Are You Ready? How Do You Know?

Today's post is brought to you by the loverly Shannon Messenger. She recently signed with literary agent Laura Rennert, after only two weeks of querying! If you're not following Shannon's blog, you're totally missing out. And today, she's got some great advice for us on how to know when your draft -- and your query letter -- are ready to send out.

So I give you: Shannon.

You did it! You finished a whole book! You finally have something you’re not only proud of, but that you think will sell.

Awesome! Well done you. Now, it’s time to query!

Or is it?

How do you know that you’re REALLY ready to query?

I’ll admit, I struggled with that question. All right, FINE—my friends had to drag me into the querying pool kicking and screaming. I’m a baby. But I’ve since put a lot of thought into this, because I was curious to know how my friends could be so positive that I was ready (since they knew I would kill them if they set me up for epic failure). And it really comes down to 3 things:

Your Draft: You know your draft is ready when you’ve gotten positive feedback from a number of CPs—and no, I don’t mean your spouse/parent/BFF. I mean honest, brutal CPs who aren’t afraid to tell you when your draft is made of suckage. If they think you’re ready, you probably are.

Your Query: Writing a good query letter is HARD, so I’m a big believer in seeking professional assistance. (I personally used an online query workshop and had an additional query critique.) It’s not expensive and it’s SO worth it. But if that’s not in your budget, have your CPs help. It’s also good to have a few people who know nothing about the project read and give you their thoughts. You’ll be surprised at the things they notice.

You: Ask yourself if you’re ready to face the rejections—because rejections WILL come. Are you passionate enough about your project to keep going when you run into obstacles? And do you really believe that this is not only the best draft you’ve ever written—but the best draft you’re capable of writing right now? Remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression with an agent, so don’t query a project just because you’re proud of yourself for finishing. Wait until you’re querying your BEST work.

If you examine those three areas and come up with the right answers, you’re ready to query. It may still mean a lot of frustration and rejection. But it’ll also pay off, and you’ll end up announcing to the world that you signed with your dream agent. And when you do, we’ll all be there to celebrate right along with you.

So what about you guys. How did you know when you were ready to query? Did I miss anything?

Building Your Pitch

Dude, you guys, I recently attended a local conference where the fabulous Laura Rennert (Andrea Brown Literary) spoke. She was engaging and informative -- and so, so nice (and not to mention gorgeous!). When Suzette and I asked her if we could post about her class on the QT blog she said, "The more people who know about pitching, the better."

So here I am, passing along her notes to you. She gave five steps for building your pitch. I think this pitch can transfer to the written query letter as well as be used for verbal pitching at conferences.

Step One: Write down the following:
1. Title
2. Genre
3. Setting (where)
4. Protag (who)
5. Main Conflict (what)

Step Two: Write down the following:
1. One vivid detail that makes any of the above elements different. Part of Ms. Rennert's talk focused on what makes your story different. She called it the "Who, What, Where and Why Should I Care." It's this last part that you're focusing on here. Why should an agent care about your setting, protag or main conflict? What makes them different?

Step Three: Identify if your story has:
1. Credibility
2. Inherent conflict
3. Originality
4. Real emotional power

Step Four: Write down three "big" words -- evocative words -- that relate to your story.

Step Five: Set a timer for 5 minutes and write:
1. A one-paragraph pitch for your novel using what you've written in steps 1-3. In the last sentence, use one of your "big" three words to finish the pitch.

And now, something I've shared before, but what I think fits the formula of Ms. Rennert's pitch steps.

In a world where Thinkers brainwash the population and Rules are not meant to be broken (where), fifteen-year-old Violet Schoenfeld (who) does a hell of a job shattering them to pieces. When secrets about her “dead” sister and not-so-missing father hit the fan, Vi must make a choice: control or be controlled. (what)

CONTROL ISSUES, a young adult dystopian novel complete at 75,000 words, (title, genre, word count) addresses the topic of teens fulfilling their duty as citizens of society, along with how hard it is to grow up under the expectations of parents and other adults when they're trying to make their own choices. (why should I care? "Big" words: duty, choice)

Try it! Set aside some time this week to build your pitch using these steps and see how it goes! Special thanks to Laura Rennert, simply for being awesome and sharing such amazing advice.