 97 00:19:42.490 --> 00:19:44.070 Marvellous Michael Anson: auto rejected. 98 00:19:45.147 --> 00:19:46.402 Marvellous Michael Anson: So here 99 00:19:47.850 --> 00:19:53.429 Marvellous Michael Anson: writing, it's a new adult fantasy novel with crossover potential. 100 00:19:54.050 --> 00:20:16.669 Marvellous Michael Anson: At the time I wasn't. I, I knew, was kind of a door. I wanted it to be new, adult. But again it was a risk, you know, so so it's not as big as ya or adult, and not everyone kind of recognizes it. But honestly, I just went with it. And then a one line pitch in your introduction that says so. Here I'm saying that it's influenced by Western African Europe culture and the story 101 00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:20.450 Marvellous Michael Anson: explores family royalty and the politics of succession. 102 00:20:20.980 --> 00:20:33.780 Marvellous Michael Anson: That's just a one line page, and that's something that will go in. Your introduction at the end of this sentence is where I would have added personalization to say, Either you like my tweet, or we met at this, or you had requested this. 103 00:20:34.390 --> 00:20:37.260 Marvellous Michael Anson: but that will all come at the end of this pitch. 104 00:20:37.430 --> 00:20:54.280 Marvellous Michael Anson: and then I'm going to the next sentence with no well, sorry within the same paragraph. I'm looking at my coms and media mash ups here. I want to explain a bit because I see I run a query service, and I get a lot of queries. And this is where people kind of get confused. The most. 105 00:20:54.910 --> 00:21:08.929 Marvellous Michael Anson: I'll start with media mashups, because this is what people usually use thinking that they are media mashops are anything in media that gives the same kind of vibes as your book. It could be games, films, movie series, 106 00:21:09.910 --> 00:21:13.410 Marvellous Michael Anson: manga studios, anything that 107 00:21:13.510 --> 00:21:18.839 Marvellous Michael Anson: is similar in theme in bias to what your book is trying to do. 108 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:22.160 Marvellous Michael Anson: And it's okay for you to mention up to 2 of those. 109 00:21:22.370 --> 00:21:35.870 Marvellous Michael Anson: However, that's not what your agent, or your editor, or your pitch letter really needs. You can do without it if you don't have, because it's not mandatory. What is mandatory is having comparative titles, which is what comes, means 110 00:21:36.341 --> 00:21:52.099 Marvellous Michael Anson: and comparative titles, means this book of seed, or will fit alongside these 2 books on the shelf. So how agency is like. If you imagine your book in water stones, what shelf is it on, and what books are around? It's when it's placed in in that shelf. 111 00:21:52.100 --> 00:22:12.290 Marvellous Michael Anson: That's what you're looking for, and this comparative titles have to be books that have been published within the past 2 to 3 years, and they have to it will be good if they've had some moderate success. So you wouldn't want to mention a book that just is so obscure that no one knows about it. So just do a bit of research 112 00:22:12.320 --> 00:22:17.932 Marvellous Michael Anson: ideally. Read some of your book. I think I I read most of the books that I use as my coms. 113 00:22:18.830 --> 00:22:23.730 Marvellous Michael Anson: fairly popular or fairly successful, but nothing like, you know. 114 00:22:23.930 --> 00:22:26.970 Marvellous Michael Anson: Harry Potter, or like demo phones, or 115 00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:28.210 Marvellous Michael Anson: eat 116 00:22:28.330 --> 00:22:33.340 Marvellous Michael Anson: it, can't be the most successful book in the world, because they want you to be kind of 117 00:22:33.640 --> 00:22:44.713 Marvellous Michael Anson: pitching to them to say, even if this was just a moderately successful. These are other moderately successful books that have done well, and I think my book will fit next to that's the goal. 118 00:22:45.350 --> 00:23:10.160 Marvellous Michael Anson: and if you don't have com, so you feel like, oh, my book is so unique! It's not like nothing else. There, just know that you're not trying to copy other books. You're trying to pick out things that are familiar or similar. So you're trying to say to them that, oh, my book is has a desert. There's a thing, or there's a kingdom or is inspired by some particular myth, or and this other book has the same thing, it has the same setting, or 119 00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:23.439 Marvellous Michael Anson: or it has the same tropes, or it has the same kind of main character. So you're just picking one or 2 themes from this books. You're not really trying to copy them. So don't go around looking for books that are exactly like yours, because then you have a really hard time. 120 00:23:28.700 --> 00:23:49.029 Marvellous Michael Anson: so this is like an example of what my Comp. Titus are. You can see big things that Gamma phones here. But again, this is something that I just did for Instagram, as opposed to having in my actual career. But it helps to give you an idea when you're doing your own research and putting together your own kind of graphics to give yourself a sense of what your books really about. 121 00:23:50.700 --> 00:24:02.400 Marvellous Michael Anson: All of this is kind of what I've explained in terms of what mashups are versus, what comparative titles are. Mash ups are nice to have. You can put it. You may not put it comparative titles and mandatory because 122 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:08.689 Marvellous Michael Anson: it goes on. Your agents will also have it in the pitch that they will try to sell your book with. 123 00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:19.080 Marvellous Michael Anson: So here's the pitch. This is the main point of the query letter. And here I've broken it out into 3 paragraphs in my story. Basically. 124 00:24:19.490 --> 00:24:30.409 Marvellous Michael Anson: the first paragraph is like the first act or so. The second can be the second act, and then the third is everything, just before maybe the climax, because again, you're trying to make sure that you're not telling 125 00:24:30.410 --> 00:24:52.260 Marvellous Michael Anson: what the reveal is in your career. Let's say you're you're pitching it to people. I'm not going to read all of this out. But the point here is, it starts with setting up. All my main character is what she has and what she doesn't have. So she's in the in this kingdom. Everyone else has this magic powers that she does not have. The second paragraph, then goes to say, what happens. So 126 00:24:52.280 --> 00:25:01.210 Marvellous Michael Anson: basically, setting the scene in in the first paragraph, this is who she is, and this is what's happening around her. Then second paragraph, the inciting incidents. And what's 127 00:25:01.684 --> 00:25:08.980 Marvellous Michael Anson: what's come out of that? So her best friend was chosen to do something and unwilling to accept this 128 00:25:09.315 --> 00:25:24.310 Marvellous Michael Anson: call upon his life, she goes to break him out, and then she discovers that she has this kind of dark energy around her, and magic and she she's immediately on the run, and, you know, going into Excel. And the third paragraph is then 129 00:25:24.830 --> 00:25:44.490 Marvellous Michael Anson: us telling me, telling the reader what's going on with her. So she, while she's on the run, she's finding out her true identity. She's learning that her best friend that she saved his grandfather killed her mother, and he will stop at nothing to make sure that she's the last of her kind, and at the end you want to have that line that 130 00:25:44.730 --> 00:25:54.740 Marvellous Michael Anson: prompts us into what the very end of the book will be. So what decisions are your characters having to make? And so here Laura is finding herself choosing between her best friend and the magic within her. 131 00:25:57.020 --> 00:26:17.400 Marvellous Michael Anson: These are the pitch questions that I think are perhaps the most important in the entire query, it's one who is your primary character. So by the time you finish writing a query letter, and you look at all of this questions. I think you will have this with you in the hub. But you can also take a screenshot, if you need to. After writing your query letter. 132 00:26:17.640 --> 00:26:45.210 Marvellous Michael Anson: go through every single one of this question and make sure that the answer to the question is already inside of your query letter. If it's not, then you know that you have some editing to do, and things to add in so who is your primary character or character. Sometimes they can be to advise, not mentioning more than 2. But if they're to this, that's okay. What does the character want at the beginning that they don't have. So in my story, Laura. She wants this powers, but she doesn't have it. 133 00:26:45.350 --> 00:26:48.776 Marvellous Michael Anson: and she also wants to save her best friend from, you know. Dying. 134 00:26:49.480 --> 00:27:04.479 Marvellous Michael Anson: What? What is keeping them from getting it in my story as you've seen. The order, the holy order is what's keeping her from her from saving her best friend. What's a stake? If she doesn't get it? He dies. What's the inciting incidents of in the book 135 00:27:04.530 --> 00:27:13.439 Marvellous Michael Anson: in my book. It's Laura. I'm going to save her best friend, Alawani. I'm kind of busting him out of the temple. What's the shocking? Twist his 136 00:27:13.900 --> 00:27:26.252 Marvellous Michael Anson: his grandfather skilled her mother. That's one of the very many shocking twists, but that's what makes it into the query. And what's the setting? It's a kingdom that you know. It's a desert kingdom, that kind of drawers from the sun. 137 00:27:27.580 --> 00:27:38.779 Marvellous Michael Anson: All of those questions are answered in the pitch that you saw be previously. And again, you'll have all of this, so you can see it and compare, and then use it in your own query to make sure that you're answering all of these questions. 138 00:27:39.790 --> 00:27:41.830 Marvellous Michael Anson: Then in the Bio 139 00:27:42.370 --> 00:27:46.770 Marvellous Michael Anson: for me. When I started writing my story it was January 2022. And so 140 00:27:47.280 --> 00:28:12.239 Marvellous Michael Anson: during the summertime I had sent it out to an editor to get some feedback, and I knew that I didn't really have any rights and credits. I had, you know, self published one book, but I hadn't done training courses. I hadn't done competitions. I was very terrified of rejection. So I just I wanted to have more to add to my bio section. So it began, it depends on where you are your journey. But at that point I made the conscious decision 141 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:26.240 Marvellous Michael Anson: the first part of my story, and I'm going to apply to as many competitions as I want, because I want to have things to fit in my bio section. But it is okay. If you're at the end of your query, you're ready with your manuscript, and you have nothing. To include there. Just 142 00:28:26.270 --> 00:28:49.789 Marvellous Michael Anson: that's absolutely fine. Agents love to sign on debut authors, whether it's your Facebook or not. It's not a slight on you. However, it is good experience if you have time, and if competitions are open for you to explore that cause, it also gives you that external validation. And in publishing industry, you know the professionals. They always want to know that another professionals has looked at this. I thought, this is good. 143 00:28:49.790 --> 00:29:10.509 Marvellous Michael Anson: So that's kind of another reason to do it. And so I listed all the competitions that had been shortlisted or long listed for. I mentioned that you know this book is inspired by Europe. Myth, and I'm a Europe woman, and it's, you know, foundation of my coach, or like stories. And then storytelling and that has literally been one or 2 lines. 144 00:29:10.810 --> 00:29:14.420 Marvellous Michael Anson: and then the competitions. And then that's it. Thank you for being here. 145 00:29:14.860 --> 00:29:21.679 Marvellous Michael Anson: You just want to make sure that you're wearing as straight to the point as possible, because your queries are absolutely should not be more than one page. 146 00:29:25.550 --> 00:29:45.740 Marvellous Michael Anson: So, crailer to dos do. Your research talked about that agents hate it when they say I'm not open to this, and then you send it to them because you think for some reason it would change their mind. It just really frustrates them because they get lots and lots of queries you want to make sure you're sending to the right people. You want to make sure that the agent is open to actually receiving queries. 147 00:29:46.980 --> 00:30:13.629 Marvellous Michael Anson: And you want to be professional. You want to keep it to sync. Don't ramble, don't put yourself down. Don't be negative. Focus on your story and not yourself. You know people tend to, especially in Bio section tend to say, You know, this is why I did this. This is why I did that. It's like all of us great. If they, if they offer you. You have so many chances to talk to your agents about that, and then they get to know you on the personal level as well. But in this really short, very formal letter you just want to go straight to the point. 148 00:30:14.005 --> 00:30:20.380 Marvellous Michael Anson: giving feedback and really revision. I would not send out the first real letter right? I had 149 00:30:21.040 --> 00:30:24.179 Marvellous Michael Anson: so many dozens of people go through my career. I said. 150 00:30:24.653 --> 00:30:30.226 Marvellous Michael Anson: At the end of this there's a link to a group, a Facebook group that reviews query letters, 151 00:30:30.710 --> 00:30:54.199 Marvellous Michael Anson: and there's just so many people that you can get help from. But I just I would not recommend sending it out without having people look at it and actually taking those revisions on, and finally just editing and proofreading. So you're trying to convince this person that you can write a book. So usually, if you're writing fantasy, say it's 100,000 words. You want to convince them that you've written 100,000 words that makes sense. They want to know that within this one page of 500 words you have read it 152 00:30:54.370 --> 00:30:57.389 Marvellous Michael Anson: carefully. There are no typos. There's no. 153 00:30:57.410 --> 00:31:01.399 Marvellous Michael Anson: it's a clean letter, that's what they're looking for. So don't 154 00:31:01.540 --> 00:31:04.230 Marvellous Michael Anson: you won't get rejected because of a typo. But 155 00:31:04.820 --> 00:31:09.850 Marvellous Michael Anson: you. You might get rejected with a poorly written 156 00:31:10.218 --> 00:31:14.849 Marvellous Michael Anson: query letter, because then they want to see that you've put in effort into it. 157 00:31:17.550 --> 00:31:20.249 Marvellous Michael Anson: So, Craig, I said. Don't 158 00:31:20.620 --> 00:31:49.070 Marvellous Michael Anson: I just did dues. So don't be negative, I said. That don't lose the pitch. So again, your entire letters 400 to 500 words. Maybe. Max. You want to make sure that you're not going on too much about different things in my book there's 4 different points of views, and they all equally important. However, in my way, let's say, you see, that it focuses just on Laura and what she's doing to save her best friend. It doesn't talk about the people haunting her. It doesn't talk about her brother. It doesn't talk about 159 00:31:49.070 --> 00:32:09.072 Marvellous Michael Anson: all of the other people that I equally as important, and it looks out to speak one person to be my main character for the purposes of the query and follow that line of thought, because once you start to branch out into different point of views on what every other person is doing. It gets too long, and you can't be succinct in that kind of way. Don't overload 160 00:32:10.380 --> 00:32:24.848 Marvellous Michael Anson: do you? Don't give personal information. So then give you address or your phone number, or anything like that. Just your social media if you want. If you don't have social media, that's fine. Your your name, your email address. Yeah, just general stuff. 161 00:32:25.310 --> 00:32:41.969 Marvellous Michael Anson: and yeah, don't ignore the rules that the agents have set for themselves. Some people want 5 pages. Some people want 25 pages. When I was querying, I had so many versions of my manuscripts I had 20 pages. I had 3 chapters. I had one chapter. I had 10 pages, so that once I found an agent that I wanted to send to. I would just 162 00:32:42.298 --> 00:32:46.479 Marvellous Michael Anson: have all of those things basically have my package ready in many, many formats. 163 00:32:48.080 --> 00:33:12.636 Marvellous Michael Anson: So the summary of this is that you're looking at the title of your work. A short one to 2 line page, the genre, and what counts comparative titles, the outline of your plot, some information about your main character, their motivation, some information about you. You're writing experience, any accolades, or why you wrote the story? Why, you have the best person to write this story and your contact details. But simple con contact details. Don't put yourself out there. 164 00:33:13.190 --> 00:33:27.541 Marvellous Michael Anson: and these are just links that you have when you have the Pdf, so this, the first link takes you to your query. Let's all worksheet that allows you kind of practice and gives you those guidelines. Query, shak is a great one to 4 resources. 165 00:33:28.105 --> 00:33:52.289 Marvellous Michael Anson: So big club is a Facebook group that would give you you can post it there and give you it is a public page, though, so it depends on if you're comfortable doing that. But some of the people that can give you feedback, and then my blog has my own query. Let's say, if you want to go with into that a bit more detail. And I also run a query so you can send it to me, and then we can look at it together. 166 00:33:52.801 --> 00:34:03.390 Marvellous Michael Anson: This is taking longer than I thought it would. So I'm going to stop sharing and quickly share the query letters that I got so that I can show you what in live kind of edit. Looks like. 167 00:34:23.159 --> 00:34:25.339 Marvellous Michael Anson: okay, can you see? Screen? Now? 168 00:34:25.820 --> 00:34:26.540 Marvellous Michael Anson: Yep. 169 00:34:30.540 --> 00:34:33.209 Marvellous Michael Anson: okay. So this 170 00:34:34.100 --> 00:34:42.890 Marvellous Michael Anson: this curry letter I have added some things. I've highlighted some things, and I'm just going to kind of top root very quickly and do that for all 3. 171 00:34:43.710 --> 00:34:44.950 Marvellous Michael Anson: So it says. 172 00:34:45.510 --> 00:34:50.930 Marvellous Michael Anson: the reason. I again, all of these are very subjective and 173 00:34:51.190 --> 00:35:10.270 Marvellous Michael Anson: comes down to some of it is personal preference. So they're things that are just how I would write it. And then there are things that are a bit more. This is how it should be, and I tend to kind of clarify the difference between the 2. And I didn't get that feedback so ideally, I would just want this to start with Hope's end. It's a new adult postal fantasy 174 00:35:10.270 --> 00:35:27.996 Marvellous Michael Anson: novel set in the depths of the ocean. So I have highlighted the ocean here, cause as I'm reading it. And I'm thinking, cause when I really, I'm thinking, do I want to read this book? So if you had send this to me as an agent, do I want to read this manuscript, and how might someone react to it? And how much information. Are you actually giving us? 175 00:35:28.250 --> 00:35:47.899 Marvellous Michael Anson: So it says it's a fantasy novel it's supposed to hard to see. And so that tells me a little bit that it might not be on earth. But then it just says, into the depths of the ocean, and then I'm thinking, what ocean like we have like for is it? Is the portal from are we already there? Because it's in the pitch it because it's in the pitch line. You want to make sure that it's as clear as possible. 176 00:35:48.246 --> 00:36:07.699 Marvellous Michael Anson: And then, at the end of this here would be where you would put com. So in this query that I've received. Now there's no coms, there's no media mash up, so I don't know what this person's thinking that the books I don't know what books they're thinking are like theirs. So I have nothing to kind of compare it to, and that's how an agent will think as well. 177 00:36:09.700 --> 00:36:12.290 Marvellous Michael Anson: The next paragraph then goes. 178 00:36:12.380 --> 00:36:20.259 Marvellous Michael Anson: after losing her mom and her brother in a car accident. The only family 19 year old Wren Bishop has left is her best friend Blair. 179 00:36:20.390 --> 00:36:29.849 Marvellous Michael Anson: when powerful other worldly assailants attack, attack them one night and abduct Blair without a trace. Ryan will risk everything to get her back. 180 00:36:29.860 --> 00:36:50.230 Marvellous Michael Anson: So my first question here. So I've read this multiple times. Which is why I said with the questions that. But as I was reading I was thinking, who are these other audio assailants. It could be assassins, it could be ninjas. It could be anyone. So again, you want to make sure that you're removing any kind of strands of things that people might be thinking about and 181 00:36:50.360 --> 00:37:12.269 Marvellous Michael Anson: ground them in this world, that you so you have to do it. Be a world, building your Creator as well, so I can't tell. These are vampires or aliens, you know. Where have they come from? And I thought it was a good intro, because it tells us where our main character is and what she's trying to gain. So I wish I could split my screen, but like if you go back to those questions with the pages, like 182 00:37:12.590 --> 00:37:19.140 Marvellous Michael Anson: with the pitch questions that we're trying to answer, you need to make sure that the query answers all of those questions by the end. 183 00:37:19.170 --> 00:37:30.679 Marvellous Michael Anson: And so it's telling us here that she's then finds a group of mysterious aliens who offer to help her find her friend for something in return. They're asking price rents, blood 184 00:37:30.920 --> 00:37:33.449 Marvellous Michael Anson: and worst case scenario highlight. 185 00:37:34.350 --> 00:37:38.150 Marvellous Michael Anson: And so my questions here are, who are the alien Allies 186 00:37:38.240 --> 00:38:04.518 Marvellous Michael Anson: ideally. I would have wanted the sentence to start with how she met her allies, and how she's determining that they are allies. And so it says, if they are mysterious, how are they allies? So if this had sent sentence had started with telling me, you know, she then met these people, and then working together with them, and then the next line was then talking about these allies. Then I would make I would make the connection. But I just don't have that information at the moment. 187 00:38:05.380 --> 00:38:18.234 Marvellous Michael Anson: and I don't know how she feels about them, either, so I don't know if she's using them as a means to an end. And I don't know what they want her blood for, so I don't know why I should be worried, basically 188 00:38:18.550 --> 00:38:32.419 Marvellous Michael Anson: and I don't know how she feels about this bargain. So does she feel like, Yeah, I can definitely lose a couple of pints of blood for my family and friends. Or is she thinking I'm absolutely not going to do this? But I'm going to pretend like I will again. We need to know 189 00:38:32.560 --> 00:38:38.309 Marvellous Michael Anson: the state of mind of the person you introduce are introducing us to, so that we can understand what the stakes are. 190 00:38:39.510 --> 00:38:46.349 Marvellous Michael Anson: So it says, through this alliance renvers an entire civilization hidden from humans for centuries at the bottom of the ocean. 191 00:38:49.050 --> 00:38:50.699 Marvellous Michael Anson: Here I'm wondering 192 00:38:52.100 --> 00:39:04.217 Marvellous Michael Anson: because we didn't have an introduction to how she met the Allies. We don't know where she is. So this is Portal fantasy. So there's always a huge, huge need to ground the reader. So you need to tell us. 193 00:39:05.940 --> 00:39:19.159 Marvellous Michael Anson: where are we? So I don't know where we are. I don't know if her allies were met in the ocean, or and and I don't know what civilization this is that she's now found, or how she's even got there. So 194 00:39:19.441 --> 00:39:36.810 Marvellous Michael Anson: my question then here is, or she goes on an adventure, and then stumbles out to this. So if it's something that is as well to surprise to her as it is to us. That's fine, but we just need to know where she was when she discovered discovered them. And what are her plans now that she stumbled upon this new world? 195 00:39:37.210 --> 00:39:50.569 Marvellous Michael Anson: All of that, I feel should be answered before we get to, as she explores the world and discovers who to Blair and why, they actually want her instead. Ren realizes that there's much more at stake than her friends live. 196 00:39:51.690 --> 00:40:10.449 Marvellous Michael Anson: So again, I've come back to this with it's a bit too vague, because now that she's realized this. So the census itself is fine, you know. It's structurally fine. It gives us a little bit of information, but it's too vague in terms of trying to understand what's happening in the story and the the entire. So if you see this page, there's still so much more room 197 00:40:10.450 --> 00:40:34.880 Marvellous Michael Anson: in a you know, this single page for us to actually have this information, which is why I've asked a lot of questions with hopes that the letter can get longer utilizing the space that you have and actually giving us information that might help us. So now, I'm thinking, did they take bled to learn? Is that what she's discovering or did they take her thinking she was Ren? You know, does Ren believe that they want her instead? What's the proof? 198 00:40:35.080 --> 00:40:40.990 Marvellous Michael Anson: So what does she see here experience that makes her believe that she's actually the one that they want? 199 00:40:41.292 --> 00:41:06.069 Marvellous Michael Anson: And how do her allies feel about this? So everything you mentioned in your query letter has to be justified and needs to earn its kid. So at the start, we learned that she had Ali, you know, allied herself with these people? Are they in this new world with the civilization? Are they the new civilization? How do they feel about this? Because they had given her a bug in her blood, or in worst case scenario, her life. So how does this kind of look back into that 200 00:41:06.354 --> 00:41:16.319 Marvellous Michael Anson: question that you had asked. You want to make sure that everything closes anything you introduce, or any bracket you kind of open at the start is closed at the end of your query. 201 00:41:17.260 --> 00:41:22.599 Marvellous Michael Anson: And then it says, if Rank can find Blair and defeat her captors. 202 00:41:22.800 --> 00:41:39.344 Marvellous Michael Anson: I'm saying we need more information about captors. We still don't know what this. I would have noted people if they're mare people. If they're aliens. We don't know anything about them. And we don't know what kind of damage they can do. So this takes need to make us feel like, oh, I'm afraid for her 203 00:41:39.850 --> 00:41:54.892 Marvellous Michael Anson: Or I can definitely see how this can be damaging to her life, how her life is actually at risk. At this point I just feel like she's on an adventure. She may save her friend. She may not save her friend. I don't feel like there's stakes 204 00:41:55.520 --> 00:42:05.249 Marvellous Michael Anson: are explained enough in a way, to make me worried for her, and I also don't know if she feels like she can defeat that. So when he says if she can find a way to defeat them, it's like. 205 00:42:05.310 --> 00:42:12.799 Marvellous Michael Anson: how does she feel about that? Is she thinking I definitely have the skill, the power, or I need help, or she's planning something. 206 00:42:12.960 --> 00:42:16.799 Marvellous Michael Anson: It needs a bit more, you know, if she defeats the dark load kind of thing. 207 00:42:17.412 --> 00:42:38.337 Marvellous Michael Anson: And if she feels it could mean it downfall to the entire world. Now, this is perhaps the biggest line of the entire query, because we need to know what that means. We've there's nothing that in the introduction that has put the world itself in danger up onto the last line. And so it's almost like ending something that hasn't started. 208 00:42:39.790 --> 00:43:01.909 Marvellous Michael Anson: we need to know what's the connection between saving her friend and saving the wall. If she did realize that there's a connection we need to figure out that. So that's probably going to be in that middle paragraph by the time you've answered, you know, answered the questions that I put on the side there will probably would have gotten to the point where she realized that this is more than just her her best friend. This is actually the entire world, and how she fits into this puzzle. 209 00:43:02.245 --> 00:43:13.639 Marvellous Michael Anson: Then the Bio section, then says the inspiration came from a trip, and all of that's really great. Ideally, I would I would hesitate to put your age in A query letter 210 00:43:13.700 --> 00:43:16.680 Marvellous Michael Anson: one. Because it doesn't matter 2. You don't want 211 00:43:18.120 --> 00:43:44.310 Marvellous Michael Anson: People can be funny. It's just it's not very relevant information. You don't want anyone thinking you're either too young or too old, which would not be true. But there's no need to give them a reason to be biased one way or the other, so I would take that out completely, and the rest of it is so. This doesn't necessarily have any writing kind of credits in it, but that's absolutely fine. It talks about where inspiration for the book came from talks about where the leave and 212 00:43:44.774 --> 00:44:00.689 Marvellous Michael Anson: an introduction like a short bio about their personal life. And then that's it. So it's a great kind of Bio section. The story itself sounds like it could be interesting. It's just missing a few key stakes that could let us really know what's at stake for end. 213 00:44:02.300 --> 00:44:05.499 Marvellous Michael Anson: I'm going to stop sharing my screen now because we have about 214 00:44:06.000 --> 00:44:14.990 Marvellous Michael Anson: less than 20 min. I was going to go through 2 more, but I think I would rather take your questions, because I can see that there's 32 questions. 215 00:44:16.220 --> 00:44:19.987 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Alright. We do have some questions we can dive right in. 216 00:44:22.020 --> 00:44:40.539 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Katie says I've heard the advice. That is a first time author. Standalone. Books are more attractive to agents than a dology or trilogy, because they'd be taking a bigger risk on a series. Is this true in your experience? If my work is a series. Is it better to make the first book largely self-contained, so that it can be read as a standalone. 217 00:44:41.100 --> 00:44:45.370 Marvellous Michael Anson: Yeah, the simple answer is, yes. So how my book will 218 00:44:45.730 --> 00:45:14.218 Marvellous Michael Anson: my book? When I started writing it I thought it was one book, and by the time I got to like 120,000 words I was still in Act One, or what I thought was my larger story, and so obviously I had to cut that. But I still had to end it in a way that it could be read as a standalone. So basically, whatever you promised at the start of your book needs to be fulfilled within that book, even though there's a larger arc. So you would present that by saying, this book, has a series potential 219 00:45:14.490 --> 00:45:28.810 Marvellous Michael Anson: you know, it's complete at this number of words and has series potential. That's enough. When the agent offers, you can have that conversation saying with them, I believe that this could be a series, or I would like for this to be a series, and then it's up to them at that point to let you know 220 00:45:29.500 --> 00:45:31.860 Marvellous Michael Anson: whether or not they think they can sell it as a series. 221 00:45:34.430 --> 00:45:39.639 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Joseph asks, with your background, do you prefer traditional or self-publication? 222 00:45:42.190 --> 00:46:07.440 Marvellous Michael Anson: I think I need to be of both. I think I'm probably going to be within my career as a hybrid author. Because I have self published. It takes a lot of work because you're one month, one month team. So basically on your day off, nothing's happening. No one's somewhere, magically doing something. Everything kind of comes down to you. In traditional publishing you have to learn a bit more of teamwork, which then means that 223 00:46:07.480 --> 00:46:31.200 Marvellous Michael Anson: you need more than one person to say yes to every single idea before it can move forward. It doesn't mean that. Yes will be hard to get. It just means that it's a lot more collaborative. Self publishing. I can wake up today and say, I want a new cover, and you know, hire designer, and by next week I could have a new cover that would never happen in chat. But you need so many people to say yes, then to find the right person. Then for everyone to say yes to that person. It's just longer steps 224 00:46:31.528 --> 00:46:53.420 Marvellous Michael Anson: but eventually you get the same and and results. What's different again, which I publish in is the amount of obviously, monetary investment that you have into it. Self publishing is great. But you do need to have some capital to put towards. You know, running ads having a good cover make cause your competition is the books that come up from traction on published companies. 225 00:46:54.590 --> 00:47:00.909 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Katie asks for the author. Bio, if I have no formal training in writing, what information should I include here? 226 00:47:01.742 --> 00:47:11.410 Marvellous Michael Anson: I have no formal training. So you can include. If you've done any competitions, you can include those. If you don't have that. Just say, I've written this book. And yeah. 227 00:47:11.990 --> 00:47:31.250 Marvellous Michael Anson: thank you. You don't really have to add anything. That you don't want to. So in this letter we're looking at. This person has then said where her inspiration has come from, or where the inspiration has come from, and said that they live in somewhere with their husband and their pets. Border collie, Louie. 228 00:47:31.620 --> 00:47:32.800 Marvellous Michael Anson: that is perfect. 229 00:47:34.290 --> 00:47:42.239 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Linda asks if you were writing about something that already exists like the Titanic or fairytales, but with a twist, do you put that in the query. 230 00:47:42.490 --> 00:47:43.060 Marvellous Michael Anson: Yeah. 231 00:47:43.720 --> 00:47:52.369 Marvellous Michael Anson: so I would, personally, if if it's a retailing, if it's a twist on something that already exists, that you mentioned it, that this was your inspiration. 232 00:47:54.180 --> 00:48:01.330 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Josh asks, is it worth mentioning that you have successfully published in academic circles when querying for a fiction agent. 233 00:48:01.580 --> 00:48:11.930 Marvellous Michael Anson: That's something you can mention in your in your bio it doesn't add or remove in any way, but it's always good to know that you have experience. Being a professional, and writing in any capacity. 234 00:48:13.380 --> 00:48:16.339 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Ek asks, what is a media mashup. 235 00:48:17.450 --> 00:48:22.049 Marvellous Michael Anson: A media mashup is so for mine, I think I had used 236 00:48:22.140 --> 00:48:34.539 Marvellous Michael Anson: it. It. It's the it's the kind of world building of children of blood and bone, and the storytelling of Mba and dashes. So both of those are books. But the books that have been 237 00:48:34.550 --> 00:48:47.140 Marvellous Michael Anson: published a long time ago now, so they cannot fit as my comparative titles, because comparative titles have to be within 2 to 3 years. There are people who you can use your favorite, you know. Maybe not your favorite series, but a series that 238 00:48:47.210 --> 00:48:52.948 Marvellous Michael Anson: links to your book again, you know, dungeons and dragons. 239 00:48:53.800 --> 00:48:59.170 Marvellous Michael Anson: anything, literally anything can be in your media. Mash up, you can just be. It could be dismissed that. 240 00:49:01.020 --> 00:49:08.499 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Lisha says, when doing comps, do you recommend choosing specific books within a series? Or can you refer to the series in general. 241 00:49:08.860 --> 00:49:09.560 Marvellous Michael Anson: Eva. 242 00:49:09.680 --> 00:49:11.620 Marvellous Michael Anson: whichever is more popular. 243 00:49:13.430 --> 00:49:21.959 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Yalamed, asks, What if you have no professional experience and haven't entered in any competitions, or haven't won any awards. So building off the Bio. 244 00:49:21.960 --> 00:49:36.269 Marvellous Michael Anson: Yeah, just say, you know, this is me. My name is this, I I leave here, and these are my hobbies, or something just something about you. Nothing too personal. Just something light and fun, really, just one or 2 lines is fine. 245 00:49:37.300 --> 00:49:46.259 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Sam says, do you recommend? We absolutely include trigger warnings? Mine has at least half a dozen trigger warnings, and I've been waffling with whether to include them or not. 246 00:49:46.510 --> 00:49:48.539 Marvellous Michael Anson: I included them in mind. You 247 00:49:48.600 --> 00:49:54.290 Marvellous Michael Anson: don't have to, but I would recommend it. Just pick like the top 3 or something the ones that are like really 248 00:49:54.990 --> 00:49:55.860 Marvellous Michael Anson: bud. 249 00:49:57.930 --> 00:50:06.110 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Yellow. Med says, when you send your manuscript as attached files, does it have to be the full manuscript, or just some pages? If so, how many pages. 250 00:50:06.290 --> 00:50:29.369 Marvellous Michael Anson: You must not send your phone on a script to someone who has not requested it. So when you go to an agent's website, they will have on their list of submission, guidelines, rules, and instructions. You must read this very carefully, because they vary and they will tell you how many pages. They want. Some people want 5 pages, someone, 10, someone, 3 chapters. Send them exactly what they've asked for and send it in awards. Document. 251 00:50:30.510 --> 00:50:37.939 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Yalam. It also asks, does the manuscript have to be edited before you send it to literary agents, or editors, or companies or industries. 252 00:50:38.775 --> 00:51:06.809 Marvellous Michael Anson: I would recommend at the very least that you have beta readers. So these are, you know, friends, people in groups. There's so many Facebook groups that have critique partners make sure that at least one other person makes it and gives you their thoughts on what they think. If you can afford it, or you think it's important, because you know that you need help. You can get an editor. Personally, I got an editor to look at my book, but I also had lots of beta readers, so it's 253 00:51:06.930 --> 00:51:09.610 Marvellous Michael Anson: optional. But just do not write a book and send it. 254 00:51:09.650 --> 00:51:16.100 Marvellous Michael Anson: Have someone else give you that external feedback and work on it to make sure that it's the best work that you can offer at the time. 255 00:51:16.980 --> 00:51:24.940 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Sandra asks when an agent asks for a certain number of pages, How do you know how many words that is? Is? Times new Roman double space, the standard. 256 00:51:25.610 --> 00:51:39.200 Marvellous Michael Anson: Yeah. So you can Google, what? The standard is in more detail. But yes, the general ideas. Times no new Roman num number 12 or size. 12 in double space. It doesn't matter number of words if they ask you for chapters. 257 00:51:41.180 --> 00:51:50.030 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Lena says, should I mention that it is like Number one of book number one book of 3? Should I mention that it's been published before, and why you want to re-publish. 258 00:51:51.930 --> 00:52:17.047 Marvellous Michael Anson: If it's being published before, I don't know that you should be sending it out if they haven't reached out to you. Especially if it has been self published before. If it's something that had incredible amount of sales, say, like 20,000 or something like that, you can put that in there and say, You know, I'm looking for representation for this, because it's done really well into in the indie market, and I think it could be of interest, 259 00:52:17.420 --> 00:52:21.280 Marvellous Michael Anson: being supported by traditional publisher. Otherwise 260 00:52:21.300 --> 00:52:29.459 Marvellous Michael Anson: I would say to probably start a new project because they might not want to consider that because it's already out there in the world, so there's no real incentive to re-publish it. 261 00:52:30.910 --> 00:52:40.259 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Sandra asks, how many subgenres should we include like if it's a historical portal fantasy with a romantic subplot, should I say all of that or just adult fantasy. 262 00:52:42.470 --> 00:52:53.470 Marvellous Michael Anson: If it's historical fantasy, then say historical fantasy, that's enough. You don't need the romantic supplies and all of this things, because, ideally, if there's romance in it, it should. It should show in your pitch, anyways. 263 00:52:54.690 --> 00:52:59.440 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Randy asks, can bullet points and headings for each section be used. 264 00:53:00.590 --> 00:53:01.280 Marvellous Michael Anson: No. 265 00:53:02.630 --> 00:53:04.360 Marvellous Michael Anson: no, absolutely not. 266 00:53:04.570 --> 00:53:06.079 Marvellous Michael Anson: Just write it as a letter. 267 00:53:08.310 --> 00:53:18.520 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: We have an anonymous attendee who asks if you've written a stand alone book that could be part of a series, but doesn't need to be. Would you recommend pitching it as a standalone, or as of having series potential. 268 00:53:19.360 --> 00:53:23.660 Marvellous Michael Anson: You will always, always pitch it as having serious potential. You will never say that 269 00:53:23.710 --> 00:53:39.640 Marvellous Michael Anson: it is a series, because when you say that it's a series. It gives the impression that you do not know how to end this book on its own to have its own merits, and then it becomes problematic. It doesn't mean that you can't sell a series because I saw this series and my books coming as a trilogy, but 270 00:53:39.950 --> 00:53:51.269 Marvellous Michael Anson: they need to know that that first book will stand on its own because there's a there's a gap between the first book and the second book, anyways. And so you don't want people thinking you've let them on a cheap Cleef hanger, just because you didn't know how to kind of 271 00:53:51.520 --> 00:53:54.480 Marvellous Michael Anson: and fulfill the promise you had started in the first book. 272 00:53:55.570 --> 00:54:04.840 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Colleen's asks is in the bio should you mention if you're working or retired, for example, retired school teacher, or working as a physicist, etc. 273 00:54:05.620 --> 00:54:06.460 Marvellous Michael Anson: Up to you. 274 00:54:07.538 --> 00:54:14.390 Marvellous Michael Anson: I I try to stray away from age things, but like retired or working is fine. 275 00:54:15.970 --> 00:54:21.640 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Yalamed, asks. You said that it is not necessary to include your age. But what about your country or race? 276 00:54:22.830 --> 00:54:40.589 Marvellous Michael Anson: I would not include Grace. I don't think we're progressed as a people, as a as humanity enough to remove the bias from whoever you might be, ideally, you wouldn't even want to go working with someone. It's it's not necessary for you to include that but you can put where you leave 277 00:54:40.830 --> 00:54:42.780 Marvellous Michael Anson: where you're from, or anything like that 278 00:54:42.830 --> 00:54:54.329 Marvellous Michael Anson: it helps to for proximity as well. You don't have to. I mean the Uk. My agent is in the Us. However, you can definitely pull where you're at where you're from, because if they want to give you a call, they need to know time, zones and things like that. 279 00:54:55.710 --> 00:55:01.619 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Dennis asks, how would you query? 3 standalone novels in the same universe, with the same characters. 280 00:55:02.950 --> 00:55:05.240 Marvellous Michael Anson: You would query just one at a time. 281 00:55:08.550 --> 00:55:19.260 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: And then we have one last question. It's an anonymous one. Can you pitch something as a series? If the full series is already written. Does that decrease the perceived risk of taking the project on. 282 00:55:20.940 --> 00:55:22.950 Marvellous Michael Anson: I don't understand a question. Can you ask again. 283 00:55:23.340 --> 00:55:27.800 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: So can you pitch something as a series? If the series is already fully written. 284 00:55:28.790 --> 00:55:32.980 Marvellous Michael Anson: I would still say you pitched the first book as a stand alone with serious potential. 285 00:55:34.250 --> 00:55:40.430 Marvellous Michael Anson: It helps if they pick it up, and your series is already complete. However remote. You will be doing 286 00:55:40.780 --> 00:56:09.559 Marvellous Michael Anson: significant rounds of edits, many, many, many rounds of edits, and you will likely have to change the significance amount of the second book and the third book. And you know, however many it is anyways, so the priority is always the first book with serious potential, because you might have planned something as a trilogy, and then your publisher is willing to buy it. But they will only buy 2 books, and they wanted to be a duology. And so then you have to do some major moving around. It's okay for you to have completed the series. But you will have to do a lot of work that will pretty much be rewriting the entire thing. Anyways. 287 00:56:11.400 --> 00:56:18.810 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: That was all of our QA. This is the first session. All week we've actually finished all of the QA. Oh, wait! One more just came in. 288 00:56:19.050 --> 00:56:26.250 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Can you show the queries that you had comments or edits for? I would appreciate. So, seeing some examples that fail or succeed, thank you. 289 00:56:27.371 --> 00:56:51.529 Marvellous Michael Anson: I don't know, because these were submitted to us as people's personal ones. So I'm not sure we can share that. You can have mine which I've shared with you. But if again, if you want personal feedback, you can just message me through my website, like, I said, I have a query service, and I'm happy to give, you know, personalized feedback, based on what you actually have within your story and work on it together. 290 00:56:52.070 --> 00:57:01.150 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: I just drop those links in the chat again. Do you want to briefly mention what the next steps are going to be for the letters that you received and didn't get to go through today. 291 00:57:01.310 --> 00:57:17.210 Marvellous Michael Anson: Yes, so I got 3 letters. I will go through them in a bit more detail, and have all the questions and everything. And send it back through Michelle, who will send it back to you. So these 3 that I have will get that kind of full critique from me. 292 00:57:17.870 --> 00:57:31.010 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: So if you didn't get your letter discuss today, the feedback is coming. Don't worry. There's a lot to go over, and we're so grateful that you gave us so much information, and took the time to answer everyone's questions. So thank you so much. 293 00:57:31.010 --> 00:57:33.059 Marvellous Michael Anson: Oh, thank you! Thank you for having me. 294 00:57:33.300 --> 00:57:53.180 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: This was a great finale to our fantasy writers week for everyone who's coming to the networking event next. That will be our last official session. But this is our last webinar now. So thank you so much. Thank you. To everybody who came today, I'm just gonna screenshot this one comment in the chat before it goes away, because I love it so much, and I wanna save it for my feedback 295 00:57:53.540 --> 00:57:54.730 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: document. 296 00:57:55.290 --> 00:58:21.710 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Thank you. Okay, everyone. We thank you so much for being here with us this week. It's been such a fun week, and please stay in the community. Check out the hub. All of that we have lots of lot more exciting things happening this year. So just keep up with us, and we will have more content coming to you. So, thanks again, Marv. We loved having you, and thank you everybody. We'll see you with the networking session. Bye. 297 00:58:21.710 --> 00:58:22.970 Marvellous Michael Anson: You, bye.