So, by now you know that I submitted a short story to Wild Rose Press. What you don’t know is that I had to write a query letter for it. Now, my experience with query letters is pretty much nil. I never needed one to post something on the internet, but now we’re talking real publishers. And they wanted a real query letter.
I bit my nails for awhile. Googled for a bit on the topic. Browsed the results desultorily and finally Twittered my angst about the query letter. Lo, and behold, Jennifer Leeland, author and friend extraordinaire, sends me some links via Yahoo Instant Messenger (YIM). I’m looking at the links thinking, yeah, I can do this… and Jen IMs me and says she sucks at them. Well, uh… How was I supposed to take that when she was the only one helping me? LOL
At any rate, I read the links she sent me and a few others from the Google search and I put together a synopsis then formed my query letter around it. Here’s how it came out:
Scarlet Rose, Cougar Club, 5127 words
Dear Scarlet Rose Editor:
Silver Linings is a completed 5,100 word story about a woman in her forties who, even though she’s filled with despair, tries one last time to make a romantic connection. What she discovers is a man beyond her expectations, and her silver lining turns out to be a love she never dreamed she would have. This story has all the elements of a Cougar Club rosette, a middle aged heroine, a very hot younger man, a theme of lost love, some hot steamy sex, and an ending with a twist!
Silver Lining has hit rock bottom. Her despair at being alone has begun to overwhelm her. She’s had lovers, yet a relationship eludes her. She even tries the internet, but finds the desperation of others alarming. She fears that she appears just as desperate. Her fear causes her to quit her online communities, and that is when something amazing occurs.
Wall of Thunder, a member at a message board where Silver posted a goodbye, sends her an email begging her not to leave. His words capture Silver’s attention. She looks up his profile at the forum and discovers that he is younger than her. Undeterred by that fact, Silver emails him back. What follows is an evening of escalating emails that has Silver wondering if she has truly found someone to be with.
When the emails are no longer enough, Silver asks to meet Thunder. The day of the meeting, Silver drives to the city and, once there, is beset with nerves. She remembers a past love, a man younger than her whom she’d loved and lost fifteen years before. Determined not to let her despair suck her under, Silver, whose real name is Maris, goes to the restaurant to meet Thunder.
Alex fell in love at twenty years old with an older woman who left him. Despite their eight year age difference, he was crazy for her. After she left him, he built his career and tried to find a woman to share his life. Then one day he realized that he’d already found the perfect woman, and had let her go. In his online life as Wall of Thunder, Alex finds a woman who intrigues him, and remembering his past, this time he fights for a chance to be with her.
A hero who is finally determined to fight for what he wants. A heroine who is stalked by despair, but decides not to give in to it. A story rich in the belief that every cloud can have a silver lining if you let it.
Although I’ve been writing fiction most of my life, in the past couple of years, I’ve become serious about the craft. I run a writer’s forum called The Bar, which is a paranormal romance adventure serial. I’ve been writing there for more than two years. I have a trilogy of erotica at the Pink Chair Diaries, each piece ranging in length from 5,000 to 7,000 words. In addition to writing fiction, over the course of my career, I’ve written technical documents, manuals, procedures, and verbiage for brochures, websites, and sales lead programs.As I hope you can see, I place a high value on the written word.
Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Lex Valentine
So, what do you think? Think I hooked ‘em? Or did I fall flat on my face?
Thanks for coming by! See you next time!
September 7th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Well *I* want to read the story now!
but then again, I am not a book publisher…but I think you may have got something there — GOOD LUCK!!
Cissa Firehearts last blog post..She’s got a ticket to ride, but she don’t care…..
September 7th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I think this sounds awesome!!! Good luck, Lex dahlink.
September 7th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Cissa – Oooh! I hooked you with the letter. I think that’s a good sign. Even if this publisher doesn’t want it, there are others out there. Thanks for coming by!
Jen – It took a few stops and starts, but your guidance was invaluable. Thank you!
September 8th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
I’ve never read a query letter before, at least, I don’t think I have. But I think it sounded great! We’re pulling for ya! *crosses fingers* Let me know the second you hear back from them!