Dear John, I Need to Write a Query Letter

by Kimberly Rae

A great query letter needs only two things: a hook sentence at the beginning that catches the editor’s attention, and the information that editor needs to know if your article would make a good fit for his/her magazine.

If you're nervous about getting started, you may want to try publications that do not pay first (they get less flooded with query letters). Sally Stuart's Christian Market Guide lists not only the publications, but the editor's name, e-mail address, and what they are looking for as far as topic and word count.

Here's the order I use for writing queries (see the sample below for formatting and contact information, etc.):

1. The hook (don't start with fluffy stuff, jump right into a question or statement that will catch the editor’s eye)
2. More detail about the article/book and what benefit readers will get out of it
3. Any important details like word-count, whether first rights or reprint rights are offered, etc.
4. A clear question, such as "Would you be interested in using this article in your magazine?"
5. My credentials—how many times I've been published, or what experiences I've had that make me knowledgeable on the topic
6. Sincere gratitude and a closing comment

(The more concise you can be, the better--white space is your friend when it comes to queries.)

Here's an example of a query I used recently for a magazine article (if you're like me and visuals are much more helpful than explanation):

Kimberly Rae
mailing address
e-mail address

Editor’s Name
Magazine Name

Date

Dear Mr. so-in-so,

The Bangladeshi boys were excited about going to Bible camp, learning about the heroes of the faith.  When the trip was stopped, their leaders beaten, and the boys taken to prison, they realized that this year, instead of learning about the heroes, they had the chance to be like the heroes.  So, like Paul and Silas, they sang in the prison, and scratched Bible verses onto the walls for future prisoners to find.

In Jail for Jesus, based on true events, is attached for consideration for your Heroes of the Faith issue.  It has been published once before, in Guide magazine (2010) so reprint rights are offered.

Would you be interested in using In Jail for Jesus! in Cadet Quest magazine? I have been published over 150 times, including once before in Cadet Quest.

Thank you for your time.  I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,
Kimberly Rae

www.stolenwoman.org

www.stolenwoman.blogspot.com

Now, don't start freaking out if you haven't been published 100 times or whatever. If you've been published once, say so and tell them what and where. If you've never been published, tell them that you regularly speak on this subject, or that you believe readers will be encouraged about your article because _____. Just don't go for the new-kid vote, as in "I've never been published before and I really want to get published, so..."

Well, are you excited about getting started or overwhelmed and want to give up already?  I promise it gets easier the more you do it. Writing queries is a learn-able skill, like driving, so once you get it mastered, it becomes second nature.  It's the starting that's the hardest, so don't get discouraged—just get started!
__________________________

Kimberly Rae has lived in Bangladesh, Kosovo, Uganda and Indonesia. She now writes from her home in Lenoir, North Carolina, where she loves to write outside overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her first novel, Stolen Woman, a Christian suspense/romance story on international human trafficking, is available in paperback and on e-book. Find out more at www.stolenwoman.org or read about Kimberly’s overseas adventures on her blog at www.stolenwoman.blogspot.com.

Meet Kimberly online at her website, blog or Facebook.

Wouldn't You?

by Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief

Wouldn’t you like to have the best idea for a book?

Wouldn’t you like to write that book and see it published within sixty days?

Wouldn’t you like that book to be a runaway best seller?

Wouldn’t you like for that book to be made into a movie?

Wouldn’t you like for that movie to be the best movie in decades?

Wouldn’t you like that to be the biggest grossing film ever?

Wouldn’t you like the publisher to give you a contract for ten more books?

Wouldn’t you like the movie producers to commit monies up front to produce them all?

 

Well? Wouldn’t you?

Start writing!

 

You must be mistaken!

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director

Not really me. I don't wear horizontal stripes.

I couldn't have been any older than eight or nine but I'll remember the moment as long as I live.  I was watching a TV show and at one point, the station went into a commercial break. But instead of an ad for Texaco or Alka Seltzer, there was only a black screen which lasted for many attention-getting seconds. After an eternity, a countdown slate appeared and, finally, a commercial came on. Even at that young age I realized an error had been committed and thought, "This is professional TV! That can't happen!"

Up until that time I believed TV had to be perfect, including all the broadcasters, actors, and everyone connected to it.  This was big time entertainment, with no room for error!  In my shell-shocked state, I made a pint-sized pledge to myself that if I ever worked in a professional capacity, mistakes like that would never happen on my watch.

Today I know better. Careers in the arts and media have since educated me about the reality and the frequency of technical difficulties, dead air and human error. In my modern-day position with a fine metropolitan magazine, I see (and make) no fewer mistakes, which keeps me humble and grateful for our team of trusty proofreaders.  I wish I had a fiver for each time I carelessly typed one word while thinking another, or tried to spell dilemma "dilemna" (though I swear that's how they spelled it at my school)!

With that in mind, you'll appreciate an excellent post written by Brian Clark of Copyblogger. In his 15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly, Brian spells out some of the most common grammatical errors writers make.  I invite you to check it out.

Here's to a faux pas-free writing week for all of us.  Meanwhile, I'll be monitoring local TV today to see how many Memorial Day car commercials are still running, and saying a little prayer for all the nine year olds whose faith in mankind is dashed.

 

Title Tips

by Linda P. Kozar

Kings and Queens have them. So do politicians. Men and women in the military salute those who have them. Your boss has one, and maybe you do too. Whether you sit on a throne or a tractor, titles are important. And the same is true of book titles. A good title should attract an editor’s eye the same way it would attract a reader’s.

A good title is like a good opening and should:

 

Attract the reader’s attention, be memorable, appropriate to the content, interesting or evocative, represent your work, be identifiable with your brand and most importantly, a title should be exciting!

A good title can:

Be a popular expression or a play on words, come from an existing work, be a person’s name, reflect your setting, be possessive, put forth an association of ideas, represent an event or activity, repeat a memorable line from a story, or have rhythm.

Suggestions to “Work” Your Title:

1.  What is the book’s genre?

2.  Keep the title short and sweet.

3.  Make it descriptive –The Great Gatsby was originally called “Trimalchio in West Egg”

4.  Ask yourself, “If someone is typing keywords in a search engine, what other things

     would come up next to your title?

5.  Be open to changing your title if the publisher wants you to.

6.  Describe the book.

7.  Reduce your story to the lowest common denominator and that could be your title.

8. Look into your heart—you’re the writer!

9. Ask advice from a close friend or critique partner who has read the manuscript.

10. Find a phrase that jumps out “Soylent Green is people!”

11. Is there one character that stands out? Try that character’s name.

12. Write down a long list and rearrange the words. Cross some off.

Take Care With Your Title

Most titles on the bestseller list are no more than three words long. But don’t rule out a long title, because sometimes they work.

Invent your trademark title: Example: Author Janet Evanovich’s series “One For the Money.”

Titles are not copyrighted. Submit several title ideas with your proposal.

A title can be:

• a popular expression: What’s Up Doc?
• a play on words: Pushing Up Daisies
• a hidden meaning: Along Came a Spider
• from an existing work: The Bible
• a person’s name: Rebecca
• your setting: Jurassic Park
• possessive: Charlotte’s Web
• an event or activity: Finding Nemo
• a line or quote from the story: To Kill a Mockingbird
• rhythmic: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
• simple: Jaws, The Exorcist

If an editor likes your title, it is more likely they will look at your proposal with an open mind and an attitude of expectation. They will want to like your work. A good title also tells a publishing house a lot about your creativity. It’s up to you to keep their interest beyond that über title, with a dazzling story to match it. 

_________________________________________________

Linda P. Kozar is the author of Babes With A Beatitude—Devotions For Smart, Savvy Women of Faith (Howard/Simon & Schuster, Hardcover/Ebook, 2009), Misfortune Cookies (Barbour Publishing, Print, 2008). Misfortune Cookies, the upcoming A Tisket, A Casket (June 3), and Dead as A Doornail (June 10) (Spyglass Lane Mysteries, Ebooks, 2012), and Strands of Fate (Annie’s Attic Mysteries, Hardcover, 2012).

What are you reading?

Today on Suite T, here's a question for you, fellow writers:

What book(s) are you currently reading, and why do you enjoy this type of book?

The Artistry of Brevity: Poetic Succinctness

by Debbie Harris

The brief burst of beauty from a flower, the budding splendor of a dogwood tree draped in the majesty of spring, the seemingly overnight transformation of God’s creation going from fall, winter, spring, summer. All are but a brief, succinct glimpse of the poetic brilliance of our Creator. Yet in reality the creation of God and all His people go through a long time process of transformation which in due time brings out the glory of the long awaited blooms of redeemed beauty.

So in poetry there are bursts of brilliant creative genius in such poets as James Weldon Johnson’s The Creation when he uses the succinct repetitive line of “And God saw that it was good.”

Countee Cullen’s twelve line poem, Incident, reminds us that truly we are created in the image of God, the creator of the universe, and everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. The last line of his poem that came from the agony of his heart, “I saw the whole of Baltimore from May until December [but] of all the things that happened there that's all that I remember!" This is a powerful and brilliant example of capturing a life changing devastating incident of prejudice into twelve lines.

Some of the greatest examples of brevity in poetry is found in the hymns of the Christian faith. Here are but a few: Amazing Grace by John Newton, Have You Any Room For Jesus by Daniel Whittle, Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee by Henry Van Dyke, Crown Him With Many Crowns by Matthew Bridges, & Godfrey Thring. All were poets who took the great doctrines of faith and made it come alive through the artistry of poetic brevity. Emily Dickinson’s poems are often times brief paintings of poetic succinctness. Her poem, I'm Nobody, Who Are You, is a humorous, jaunty, and whimsical look into the concept of self importance. This poem is only eight lines and one of her most famous.

There is great beauty in succinctness of thought and word. It is oftentimes found in art, music, and poetry, and in the Bible. It is located in the Psalms and in many of the poetic books of the Bible. The brevity, brilliance, and barometer of the love of God for the world is found in Psalms 23 and in so many of the Psalms as David chronicles his life journey with God through poetic verse. Psalms 23 is only six verses. Six brilliant succinct divine poetic gemstones used to comfort those going through a difficult time. 

So how does the poet achieve poetic succinctness, artistic brevity in their work? Here are some suggestions:

-Study poetic forms that utilize brevity.
-Study cadence, rhythm, rhyme, word choice and poetic imagery.
-Research poets you like that are masters of poetic succinctness.
-Challenge yourself to write a 8-14 line poem. Be willing to write, rewrite, cut and edit.
-Realize artistic brevity takes practice, practice, practice to achieve.
-Never give up on your dream of writing poetry.

Happy poetry writing. Have fun experimenting with the artistry of brevity and succinctness.
________________________________________

Debbie Harris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Education, a Master of Performance Studies degree from Bob Jones University, and a Masters of Science degree from Texas A & M University at Commerce with a double emphasis in School Counseling and Community Counseling. She has also served as Assistant Professor of Speech & Drama at Grand Rapids Baptist College and Seminary (now Cornerstone University) and as Adjunct Professor of Drama at Dallas Baptist University. 


She is currently a School Counselor and has been a volunteer Chaplain at Parkland Hospital. Her passion is to further the Kingdom of Jesus Christ through Christian Poetry. She is the author of  a poetry series, Which Church Am I? which is listed on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Christian Bookstore Distributors. She is currently working on her next book, 365 Christ Centered Contemplative Poems. 

Author Promise

by Annette Cole Mastron

Have you ever been hooked by a book, entranced with the plots and sub plots, complete with unsuspecting twist and turns? The kind of book you stay up past your bedtime into the wee hours of the night to finish. An author's dream, readers who stay up to finish a book you wrote. Yippee!  But then you reach the last page, and the story doesn't end. Sleep deprived and left hanging (with no possibility of a sequel) you suddenly want to throw the book across the room and scream, "Seriously, are you kidding me?" The wonderfully woven story is left unfinished as if the author reached the max of words and was told, wrap it up. 

That's what happened to me with one of my pre-summer reads this week. This well-known Southern writer has a long history of NYT best sellers; many I had read and loved. In reflection, I suspect this particular book with its many issues was more of a personal memoir. Possibly the reason the author left the stories unfinished is because there is no ending to the author's life stories. What may just be an author's airing of their life stories as fictional when it is really more auto-biographical is translated into frustration for the reader.  

Note to self, don't write a book and leave all the woven stories unfinished for my audience. I'm not asking for a neat package-type fairytale ending; messy is fine, just complete the stories introduced. As a reader I want and deserve a finished tale. Okay, authors time to take the vow, are your pinkies raised? “I promise to always finish the stories I start with a plausible definitive ending.” 

Authors are you with me?

Lessons from the Feud

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director


Call it mindless entertainment, a cheap thrill, or just a way to kill 30 minutes but I'll admit I'm one of those who'll stop on the Game Show Network if Family Feud is in the middle of Fast Money. I've got to stick around and see if my answers are better than those of the contestants, and of course they are, unfettered as I am by no lights, cameras, or pressure.

But my real motives are far more academic than just a momentary ego boost, as there is much to be learned about our craft of writing when we look into some of the psychology of Family Feud. Starting with one of the most oft-repeated principles in writing circles:

SHOW, DON'T TELL

Back in the days of Richard Dawson, there was a lot of non-game gab. In fact, the show was fairly insufferable for the first few minutes as he interviewed each individual contestant, asking where they're from, what they do for a living, how many pets they have, everything short of who they were in a past life. Doing so was fairly standard game show patter, and I blame it all on Groucho, who started the whole business of interrogating contestants to get them to say the secret word on You Bet Your Life.

But that's not the case in this 21st century, as today's audiences won't sit still for long. We're used to MTV music videos, jump cuts, and getting right down to business. We're here for the main course, so show us the money. As writers we likewise needn't spell out every single laborious detail for the reader. Rather than have a character tell them that he's spent the last ten years hating his job as an accountant, show him at work, sweating over a ledger and being forced to work late by a demanding boss.  They'll get it.

HOW MANY HOSTS?

Take a guess. How many different hosts has the Feud had over the years? There's Richard Dawson, of course. It's easy to forget Ray Combs and Louie Anderson, as they don't seem to show up in reruns. My personal favorites, Richard Karn and John O'Hurley came next, and now they have Steve Harvey. That's six distinctly unique personalities with whom the show has always worked, because the time-tested formula remained popular and was never dramatically tampered with. We aren't there for the host as much as the game itself, or the plot, if you will.

As we've discussed before, a good plot can be retold again and again under different disguises. West Side Story was Romeo and Juliet, complete with balcony scene. Give a proven story a facelift and the audience loves the combination of freshness and familiarity.

GOOD ANSWER!

"Name a food item that goes bad if it's not refrigerated."
"Umm..."
"Three seconds."
"An apple!"

What in the world was this question?

You have to feel some empathy for the family members, who, after their inlaw gives a woefully pathetic response, still muster the ability to clap and say "Good answer!" You can even hear the weak commitment level in their voice. Yet they support their teammate, why? Because friends don't let friends go down in flames on national television.

The lesson to be learned here is that when we're writing, we are not on national television, so those rules don't apply. Rather than seek (or give) false praise over a less than awesome manuscript, the situation calls for genuine feedback from a trusted source that won't just say what feels good. Whether it's our critique partner, spouse, agent, or editor, it's everyone's responsibility to help one another make our writing the absolute best it can be.

The world of literature will be better for it, and maybe people will spend more time reading (instead of watching silly game shows).

Viggo Mortensen on Rejection

by Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor

Sherry Perkins has a great article in our Southern Writers Magazine May/June issue entitled Viggo Mortensen: On the Poet’s Road. Many of us know Viggo Mortensen as the actor of such great films as Witness, A Walk on the Moon, 28 Days, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Twin Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The King Returns,  Hidalgo, A History of Violence and many more. What many of us may not know is Mortensen’s talents as a painter, jazz musician, photographer, writer and poet. Sherry Perkins has brought out his writing talents and discussed with him many challenges writers face.

One thing Mortensen was asked about was rejection. Sherry asked,

“Before you were a celebrity, how did you deal with rejection?”

Mortensen pointed out that he doesn’t like them any more now than he did then. Mortensen went on to say one learns to take it a little less personally or to at least to recover from it a little more easily. We can only wonder how long or how many rejections it takes before it gets easier. It would be great to know the rejections we get will eventually be easier to accept. But we must realize, as Mortensen said, if we cannot learn to accept rejection we will end up trying another line of work.

Rejection is a personal thing each and every one of us must deal with. It can be hard for us to understand that an award winning actor continues to deal with it but it is there. It may become easier but it is there. If we are fortunate it will become easier but only if we continue to put ourselves out there. Here is hoping you continue and it does become easier.   

  

Mortensen’s insights on joining a writers group, his influences, writer’s block and other topics are of great value to writers and I hope you will take the time to give it a read. Sherry Perkins did a fantastic job with this article. Thank you Sherry!

What's the caption?

It's Friday and time for a little fun, fellow writers!  

Here's a picture without a caption. Come up with one!

Forget Me Not

by Annette Cole Mastron


What inspires or reminds you to write daily? For me, it is a free app for my smartphone/tablet called "Vocabology". This is not an ad for a particular app; just the sharing of a cool tool that works for this writer.

Life tends to evolve daily and without a reminder, I will forget to write, daily. Like you I concoct stories in my head all the time but I have to be reminded to write them down. Once the app is downloaded you have an option to have a reminder sent to "feed your brain". Today, I open the app and was presented with words of the day "skulk" from Merrian-Webster Dictionary, "shower fluffer" from Urban Dictionary, "intromit" from Dictionary.com, "abridge" from Yahoo Education Word of the Day, "windpipe" from TheFreeDictionary Word of the Day, "triangulate" from Wordsmith.Org Word of the Day. There are also Spanish, French, Italian, German and Portuguese words of the day. All words have options of the normal word origin, definition, parts if speech, etc. and there is even an option to hear the word pronounced, which comes in handy towards finding the voice of your writing. Love that all these options come to my phone and remind me to write.

So yes, it's time to write using the words of the day. After being intromited into a shower fluffer when my windpipe was struck by a temperature change, I had to abridge my time under the water. Skulking out of the bedroom fully clothed it was time to triangulate the chores of the day. Thus a story is born.

Stop laughing and pick up your pen or device and begin. Are you writing, yet?

Rejection to Acceptance

by Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief

Rejection! We’ve all dealt with it from time to time. No one likes being rejected. It feels personal, and we take it personally.

To experience this can be awful so it is important that we don’t let it consume us. It’s okay to look at it from each angle but then you must come to terms with how you will allow it to color your thoughts.

When I was in my teens I experienced rejection from some girls in school, and it certainly hurt but my dad told me something important. He said, “Not everyone is going to like you or want to be your friend but it is imperative that you like you and you be a friend to you.” I took his words to heart. For the most part, I’ve tried to live my life that way.

It showed me not everyone would like what I do, would like the decisions I make, like what I write, or even like who my friends are. Therefore, I had to make sure I approved and liked what I did, decisions I made, what I wrote and who my friends were.  This can and does sometimes separate you away from the crowd, but it is more important to be true to yourself and do what is right.

Rejection does occur in life; there's no way around it, but it is just one more step in the growing process on the road to maturity that helps us learn to accept ourselves.