I sent hundreds of queries over the years of my search for a literary agent, and I had a darn good request rate (about 40%, on some projects!). I also read thousands of queries as a literary agent intern. While I didn’t end up actually getting my agent from cold querying (full story here!), I’m a pretty dab hand at writing query letters and helping other writers improve their letters.
So, here is my favorite format for query letters. Caveat: there is no one right way to write a query to a literary agent. You have to do what makes your book sound amazing. This is just what worked for me, and what I loved when I was going through the slush pile as an intern. Looking for info on writing picture book query letters? They’re much shorter! My guide for picture book queries is here.
I’ve also included a whole bunch of resources, including links to successful query letters, at the end of this post.
Books are amazing baby shower gifts! In fact, for my baby shower, I asked everyone to bring a book instead of a card (many board books are the same price as a nice card!). I put lots of books on my baby shower registry and my daughter has a wonderful library. Giving books as (socially distanced) baby shower gifts is an even better idea due to Covid-19, as many parents don’t have the same access to the library as before.
Full disclosure, I have two great books for baby showers that I wrote! There’s “Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby,” which, come on, is guaranteed to get a chuckle at a baby shower (in my unbiased opinion). However, unlike another personal favorite, “Go the F** to Sleep,” this is a board book you can actually read it to your child. And there’s “Call Your Mother,” which is a bigger, hardcover book, that’s making reviewers tear up in a bittersweet way. (Affiliate links.)
But of course you need more than a couple books for a baby shower registry! Thus I’ve listed some of my favorite new baby gift books. My aim is to go beyond the classics everyone already knows about, like “Goodnight Moon,” because I got 4 copies of this when my baby was born! She’s enjoyed them all in different spaces in our house, but it’s nice to have variety.
My daughter has been going to a local preschool that has kept the kids almost completely outdoors due to Covid-19. She LOVES it! She’s been going since October and they’ve taken the whole class indoors for about one hour due to a rainy cold day. That’s it!
Friends have been asking me what I do to keep her warm. Her school sent us a supplies list but it wasn’t exactly easy to find things small enough for her (she’s 2.5 but even a lot of 2T stuff is too wide for her, so anything that came in generic “kids” sizes or that didn’t offer 2T/3T was a no-go). I did a lot of digging, and I’m here to share my list of my favorite outdoor gear for toddlers. I bought this all in somewhat too-big sizes hoping she’d grow into it. Even though it’s only been a couple months, it is already starting to fit her better.
For context, we are in Maryland, and the worst weather we’ve had so far has been windy, rainy, and about 40 degrees. I may add to the list as the weather gets even colder.
Some of these links are affiliate links, meaning I get a little money if you buy these products, which I will likely use to get my daughter more winter gear.
Rain Pants It’s hard to stay warm when you’re soaking wet, thus my daughter’s school recommended rain pants. The best place I found for toddler rain pants was Oaki. They aren’t cheap, but I bought them in a size up so they’ll last. The tie-waistband makes sure they stay on and she has plenty of room to grow. I bought two pairs so one could live at school in case of sudden rain. She also frequently wears these to school when it’s not rainy, as wind protection.
Ava in her North Face raincoat
Rain Jackets My daughter has a ridiculous amount of rain jackets . . . four!! . . . but one stays at school just in case, and the others are frequently wet from being rained on, spilled on, or washed, so four has actually been the right number of rain jackets. Hatley Oaki North Face Land’s End (they have great sales so don’t buy full price!)
*Note that on any waterproof product, the waterproofing can wear off. You can extend their life by using a waterproofing spray. I would especially recommend this if you’re using hand-me-downs.
If you’re looking for a baby shower gift book or durable volume for a toddler to enjoy, Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby, is available for preorder! It comes out on April 13th, 2021. I definitely recommend preordering as it looks like the first print run may sell out quickly.
If you preorder a book and let me know, I will donate a book to ShareBaby, a Baltimore-based charity that gives baby items to families in need.
All you have to do is forward your preorder receipt to tcgpreorders@gmail.com and your preorder will be counted (or order through this Amazon affiliate link and I’ll know automatically). You should receive an automated response right away. I will also check the emails manually; if you preorder multiple copies, I will donate multiple copies.
The book is available for preorder most places where books can be bought. I might be signing books/dropping off stickers at the following local stores, but details are pending everywhere but The Children’s Bookstore, which has agreed to ship signed copies! Yay!
Amazon: I am using an affiliate link to track sales here; your preorder will be AUTOMATICALLY counted with no need to send a receipt, but you still should so you can get the printable card about the donation I include in my auto response!
“My new favorite bedtime read, EVERYBODY’S SLEEPY BUT THE BABY has it all: pleasant rhyme and rhythm, cute illustrations, a plot every parent can relate to, and most important at bedtime, brevity! I smiled the whole way through.” Amanda Rawson Hill, author of “You’ll Find Me”
“With the gentle, rhythmic cadence of classics like Goodnight Moon and fun art featuring frazzled parents, Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby is perfect for the modern (sleepy) parent to lull their little one at bedtime.” June Smalls, author of She Leads: The Elephant Matriarch
“It’s a scene familiar to any exhausted parent: everyone is drowsy, sleepy, ready to hit the hay—except the baby, who is wide awake! As the parents, the dog, and even the toys wind down for the night, the baby wants to play, scrub-a-dub, and coo. Gold’s gentle, rhythmic text and Dafflon’s bright and lively illustrations combine for a perfect bedtime read for sleepy parents and (eventually) sleepy babies. Bonus: it’s just the right length for that ‘one last bedtime story’ that sets the mood for sleep. I am looking forward to adding it to my go-to baby shower gift list.” Kathy MacMillan, children’s librarian and author of Nita’s First Signsand Nita’s Day
Erasure is a wonderfully cathartic literary form. Take an oppressive text, and just cut away the worst parts. Or highlight the worst parts so that all the mitigating fluff is cut away.
I’m thrilled to have a poem in the recently published “Erase the Patriarchy! An Anthology of Erasure Poetry” edited by Isobel O’Hare. My poem cuts away the lyrics of a Justin Timberlake song about a guy cat calling a girl until the girl’s voice shines through instead.
The poems featured in this beautiful book show many artistic and creative approaches to erasure poetry. I was wowed and inspired: feelings that are hard to come by given world events.
Finally write that novel you’ve always been dreaming about, with support and guidance. I’m excited to teach “Writing Your Novel” via Johns Hopkins Odyssey on Monday nights starting 10/5. Odyssey is Hopkins’ continuing education program. Everyone can join in the class. We’ll do live discussions on Zoom every week and this will be a small, interactive group. I’m bummed it won’t be in person but the silver lining is you don’t have to be in Baltimore to join! We’ll cover different systems for plotting and outlining, what makes a good novel concept, and processes for drafting. If you keep up with the course schedule you’ll have a rough draft of most of a novel by the end (and you can also do NaNoWriMo alongside the course). Please spread the word if you know anyone who might be interested!
My editing clients often come to me saying they want to find a traditional publisher for their book and hope it will be published within a few months or a year. Buckle up, I tell them. If you want to publish a book quickly, in the vast majority of cases, self publishing is the way to go. (And most people’s self publishing timelines are far too ambitious, too.)
To educate those who have big dreams of getting a book published, here is a rough sketch of just how long it takes to get a traditional publishing deal (if you’re lucky), and then how long it takes for the book to be published after that. Of course, there are exceptions in both directions. Right now with Covid-19, I am hearing of launch dates getting pushed back left and right. Books can also be rushed, which is called “crashing,” if they are extremely timely (but this would likely not involve a first-time/not-famous author).
Critiquing an entire book can be daunting. I remember how nervous I was about the first full novel I ever critiqued. I wanted so badly to get to the heart of the novel and help the author figure out how to make it better. Even now that I am a full-time freelance editor who has worked with many published authors, I still look for ways to improve my edit letters so that they are inspiring, kind, honest, and thorough, but not overwhelming.
Recently, I’ve seen a few people ask on social media about how to write better critiques. I’m not saying I have a magic formula figured out, but I write a lot of edit letters, and I’ve developed a template and system so that I am not reinventing the wheel each time I write a letter. Of course, I customize these as needed, especially when I work on a memoir or non-fiction book instead of fiction.
Why should you trust me? Well, for one, my clients say they love me. You can read testimonials and reviews from them on Reedsy. For another, many of my clients have been traditionally published, I have my Masters of Fine Arts, and I worked for literary agent Carrie Pestritto, who is now my agent. I am always open and learning, though, and would love to see your comments about how you approach edit letters!
So, here is how I approach writing edit letters for my editing clients.
The Emotional Angle Before I get into the nitty gritty, a note about the emotion of writing edit letters. My end goal is not to show off how good I am at critiquing someone (see: Guy in Your MFA). My end goal is to inspire an author to improve their work. It’s hard to be inspired when you’re crying, so I always endeavor to make my edit letters positive. I’m not going to go too deeply into the emotional element because this would get even longer, but I loved this post from Michelle Hazen on the topic. In the explanation of my process and template, I’ll briefly touch on the ways that I make sure I am being positive and thoughtful.
Ever wanted to see inside the mind of a professional copyeditor as they improve a piece of writing? Check out the webinar I did last week with my friend and fellow copyeditor Julie Artz! Julie and I walked through viewer-submitted excerpts and explained our copyediting process.
Reedsy, a database of freelance publishing professionals, hosted the webinar, and over 500 people tuned in live.
Congratulations to Gary Vikan for the launch of his book “The Holy Shroud: A Brilliant Hoax in the Time of the Black Death.” It was a joy to work with Gary on this book. Judging from my email history, I’ve been reading drafts of this book for Gary since 2016. The world of publishing is long and winding and it is just so exciting to finally hold this book in my hands. It’s published by Pegasus Books, and it’s a beauty, with an insert of color photography.
Four years, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg for Gary. He has been working on the research behind this book for decades as he has searched for a way to debunk one of the world’s biggest hoaxes.
If you like a good detective story, you’ll love this book about an art historian who digs into the centuries of corruption and greed that drove an intricate piece of art to become falsely famous for apparently being the Shroud that Jesus was buried in. Even though carbon dating has long proved this impossible, crowds of millions still flock to see the Shroud on display and claim that it is a true relic. The research Gary presents in this book shows not only when the Shroud was made, but how, and by whom. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t Jesus’s true burial shroud.
Gary is going to be doing a virtual launch event on Thursday, June 4th at 7 pm, with WYPR’s Tom Hall. The event will include a brief reading, Q&A with Tom, and audience Q&A. If you’d like to hear from Gary, please register by using the following link:
Gary is also happy to set up custom virtual events for organizations and book groups. He’s a funny, engaging speaker. You can contact him via his website.
*Book link is an affiliate link to Amazon, which means I’ll get a few cents if you buy it!
