On Monday, I wrote about how all stories have — in many ways — been told before.

While that should never stop a writer from writing the story they want to tell, it’s not the only obstacle we face as writers.

Sometimes the timing of things can send a writer into a wall.

Two Months in Atlanta

A big handful of years ago, I went to Atlanta for two months with the job I had at the time, working with a flight training center to turn their CRJ200 training program into a CRJ 700 training program. Stuck in a city I’d never visited, I tried seeing in the trip an opportunity.

I pitched some travel articles to a publication that accepted my work before, but nothing developed. (“We recently did a spot on Atlanta,” they said. “Bad timing on this one–sorry.”) On weekends, I worked on fiction in my hotel room. One day while running through a list of differences between the CRJ200 and CRJ700, it hit me: “Atlanta is where Williams Street Productions is based…”

Williams Street Productions is the studio responsible for Adult Swim — The Cartoon Network’s nighttime lineup. My first novel, Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors had gone nowhere as a novel (agents liked it, but said it was too quirky and they didn’t know how to market it). As a screenplay, it had a few close calls, both in competitions and in chatting with some studio contacts. But that was it — the story had run its course.

Unless…

The Pitch

I chatted with people I knew until I had a contact at Williams Street Productions. I sent a quick pitch, letting the contact know I was in Atlanta for two months and would love to discuss the project in greater detail if they had time. Somewhere into the trip I heard back, and this was the gist of the message:

“Hey, this sounds really cool, but we’re working on this thing called Lucy, Daughter of the Devil, and we can’t do two devil things at the same time.”

Now, you might say, “Well, most production companies have several similar things going at the same time,” and you’d be correct. But like it or not — despite how different Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors is from Lucy, Daughter of the Devil — that was the decision. Maybe in the same situation to make the decision, I’d have said the same thing — who knows.

It had nothing to do with what I was pitching (the contact loved the idea), but it was all a matter of timing.

When I mentioned what happened to some people, they said, “You should just figure out what’s popular and write that.” (As though it’s that easy.)

Why I Don’t Chase Trends

I never try guessing what publishers and production companies want because I know no matter what I write, the timing of it all may or may not be on my side.

I once got a screenplay I wrote into the hands of a contact I had at a large studio that was being acquired by a larger studio. I was told, had I sent the screenplay a year or so earlier — before the acquisition — that they would have fought to get the movie made.

My timing was off.

The first travel article I wrote was pushed back almost a year after acceptance because the area I covered ended up in the news for other reasons. The publication felt they’d given the region enough coverage, and decided to sit on the article until I followed up much later.

My timing was kind of off.

Other times, things I’ve written were accepted quickly because it was exactly what a publisher needed at the time. (The publisher that pushed back my first travel piece jumped on another article I pitched and asked me to expand it because they were looking for the very kind of article I offered to write.)

Sometimes, my timing’s been good.

The Point?

Whether we like it or not, timing and luck play into making it as a writer.

What may not be needed one month or even year may be the hot trend years down the line. (There was a time it seemed only Anne Rice could sell a vampire novel — now vampires are everywhere.)

Sometimes you write the most perfect thing and the timing of it all seems to almost conspire against you.

But write enough and keep submitting things, and sooner or later, time will be on your side!

Monday Morning

My week began with rejection.

In July, I had a request to read the full manuscript of my current novel by one of the top agencies on my dream list. Naturally, when you get a request for the entire book, you hope for the best.

It was a good rejection letter as far as rejection letters go. The agent appreciated my talent as a writer, and liked things I did with the story…but he didn’t fall in love with the manuscript. And that’s fine–I don’t take rejection personally.

Some people do take rejection personally, though. I’ve heard agents and editors talk about scathing letters they’ve received after sending rejections, and I’ve stumbled upon angry writers online venting about how furious they were after receiving a form letter saying an agent or publication was passing on their work.

If you have a tough time dealing with rejection letters, hopefully some of these tips will help:

Did You Send to the Right Place?

If I had to guess, I’d say most rejections are the fault of the writer receiving the rejection.

Agents stating they only consider material through recommendations still get unsolicited manuscripts. First time short story writers send things to The New Yorker. Journals publishing literary fiction receive swords and sorcery submissions.

If you send out blanket submissions and don’t take the time to research where you’re sending your writing, you’re going to get rejected.

Repeatedly!

If you sent your writing to the appropriate market, consider the next point.

Are You a Good Writer?

It’s not the easiest question to ask yourself, especially when you’re facing repeated rejections, but it’s an important question to ask yourself.

Writing takes time, and it’s easy to fall in love with what you’ve written. But right up there with actual writing talent is the ability to step back and see the good and bad in what we do.

If every time you finish a first draft you think you’ve written a masterpiece that people will be lucky to get to read, you’re either a rare genius, or more likely a bit full of yourself. If you can’t hold your own with the books people read (and I’m not just talking about, “I have better ideas!”–I’m talking about the talent to stand alongside your heroes and be seen), you need to keep practicing. (There’s no shame in not being a good writer–it takes time and if you stick with it, you’ll get there.)

Rushing something to market clogs the system for writers who have taken the time to get good, and it’s a waste of agents’ and editors’ time. It’s also a waste of your time.

If you’re not a strong enough writer to submit your writing, your time is better spent practicing–not sending out queries or stories and crossing your fingers.

If your chance of publication relies solely on luck or blanket submissions, you’re going to receive a lot of rejection letters.

If you’re a good writer and you still receive rejections, consider the next point.

Consider the Source

By considering the source, I don’t mean that an agent or editor you’re submitting to may not know what they’re doing. If you’ve researched your markets and give yourself enough credit to approach professional markets, you’re dealing with members of the Association of Authors’ Representatives and editors who don’t benefit from being assholes.

Agents and editors–despite the way it may seem–really do want to find stories they love. With the rejection I received at the beginning of the week, the agent made it clear that he appreciates my abilities…he just didn’t fall in love with the story. He’ll find a writer and story he falls in love with, and that person will have a great representative.

There’s a lot to consider when receiving a rejection letter. Sometimes you catch an editor on an off day. Sometimes you’re the 25th similar pitch an agent’s read that day. Sometimes a publication is flooded with so many submissions that your query or story may not get the attention it deserves.

Think about a bad day at your day job, when several people are demanding your attention and you’re facing deadlines. You probably hate those days. Chances are, you’re nowhere near as busy as an agent or editor on any given day.

If you receive a form rejection, it’s a total possibility that your query or story just arrived on a bad day.

If you receive a personalized rejection letter, congratulations–and take it all to heart.

What’s Really Being Said?

The gist of the rejection I received this week: “You’re a talented writer, and you create a great sense of place. But…there wasn’t enough narrative tension to pull me along through the plot.”

If I took rejection personally, I wouldn’t see that the agent did something he didn’t have to do: he gave me feedback! And I agree with the feedback.

In the three months it took him to read the manuscript, I polished the novel after noticing I could create more tension. (Oh, and did I mention that you shouldn’t bug an agent reading your full manuscript a week or two in with, “Have you read it, yet?!” Patience and tenacity go a long way when writing.)

If you get a personal rejection, you’re doing something right. Agents and editors–despite what many people seem to think–are under no obligation to do anything more than send a form rejection…or nothing at all.

If you’re looking for feedback, reread the second question above.

Sometimes It Really Is An Opinion

The literary world is full of stories of agents rejecting a future bestseller.

What works for one agent or editor may not be for others. With very few exceptions, I’m not a fan of science fiction. It doesn’t mean that science fiction is bad–it’s one of the best genres out there, full of imagination and predictions of the future. It just doesn’t do much for me.

I’m guessing there are a lot of people out there who would set my favorite novels down by the second or third pages.

Just because one agent doesn’t fall in love with your story doesn’t mean the next won’t. Literature is subjective; a big part of submitting is finding the right agent or editor to stand behind your writing. Those who don’t are still good people…they just have different tastes and it’s important to remember their rejection may be nothing more than a matter of personal taste.

Would you really want somebody not enthusiastic about your writing representing you?

Above All: Don’t Take It Personally!

I’m not saying rejection never stings, or that you should create an impervious shell around you that makes you cynical about the industry. But a thick skin is a good thing.

If you’ve worked hard enough to reach a professional level of talent, any rejection is a matter of business–not a personal knock against you and your writing.

If you’ve taken the time to get good and you take rejection personally, you’re in the wrong business. Seriously, stop right this moment and never submit another word!

But if you roll with the punches and always push yourself to get better, there will be a day you don’t get a rejection letter, but instead–a call from an agent or editor saying they loved your writing and want to represent or publish you.

The last query letter of the week is a pitch sent to Writer’s Digest.

I’d read Writer’s Digest on and off since I was in my late teens, and decided to send a query for a sort of travel piece:

*          *          *

[Note: My contact information is flushed right on my query]
Christopher Gronlund
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE & ZIP
PHONE
E-MAIL ADDRESS

DATE

NAME
POSITION
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE & ZIP

Dear [Editor's Name],

So many writers juggle a day job with their writing time, and when vacation finally rolls around at work, they’re faced with a dilemma: do they spend the week writing, or do they take a real vacation? What’s a writer to do? Combine the two and take a writing vacation, of course!

As a featured travel writer for the Dallas Morning News, I’ve found that happy balance between my day job and freelance writing. From travel writing to fiction, I’m now doing some of my best writing while affordably getting away from home, and I’ll share what I’ve learned with Writer’s Digest readers so they can do the same.

The proposed article will highlight seven types of writing vacations:

• Following Footsteps – Inspiration is easy to find when you’re walking in the footsteps of your favorite author. I’ll offer examples and suggestions so Writer’s Digest readers can connect with their writing heroes.
• Going There – Adding local color to your writing is easy when you’re right where your story is set. I’ll tell your readers how to get there—and stay there—affordably, as well as ways to get the information they need to make their stories sing.
• Solitude – Thoreau wasn’t the only writer wanting to get away from it all. For many writers, the jumpstart they need on their next big project can be found with an affordable trip to the middle of nowhere.
• Travel Writing – A short primer to make this vacation, and all those that follow, a moneymaker for readers, no matter what their writing specialty.
• Retreat – Whether it’s an organized writer’s retreat, or one your readers arrange themselves, a combination of workshops and relaxation is a surefire cure for the workaday writer blues.
• Road Tripping – Affordable and fun, the open road is a great place to work through that difficult plot, while seeing a variety of places that excite and inspire.
• Staying Home – Whether it’s finally organizing the office, or hitting a local hotel for a short getaway, readers don’t need to travel far to benefit from a writing vacation.

With the variety of options presented in this article, at least one—if not all—will appeal to Writer’s Digest readers looking for the inspiration and solitude needed to jumpstart their next big project, while satisfying that urge for an exciting, unique vacation.

I invite you to view some of my writing at http://www.christophergronlund.com/clips. In addition to writing travel pieces for the Dallas Morning News, I’ve written Web content for a variety of sites, and my screenplays have generated interest from several major studios.

I appreciate your time and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Christopher Gronlund

*          *          *

[You can see by this query that I was thinking about juggling work, writing, and life well before starting The Juggling Writer. In fact, rereading this article is one of the things that made me decide to finally stop thinking about it and starting this blog.]

How it Worked

This query resulted in my first magazine sale.

Why it Worked

There’s that short thing again. While this is one of my longer queries, I still kept it to one page.

This pitch is a travel piece in many ways. I established myself as having the credits necessary to speak with some authority in the piece.

Also, I tell the editor exactly what they will receive from the article.

[As writers, we all look back on old work and think about things we'd change. I do that even with queries. Were I sending this today, I'd drop the whole, "In addition to writing travel pieces for the Dallas Morning News..." section. I didn't need to pad my credits for this query. Just thought I'd share; t never hurts to look over old queries to see how far you've come even in your pitches.]

What Happened?

The article didn’t run in Writer’s Digest; it ran in Personal Writing, a special Writer’s Digest publication.

*           *            *

I hope this week of sharing query letters that worked for me inspires you to stop thinking about pitching ideas for articles and actually sending some to editors.

I need to get back to it, myself!

Next Week

Next week, it’s back to writing about anything that comes to mind.

I hope to kick off the week with an entry about what I mean when I talk about juggling and balance.

Since I had written a couple travel pieces for the Dallas Morning News and finally knew the editor on a first-name basis, I decided to send a pitch letter.

A pitch letter is a query letter, but it’s a little different. Instead of sending a detailed query about a place you plan to write about, you send a list of places you’d like to write about and see if editors have a need for any of the ideas.

I sent e-mail to the travel editor I’d worked with, telling him my spring travel plans. I pitched 10 places I wanted to see in Texas. Here’s what I sent:

*          *          *

Dear [Editor Name],

Last spring, I worked with you on “Highway Heroes,” an article about Texas roadside attractions. This spring, I’m planning to visit the following places; do you have a need for articles about any of these locations:

Palo Duro Canyon — The second largest canyon in the United States.

Caprock Canyons — The third largest state park in Texas, with a 60+ mile biking, hiking, and equestrian trail.

McDonald Observatory — A great place to look at the night sky, in the Davis Mountains of West Texas.

Matagorda Island — This long barrier island is the perfect way to get away from it all.

Texas Breweries — Texas’ immigrant heritage is reflected in its beers.

Texas Vineyards — Hill Country vineyard tour.

Monahans Sandhills State Park — Most people in the state don’t know about these seventy feet tall sand dunes in West Texas

Enchanted Rock — Just north of Fredericksburg, Enchanted Rock is the largest pink granite dome in the United States.

San Antonio — A 3-day weekend guide to little-known attractions, dining, and the arts in the city.

Austin –A 3-day weekend guide to little-known attractions, dining, and the arts in the city.

Please let me know if you would like me to cover any of these stops this spring for the Dallas Morning News.

Sincerely,

Christopher Gronlund

*          *          *

How it Worked

This pitch letter resulted in four assignments:

1. An article about Palo Duro Canyon and Caprock Canyons.
2. An article about Monahans Sandhills State Park.
3. An article about Matagorda Island.
4. An article about Texas breweries.

Why it Worked

Again, the letter was short, showing that even though I had a relationship with the editor, I still valued his time.

It also worked because the editor knew he could count on me to deliver the pieces. I worked very hard on the roadside attractions article, so he knew I didn’t mind getting out there and driving all over Texas to see cool things, research, and take photos.

What Happened?

I jumped jobs before a layoff hit me, and the new job sent me to Atlanta for two months during the spring, when the editor needed the articles.

For years, I always put writing before my day job. I thought going to Atlanta would impress my new employer; I thought going to Atlanta would be the right thing to do.

Looking back, I have much better memories from the travel articles I’ve written than from my last job. (And I really liked my last job.) I should have done what was right for me: telling the new job I couldn’t go to Atlanta at the risk of losing the job.

I don’t have many regrets as a writer, but I do regret passing on the four articles and putting work before writing in this instance.

The Juggling Writer is about juggling work, writing, and life. Using the juggling analogy this blog is based on, passing on these four assignments was my biggest drop as a writer.

But if I’ve learned nothing else from over 28 years of really juggling, it’s that you have to pick things back up and keep going.

Assignments like these are always just a query or pitch letter away for anybody willing to do the work.

I hope yesterday’s entry and today’s entry help somebody take a chance to give it a try!

Tomorrow’s Query

Tomorrow I’ll share the query that resulted in an article sale to a Writer’s Digest publication.

Each day this week, I’m sharing query letters that worked for me.

Today, I’m sharing the story that resulted in my first travel article. I’m also sharing the second query to the same publication.

I’ve previously mentioned that I pitched my first travel article after a layoff seven years ago.

I don’t have the original query that resulted in the sale, but the story went something like this…

*            *            *

After being laid off from a job years ago, my wife and I decided to go to East Texas, to Caddo Lake State Park. We’d wanted to see Caddo Lake for years.

Since I was unemployed and needing money, I thought, “Why not see if the Dallas Morning News is interested in running a small spot about Caddo Lake State Park?”

I can’t find the original query, but it explained that I was going to be spending time at Caddo Lake State Park, hiking and canoeing and enjoying the fall foliage.

I had never written a travel piece, so I kept the query short. There was obviously more to it, but the feel of the query said, “It’s autumn and I’m heading to East Texas, one of the few places in the state to see real fall foliage. While I’m there, I plan to hike and canoe. I threw in some information about the state park from my research. I mentioned the one newspaper credit I had before pitching to the Dallas Morning News and focused on what I’d deliver. (Had I not had a newspaper credit, I would have just focused on what I planned to deliver.)

I didn’t get an assignment from the query, but I did get a reply that said, “This sounds good — please send the piece and photos when it’s done.”

When I got back from East Texas and submitted the piece, I was told they wanted to run it — I had sold my first travel piece!

(Unfortunately, the piece didn’t run when scheduled. When it was set to run, there was a dispute over water rights from Caddo Lake, and the paper had been covering that and didn’t want another piece about Caddo Lake. They told me it would run in the spring, and it did — without the photos I took of the lake and fall foliage. The lesson: when you’re starting out, be flexible.)

*          *          *

I really enjoyed writing my first travel piece for the paper.

I love getting out and driving around Texas. It’s a huge state, with so many different things to see.

When I was young, I loved road trips with my father. I loved stopping at wacky, side-of-the-road attractions. When Cadillac Ranch turned 30 years old, I had to make the trip to Amarillo to celebrate. Since I was heading that way, I decided to pitch another travel article to the Dallas Morning News. This is the letter that resulted in a bigger assignment than planned:

[My information is flushed right for the actual letter.]
Christopher Gronlund
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE & ZIP
PHONE
E-MAIL

DATE

NAME
POSITION
The Dallas Morning News
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE & ZIP

Dear Mr. [EDITOR NAME],

Wildflowers are in bloom and the weather’s warming up—it’s the perfect time for a road trip or planning that big summer trek.  But what would a road trip be without those wonderful roadside attractions?  From the ten feet tall roadrunner, Paisano Pete, in Fort Stockton, to the world’s largest killer bee in Hidalgo, Texas boasts some of the biggest and best attractions in the nation.  This May, one of the most legendary roadside attractions not only in the state—but the entire country—turns thirty: Cadillac Ranch, in Amarillo.

Cadillac Ranch is an attraction so popular that growing up near Chicago, even I knew about it when I was young.  My views of the state I’d later call home were shaped by those ten Cadillacs half-buried in the dirt just as much as the Texas Tall Tales I heard in elementary school.  Texas was a place of legend, and I’ve always wanted to see one of its most legendary attractions; I will in a couple weeks, just in time to deliver an article about Cadillac Ranch’s thirtieth anniversary.

In June, 2002, you published a piece I wrote about Caddo Lake State Park, and I’d welcome the opportunity to write for the Dallas Morning News again.  In addition to highlighting Cadillac Ranch for this article, I can also include a brief section about ten other Texas roadside attractions and how to visit them, as well as a sidebar directing readers to ten attractions right here in the Metroplex.

If you are interested in seeing this article about Cadillac Ranch’s thirtieth anniversary and other Texas attractions, please reply by phone or e-mail.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Christopher Gronlund

How it Worked

The query resulted in a sale of an article I hadn’t really planned to write.

I planned to visit Cadillac Ranch and write about it. I planned to research 10 other stops online and write about them.

I hooked the editor on Cadillac Ranch, and he wanted detailed descriptions of 10 other attractions and the sidebar about local attractions!

That meant driving all over the state, instead of just driving to Cadillac Ranch.

Why it Worked

I kept the query short. (Are you seeing a trend, here?)

I gave the editor several options to choose from, and he came back with a great assignment.

What Happened?

I wasn’t unemployed when I pitched this article, and I didn’t have much vacation time reserved. This meant that every weekend that spring, I piled into a car alone, with my wife, or with friends, and made mad dashes all over the state. To save money on campsites and hotels, many of those trips were out and back in a day! I had to really plan each trip, capturing as much as I could along the way, knowing that many of the stops wouldn’t be picked.

I was still able to make a nice little profit on the article. Even if the article had cost me, it would have been worth it — It was the most fun I ever had writing, and I have many great memories of all those trips.

(A quick note: since I was still a new freelancer, I paid for the trips. Be prepared for that when starting out. Don’t go into travel writing expecting that everything is paid for along the way by the publisher — do it because you love travel and would see the places you write about even without an assignment. Consider any profit a bonus. Do that enough, and you just might see some money up front down the line.)

*          *          *

Tomorrow’s Query

Tomorrow, I’ll share a travel pitch that resulted in four assignments, and share the story of my biggest writing regret.

Today’s query letters aren’t letters at all.

Sometimes the pitch is in person or over the phone (over the phone in today’s examples).

*          *          *

A friend I made when my wife and I were doing comic books bumped into somebody in development at two movie studios at the San Diego Comic Con.

He heard this person was looking for material and he mentioned me. (Behold, the power of networking!)

I was given a number and told to call.

The call went something like this:

Me: “Hello, [name]. My name’s Christopher Gronlund. My friend, [friend's name], spoke with you at the San Diego Comic Con. He said you are looking for new material.”

Contact: “Yes. [Friend's name] said you had two screenplays. I’m interested in learning more about them.”

Me: “Great — thank you. The screenplays are called Old Man and Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors. Old Man is about a sixteen-year-old who assumes the role of an old man in a last ditch effort to connect with his dying grandfather. After his grandfather dies, he doesn’t give up the act–he gets worse. Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors is a humorous coming-of-age-story about a family traveling cross country in a possessed station wagon.”

Contact: “Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors is the script that advanced at the Austin Film Fest?” (My friend told the contact that I made the first cut in the humor category at the Austin Film Festival’s “Heart of the Screenplay” contest.)

Me: “Yes.”

Contact: “That got my attention. That and the little bit [friend's name] told me about the screenplays. Based on the contest and what I’ve heard, I’d like to read these. If you’ll give me your address, I’ll send a release form your way. I’m really looking forward to reading these.”

I gave the contact my address and thanked them for their time.

*          *          *

How it Worked

This quick pitch resulted in a representative for two major studios requesting to read my screenplays.

Why it Worked

First, because I’m lucky enough to have friends who speak up for me, and I do the same for them when I can. The friend who helped me in this case was somebody we met when my wife and I were doing comic books. At the time this opportunity happened, we were no longer doing comic books.

Having a good friend who was familiar with the two screenplays and willing to speak up for me was, obviously, the most important part of this opportunity.

Being prepared for the call and having my pitch ready was the other (i.e., keeping things short).

The urge to keep talking about the things we write can be overwhelming, but keeping your pitches short is your best bet.

Always have your one or two line pitch ready. In addition to that, write a double-spaced, one-page synopsis of your story and practice a longer pitch! Don’t repeat the one-page synopsis — just know it very well so you can talk about it naturally and get back to it if you stray during your one-minute pitch. Anything beyond the one-page synopsis — if asked for even more information — and you should be familiar enough with your work and confident enough to discuss it.

In this case, I knew the person on the other end didn’t have time when I called. But my two loglines (short pitches) were enough to get my screenplays read.

Advancing in a major screenwriting competition didn’t hurt, either.

What Happened?

The screenplays were very well received by my contact at the studios…so much so that I thought the contact was just being kind when they called and told me they had to pass.

The reason the studios passed on the screenplays had nothing to do with my writing. Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors required a larger budget than they had for the project. Old Man wasn’t what the main studio was looking for at the time. (But I was told if I had sent Old Man to the studio being acquired a year or two earlier that the person in development would have fought to get the movie made. For me, this was all I needed to hear; since my teenage years when I first thought about writing a screenplay, I daydreamed about selling a story to the studio. Knowing that it could have happened was reward enough for me.)

While Old Man and Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors were not picked up for development, I was invited to send more writing anytime I had something new.

The third screenplay I sent was not as well received as the first two screenplays, and goes down as my all-time favorite rejection.

*          *          *

I know yesterday’s query and today’s pitch didn’t result in a sale, but I still see them as queries and pitches that worked.

So many times, we’re so focused on selling our writing that we sometimes forget how important forming relationships is.

The person who rejects your work several times, but invites you to keep sending more, may very well be the person who eventually gives you your big break.

I’ve met writers who take even the kinds of rejections I’ve discussed yesterday and today personally. I’ve heard about writers lashing out at the people who rejected their work, even if the rejection came with an invitation to send more writing as it’s completed. These writers need to learn how to handle criticism, because no matter how good you are as a writer, nobody wants to work with an ass.

Tomorrow’s Query

Tomorrow, I’ll share two queries that resulted in travel writing sales.

Each day this week, I’m sharing a query letter that resulted in a request for more material, or a sale.

In some cases — like today — I’ll share multiple queries.

Today’s queries are for my first novel, Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors (HCWWPD). While HCWWPD didn’t sell, the queries I’m sharing did work, and I’ll discuss why.

The following query is my initial pitch to agents:

*          *          *

[Note: My contact information is flushed right on my query]
Christopher Gronlund
Address
City, State & Zip
Phone
E-mail

Date

Agent
Agency Name
Address
City, State & Zip

Dear [Agent Name],

Every summer, millions of Americans pack into cars and take part in that annual tradition: the family road trip.  Hell Comes With Wood Paneled Doors (based on an original screenplay I wrote, which advanced in the comedy category in the Austin Film Fest’s “Heart of the Screenplay Competition”), is about the O’Brien family’s cross-country trek to the Grand Canyon, in 1984.  Like many families, there are stops along the way, battles with siblings, and threats of “If you kids don’t behave, I’ll pull this car over right now!”  What sets the O’Brien’s trip apart from all others is they are traveling cross-country in a possessed station wagon!

Your agency is one of three agencies I’m querying at this time.  My work has appeared in several literary journals, numerous independent comic book publications, and in the travel section of the Dallas Morning News.  Please let me know if you’d like to see the first three chapters and the outline of this completed 65,000 word humorous family travel adventure.

Sincerely,

Christopher Gronlund

*          *         *

How it Worked

This query letter resulted in requests for the first three chapters from some agents I queried, and the entire manuscript from others.

Why it Worked

It’s short!

Agents and editors can see thousands of queries a month. I value people’s time.

I discuss what the novel is about, I tell a little bit about who I am, and leave it at that.

I was told by one agent (at a very known agency), that she appreciated that I wasn’t sending a blanket query to 50 agents. I sent out queries in batches of 3-5 at a time, and let agents know that I wasn’t throwing a ton of queries out there and hoping some hit.

I researched, made a large list of agencies I felt were the best match for what I was doing, and took my time sending queries in small batches.

I don’t hurry when I write, and I don’t hurry when I try selling my writing.

The agents I spoke to respected that I took my time and valued their time.

Also, I was told that my travel writing credits were more impressive than my fiction credits, which is why I think anybody writing fiction should at least consider selling articles of some sort.

What Happened?

I had numerous requests to see the proposal, and several requests to read the manuscript.

While agents passed on HCWWPD (most said they loved the book, but didn’t know how they would market it…a story for another post), several agents said they would like to see more of my writing.

*          *          *

After pitching HCWWPD to literary agents and having no luck beyond requests to see more of my writing, I came up with a goofy idea: pitch it as a serialized novel to alternative weekly newspapers.

Here’s that query letter:

THE TYPICAL HEADER INFORMATION, HERE

Dear [Editor Name],

American serialization of fiction in newspapers started in the 1720s when a Philadelphia newspaper published installments of Religious Courtship, by Daniel Defoe.  In the years that followed, fiction reached Americans in bits and pieces—regularly published in newspapers—but that tradition has recently died.  I’d like to bring newspaper serialization back to life in your weekly.

Beginning the first week of July, I’m offering chapters of my completed novel, Hell Comes With Wood Paneled Doors, to alternative weeklies for serial publication.  Each chapter of this completed twenty-one chapter novel is available for only $5.

“Okay, so what is  Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors about?”

Every summer, millions of Americans pack into cars and take part in that annual tradition: the family road trip.  Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors (based on an original screenplay I wrote which advanced in the comedy category in the Austin Film Fest’s “Heart of the Screenplay Competition”), is about the O’Brien family’s cross-country trek to the Grand Canyon in 1984.  Like many families, there are stops along the way, battles with siblings, and threats that “If you kids don’t behave, I’ll pull this car over right now!”  What sets the O’Brien’s trip apart from all others is they are traveling cross-country in a possessed station wagon!

Told from the point of view of thirteen-year-old Michael O’Brien, Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors is a humorous coming of age story we can all relate to (think Stephen King’s Christine meets National Lampoon’s Vacation crossed with TV’s The Wonder Years).  While the hell Michael experiences on his trip is literal, we’ve all experienced the hell that comes with being packed into a backseat with siblings on long road trips, and just like Michael, when we look back on those memories, they aren’t nearly as bad as they once seemed.

My work has appeared in several literary journals, numerous independent comic book publications, and in the travel section of the Dallas Morning News.  Please let me know if you’d like to see the first three chapters and the outline of this completed humorous travel adventure, or view it online at: [Old URL].

Sincerely,

Christopher Gronlund

SPECS
(Hell Comes With Wood Paneled Doors)

SCHEDULE:  Weekly (21 weeks)
COST:  $5/Chapter ($10/Chapter with related spot illustrations)
LENGTH:  Chapters average roughly 3,000 words
PURPOSE:  To provide alternative weeklies with recurring content, hooking readers with a humorous, nostalgic story they can all relate to.
TARGET AUDIENCE:  16-40 years
DELIVERY:  Fax, E-Mail, or Disk w/ hard copy
RIGHTS:  First print rights in your primary circulation area

*          *          *

How it Worked

I received more feedback from excited editors than I received from agents with my query.

Also — again — it showed me the importance of non-fiction credits. Editors liked seeing that I’d written travel articles for a large paper. (I’ll share the queries that landed those assignments later this week.)

Why it Worked

The letter is still one page, showing that I valued the time of the editors.

Also, I know from the replies I received that it got the attention of editors because it was something different.

What Happened?

I received a flood of, “This is so cool!” replies from editors that ended with, “But…we don’t have room to run this. I wish we did…”

While all but one editor had to pass (and that editor moved on from the paper before things got rolling), I received a lot of positive feedback and some offers to pitch articles to their papers.

*          *          *

Ultimately, the fate of Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors is the fate of many first novels: no sale.

But the queries worked because, in most cases, the agents who did read part of the story or all of it loved what they read, and they invited me to send more of my writing in the future. With the alternative weekly papers, I realized the editors were willing to take chances, but that they only have 500 – 1,000 words to take those chances…not the 2,000 – 3,000 words I was proposing.

A query letter is successful to me if it does one of the following things:

• Sells my story or article.
• Begins a relationship with an agent or editor.

Writing can be a slow process. It’s in a writer’s best interests to be patient. After spending so much time on a story, it’s natural to want to throw it out there to anybody who will listen, and hope for a quick sale.

I wonder, though, how many writers have ruined their chances to begin corresponding with an agent or editor because they obviously sent out a blanket query?

We all want queries to end up selling our work, but if they open the door to a slowly growing, professional relationship with an agent or editor, they’ve also done their job and worked.

Tomorrow’s Query

Tomorrow is another query that didn’t result in a sale, but — again — shows how important it is to begin forming relationships with the right people.