#queryclinic

Okay, this is all very rudimentary right now. I have been playing with the idea of having a Friday (or the day can change to meet the needs) query clinic where we can help one another get closer to publishing our novels by working on our dreaded query letters. At least they are dreaded for me.

I have received so much support from the online writing community that I thought I should contribute, as well. I have had the great fortune of being a part of #ninjachat over at Ali’s blog. The support I have received there has been priceless.

I am no expert at queries. But I do know many of us get too close to our work to write objective and compelling query letters. I know I can always use another pair of eyes and a second (or even third and fourth) opinion before I click the send button on my email.

So I am open to thoughts, impressions, and ideas. But I was thinking that we could post our query letters on our blogs on Fridays and (using a linky tool or the comments section) hop around and give constructive criticism to one another. At some point, we could even use a chatroll (as Ali does for #ninjachat) to give live feedback to one another.

Let me know what you think. We can use the hashtag #queryclinic to connect on Twitter, as well. I know for me, I need some serious help with my query letters.

There are some terrific sites out there already:

Query Shark, which I discovered from my friend Corrine. This is a place where you can read through numerous fiction letters and, perhaps, submit yours for review. It is a great place to help perfect your own query letter by reading the mistakes of others.

Query Tracker where you can organize and track your query letters to various agents and publishers.

Nelson Literary has a FAQ page that I’ve found very helpful. As you scroll down, there is a section of links to help write a better query letter.

I am sure I have missed a bunch of sites, but those are the places I most frequent.

Anyway, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts about queries and #queryclinic.