Today Jennie and I talk about the toxic “Pick Me!” attitude that many writers have towards querying. We look at the different types of energy we as writers bring to the pitching process, and how feelings of desperation hurt more than help.
As I look to continue to query, I know I need to personalize each one for the agent it’s being sent to. Seems easy, right? You just take out Dear Mrs. X and replace it with Dear Mr. Y. Then you erase the sentence about why you chose X and replace it with one about how much you like Y.
Not. So. Fast.
Jennie and I take a look at my base query and we talk about how you tweak a personalization in order to speak to each agent directly.
Oh, and at one point we talk about my new book. Jennie brings up the Inside Outline 10-Point Checklist. And after I told her I had never seen it, I found an unbranded Word doc that simply said “10 Point Checklist” on my computer. And low-and-behold, it was the same list Jennie ran through in the episode! So here are the questions you should ask yourself of your outline:
1. Check to be sure there is one clear point: Is it about something?
2. Check to be sure that POV is consistent and clear.
3. Check for an arc of change: Does the ending resolve the problem of the beginning?
4. Check the cause and effect trajectory: Do the actions the protagonist drive to the next thing that happens in every chapter?
5. Check the force or opposition: Is it clear what is standing in the protagonist’s way on the inside and the outside?
6. Check the character motivation and logic: Do the protagonist’s actions make sense? Would they actually behave this way?
7. Check to make sure your protagonist has agency over their decisions.
8. Check the consequences of those decisions. Is something at stake?
9. Check pacing and flow of the story: Is there tension throughout?
10. Check genre conventions: Does the story do what the genre needs it to do?