Flynn – Page 3 – Rachel Heston-Davis

Encouragement

ByRachel July 29, 2009 2 Comments

With everything we authors have to keep in mind (the ins-and-outs of writing, the ins-and-outs of publishing, the habits, the marketing, etc.) we often forget one important item: positive feedback! I got positive feedback on FLYNN today. We're talking the kind of feedback where my reader stayed up late because she couldn't stop reading, and can't imagine that FLYNN won't get published. After...

Query Letter Guidelines

ByRachel July 28, 2009 2 Comments

What does a good query letter look like? Well, that depends on who you ask. Frustrating as it is, different sources will give you different query letter guidelines. I know this because I'm in the process of querying for FLYNN, and have read two books and several web sites on the subject. Here are the guidelines which seem to be consistent. A query should: give a concise description of the...

And the winner is…….

ByRachel July 27, 2009 1 Comment

Thanks to everyone who voted for my query letter hook! The winner is a hybrid combination of sentences 2 and 4, with a hint of 3. "Sixteen-year-old Flynn thinks learning about her dead parents is a dream come true—until she’s asked to live up to their legacy by leading the army to war." I appreciated that you guys took time to actually analyze why you liked or didn't like each sentence....

Best Query Letter Hook

ByRachel July 24, 2009 16 Comments

Every novelist faces the dreaded query letter eventually--that unsolicited piece of mail meant to convince an agent that you, a complete stranger, have something worth their time to read. This summer it's my turn to craft one, and I need all of your help (it'll only take a second, I promise). Below, I've listed four possible opening lines, or hooks, to start my query letter with. A good hook...

Happy Independence Day!

ByRachel July 4, 2009 1 Comment

I feel like I myself have just won a great independence by finishing that third draft of Flynn. I am now free to take a short break, step away from the work, and do other things for a couple of weeks. This will renew my mind and allow me to be more objective when I come back to the novel again. It also signals the start of my querying agents, which I find both daunting and exciting. I will have...