The Query Process
My
story of querying agents is detailed in my blog.
Look for the September 23, 2003 entry for my thoughts on: Starting
the query process. Tips on selecting agents to query. Tips that worked
for me.
(Make
sure you include a catchy intro, a brief synopsis, a bio that shows your
relationship to the work and your accomplishments, and contact information.
I chose NOT to compare my book to other well-known works because I have
read that most agents find it to be rather cheesy. Instead, if you happen
to know of a book the agent has sold that is relavant to your work, mention
it in closing if you feel you compelled to do so. Please note that the
synopsis in this first query letter has since been changed to reflect
the revisions currently in progress. This is the query letter that I used
in my search for representation.)
Dear Agent,
I recently completed my first novel and I am hoping
that you might consider it for representation.
The Great Molasses Flood of 1919, tea with the mummies
of Guanajuato, bootlegging suffragists, and the use of
vibrators to cure hysteria, are a few of the scenes
found within the narrative of GIVEN. Journal
entries, letters, newspaper clippings, and passages
from women's magazines are set next to the poetry of
Emily Dickinson creating an enticing (and humorous)
literary scrapbook.
Set in both the 1990s and the 1920s, GIVEN weaves
together the stories of two strong women from
different eras. Tess Harden is a young mother from
Chicago who is struggling to overcome severe
depression following the loss of her three-month-old
daughter to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. During a
trip to Nova Scotia, Tess attempts suicide by throwing
herself into the Bay of Fundy. Dora Rare, an aging
midwife for a small seaside village, rescues Tess
after finding her unconscious on the shores of Scots
Bay. When Dora dies the following year, she leaves her
family homestead, the community-Birth House, to
Tess. Confused by the generosity of a woman she
considers a stranger, Tess returns to Scots Bay to
decide what she should do with her life and with
Dora’s house. Dramatic narrative and prose are tied
together with the bits and pieces of ephemera that
enter a woman’s daily life. Through the act of piecing
together Dora’s past, Tess ultimately heals herself
and discovers what it means to be home.
Research for GIVEN began over two years ago while
creating a radio documentary and accompanying web
feature for CBC Radio. The project, which focused on
the history of a Birth House, provided more than
enough material to begin working on a novel that is
historically as well as stylistically sound. This,
along with my personal experience of moving from the
U.S. to Canada in 1999, inspired me to write a novel
that would trace the physical and emotional journey of
embracing a new landscape, history and community.
I have always had a passion for writing and began my
professional career in 2000, writing and producing
several documentaries for CBC Radio. My most recent
feature documentary, Daughter of Family G, was the
winner of an "Excellence in Journalism" medallion at
the 2002 Atlantic Journalism Awards. An excerpt from
GIVEN has already received recognition from the
Writers' Union of Canada, placing as a finalist in
their Short Prose Competition. From November of 2002
to May of 2003, I was an apprentice writer in the
Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia's Mentorship
Program. Paired with author and editor Richard Cumyn,
I worked exclusively on GIVEN.
Excerpts from GIVEN can be found on my web site,
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/tidalpool/writing.htm.
I would be happy to supply sample chapters or a full
manuscript upon request. Thank you for considering my
work for representation.
Sincerely,
Ami McKay
My
top 15 e-query choices in random order (these agents take clients who
write literary fiction and or women’s fiction).
Anne McDermid (Canadian)
Helen Heller (Canadian)
Jenny Bent (now at Trident)
Dean Cooke (Canadian)
Copyright 2002 Ami McKay