Comments on: What do you think about this nonfiction query? (Draft 3)

By: The ReTARDISed Whovian

The ReTARDISed Whovian — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:37:58 +0000

I think I’ll have a bit of trouble establishing credibility with publishers, being so young and all. Of course, I won’t reveal my age until after my manuscript is accepted, but I think that they’d still be a bit wary. My plans are to get it published when I’m in my 20′s, then afterwards reveal my age and how old I was when I wrote it.

Would you mind checking out my comments on the Villainous Forum and Plausible Origin Stories? Thanks.

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:18:28 +0000

I expect that mine will be a bit longer than most fiction queries.
1) As a nonfiction author, I absolutely have to establish my authorial credibility. Publishers will have major concerns about buying a how-to guide from a 21 year-old. The author's biography doesn't matter much to a fiction writer. In some ways, that's a good thing (everyone is qualified to write fiction), but your pay will be much lower because the competition is fierce.
2) The agent reading this query probably won't be very knowledgeable about comic books or the comic book industry. In contrast, if you write a query letter for a fantasy story a la Lord of the Rings, the agent will already have a good feel for your field. Fantasy is common enough that agents can specialize in it. In contrast, agents reading my query will be familiar with nonfiction (ideally with a specialty in how-to books), but they probably won't know anything about superhero stories in particular. The same goes for publishers, I think.
3) In general, I'd say that it's more important for a nonfiction manuscript to delve into the specifics of who the audience is and what they will get out of the work. With fiction, I think it'd be more worthwhile to discuss your competition and how you will compete. Fiction writers generally face much more competition than writers in my field of nonfiction. For example, I couldn't find a single book about how to write superhero novels. In contrast, if you're writing a book like Eragon or LOTR, there are hundreds of competing novels. That makes it more important for you to stand out. If you're on a bookshelf with 500 other fantasy titles, prospective readers cannot give each book five minutes to make its case. In contrast, a prospective reader for a how-to book about writing comic books will only have to evaluate five books. He'll be a bit more patient.

By: The ReTARDISed Whovian

The ReTARDISed Whovian — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:01:29 +0000

(Whistles) That’s a hell of a lot.

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:48:35 +0000

Thanks. I anticipate that it’ll look something like this.
–1.5 pages for the summary
–1.5 pages for the author’s bio
–2 pages for audience/competition
–1.5 pages for marketing/promotion
–.5 pages for manuscript specifications
–3-4 pages for the annotated outline
–5-10 pages for the sample chapter

In all, I think it’ll be around 15-20 pages, but most of that will consist of the outline and sample chapter.

By: The ReTARDISed Whovian

The ReTARDISed Whovian — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:37:20 +0000

This query is very good. How long do you think the finished one will be?

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:35:24 +0000

I decided to adapt the tagline because this book is entirely the effort of one person. Using “we’ve” instead of “I’ve” might have suggested that the book is actually a group effort. I suspect a publisher would be more hesitant to take on a group project because those are a bit more complicated.

By: scribblar

scribblar — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:42:22 +0000

I left a large post last time. I won’t this time.

I will point out that you mentioned the guy with the crappy book cover got his title wrong. You got your tag-line wrong; it isn’t “I’ve made…” its “We’ve made…”

I can see why you’d change it, but a prospective agent who logs on won’t see that; they’ll think you got it wrong. And if you’re getting that wrong, what else are you getting wrong?

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:47:23 +0000

Oh, before I forget… Here’s a breakdown of the major changes, in case you’re interested.

1. I added a bit of material to explicitly address why a publisher should consider buying a nonfiction how-to guide from a 21 year-old. (Relatability, namely).

2. I made it clearer that about half of the material is online and half will be exclusive to the book. I also threw in an example (Stuff White People Like) to argue that this is a sound way to market a book.

3. In the promotional opportunities section, I added an item about comic book conventions like Comic-Con. Ack! I don’t know how I forgot those.