|
Sample Chapter
Excerpt from
Selling Yourself in a Query Letter
Not the time to be modest
by
Betsy Mitchell, editor-in-chief of Warner Books’ science fiction/fantasy
line, Aspect.
The next time you’re ready to offer
a manuscript, take time to create a query or cover letter that will help
make that sale. Editors need a reason to buy your manuscript. You may have
a terrific story to tell, an interesting new writing style, a nonfiction
topic that nobody’s hit on yet…but your manuscript still must do battle
with a pile of others sitting on the editor’s desk. Clinch that sale in
your cover letter, with every personal "selling point" you can
think of.
Whether they work on fiction or
nonfiction books, editors must create what are called "fact
sheets" or "tip sheets" for every manuscript they acquire.
These are quick guides to both the book and the author that go from the
editor’s desk to every department in the publishing house. They are a key
reference tool for sales representatives during sales conference—and the
reps’ primary source of information for selling the book into stores. The
advertising department uses fact sheets as the basis for writing catalog
copy and advertisements. Publicists rely on them to create accurate press
releases and letters that accompany advance galleys.
Your manuscript’s selling points
will help every step of the way toward getting your book into the stores.
But most important, a list of strong selling points helps an editor obtain
the OK to buy your manuscript. So the more you can present to an editor,
the better your chances of making that sale.
Not every selling point listed here
will apply to every author. For example, an author’s sales history on his
or her previous titles is the most important selling point on any fact
sheet—but naturally a first novelist or beginning nonfiction writer has no
previous sales. If that’s your situation, then concentrate on making the
most of your other qualifications.
Here are the most important selling
points, with explanations of each:
Best-selling track record
Give the latest sales figures for your previous titles; sell-thru
percentage (the number of copies sold out of the total shipped—but mention
only if this is 65 percent or better); copies in print and average monthly
reorder; any appearances on best-seller lists.
First-timers naturally will have no
previous sales history—but remember, every author was at this point once in
his or her career. If that’s your situation, list several “comparative
titles” to what you’ve written: successful books already in print that have
similar appeal to yours in terms of audience and author qualification. For
example, a female mystery novelist offering a quirky new character who
might do well as the centerpiece of a long-running series can say that she
is hoping to click with fans of Sue Grafton and Sara Paretsky.
Or a pediatrician writing about his theory of child-rearing could list his
qualifications as a doctor and compare his approach to that of Penelope
Leach or T. Berry Brazelton.
Upward sales trend
If each of your books is selling better than the last,
that proves your audience of readers is growing.
Awards received
Awards for your writing come first. Awards in other fields, if they are
pertinent to the manuscript you’re offering, should be mentioned. For
example, if you’re a prize dog breeder writing an exposé on puppy farms,
tell how many ribbons and titles your dogs have received.
|
