Don't Clear Your Throat When It's Showtime--by Reb MacRath
The hard part, at last, was over: the years spent researching and writing the book; revising and editing; concocting a 1-sentence and then a 1-paragraph elevator pitch; and then, Lord help me, coming up with an outline that won a thumbs up from a trusted reader.
I was ready to go with a ms. formatted according to industry standards. And I had a plan I liked: to submit my work to three agents before putting the book up on Kindle.
I've written queries in the past and several won me big agents. But times and query styles have changed, along with my circumstances. So here was where I found myself beginning to clear my throat, tempted to justify my book's 60K word length; to apologize for past mistakes; to make a case for my experience and age.
But no, no. The hell with that. When it's showtime, just man up and belt out the blues. If I've only got 300 words, there's no time for lard or blubber. Stick the landing with line one: a razzle dazzle hook that dares an agent not to read the paragraph that follows. Not a recap of my 7.5-page outline but a precis of the narrative's soul, the main obstacles my characters must face and overcome.
Then: in brief, why does this agency turn me on?
My bio? No thank you. I'll go with D. F. Cotter is an award-winning writer who lives in Tucson, AZ.
I'll take my bow with a sentence suggesting why I can be their dream client.
Goodbye.
This is my report.
*****
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