Be prepared for your query

Be prepared for your query

Of course, we all visit the agency’s and the agent’s web sites. Study the books they agented and research the agent’s background. Right? We also find out the way the agent wants the query to be constructed.

I was asked by an agent to list similar stories to mine and to draw comparisons. I believe the real question is will your book resonate in today’s culture and are you going to make a good case for it.

I’m sending it to him this week, so if any of you see something, say something.

[This is for an interracial new adult romance I recently shepherded through a third draft.]

In order to appreciate why a book does well, study the culture of the times and what came before. You wouldn’t want to be old hat unless you’re writing historical, in which case try the fedora or pillbox.

[to the agent] Harmonious interracial themes in civil discourse have been steadily increasing in America, except for the last two or so years. Since the moral arch of the universe bends toward justice, I write to a frustrated majority with pent up needs for fairness and love.

Let’s look back at our culture as a whole. Earlier films such as The World of Susie Wong, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and A Patch of Blue trail blazed the subject by finding something fundamental about our society to portray. Over time, the efforts became more frequent. Movies, such as Jungle Fever, Save the Last Dance, Monster’s Ball and Disney’s latest Cinderella wowed us with their brilliance.

On TV, it is everywhere these days. Hollywood is at war. From ABC’s The Bachelor franchise, even Hallmark to Scandal (can you imagine that about the idea behind Scandal?).

In books, from Clotel to The Sheikh’s Auctioned Nanny. From Forbidden Fruit to Finding Faith, the reading public can’t get enough.

I find the story more compelling when you pick a subject that has already proven news worthy and had become the topic of conversations around the table and in coffee shops. On August 12^th, 2018, a small group of white power types demonstrated at the White House in Lafayette Park. They were met by approx. 4000 counter-demonstrators who drown them out. This gave me hope and the idea for my story.

Some of the references above are about full adult romances. New adult is more complex and a joy to write. The “kids’ have much on their minds. School or a job. Who are they? What will they do with their lives? How can they give back? Who will be their new friends (leaving high school)? Will they get married and if so is now the time for true romance?