As you may or may not know, the query letter is the most important piece of writing an author can write for their book. Why, you ask? Because it is what you send off to a literary agent to get them interested in reading your manuscript. Every word is paramount in a query letter, so you can understand the stress in creating one.
This is why I am stressed.
Over the past couple months, as I have finished the rough draft for my novel, I have been working on my query letter. Last night, after work, I sat outside on the windowsill for three hours rereading and rewriting my query letter until around midnight. I probably looked like a crazy electronic zombie, glued to my computer screen.
But my obsession did not end once I left that windowsill. Last night I fell asleep thinking about the sentence structure and content of my letter. I awoke this morning and the first thing that popped into my head was how I could make it more dramatic. And then, on my day off, I drove to work to have my coworkers read what I've written so far, and to work on it again some more.
These are the most exhausting 200 words I have ever written.
You may laugh and brush off my crazed insanity, but these three paragraphs are the key to getting published. I guess I just need to go with my gut and hope that some agent fancies them enough to read my novel.
Wish me luck!
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