Caught the tail end of the Da Vinci Code last night. Trashy film to go with the trashy book- but you have to admire Dan Brown for managing to write a novel THAT huge. He, alongside JK Rowling, are the only real writing superstars- and millionaires- that exist at the moment. Sometimes I do wonder if perhaps writers should sacrifice their style or message, at least at the start, to get noticed like musicians or actors…perhaps I am still stinging from being told my book may be viewed as suspect!
I am finding it really hard to market my book- to be honest I expect most writers do. When you are writing you are trying to create something new - why you would waste your time writing something you have already read. This issue really first raises its head in when drafting the dreaded introductionary letter. I am just getting another pack ready to send off to publishers, so have been looking at this (while supposed to be working) this morning.
What is a good introductionary letter? From what I gather in the writer yearbook it had do a few key things:
1. The facts- the title, length etc
2. Introduce yourself- with a brief CV, any thing ‘unusual’ about yourself
3. Positioning your book with others in the market
4. What evidence you have that book is any good (who has read it etc)
1 should be easy. Abstractions of Feeling at just under 90 000 words (89 665 to be precise)
Right on 2. My work has nothing to do with my writing, it is something I battle through in my spare (or not so spare) time. And there is nothing ‘unusual’ about me, I am just a normal person with a pretty boring history. I know, great sell!
Positioning your book. My novel is a work of speculative fiction so it is quite hard to pinpoint what else is like it in the market. At a push I would say ‘time traveller’s wife’ or ‘never let me go’- but these are great books and I don’t want to sound too presumptuous. Also it is suppose to be good to align it with some of the agents current authors. I’ll be honest- my knowledge of modern fiction is not what is should. The spare time I get when I am not revising the manuscript will either be on ploughing through the ‘classics’ I need to read or working through a recently nominated book- or a richard and judy read… and it quite a risky business looking synopsis out on wiki…
4- evidence that your book and/ or writing style is good. As I said, apart from friends I do not have any literary experts to comment on…and saying my boyfriend thinks it’s ok is hardly going to make it jump off the page…
Anyway, so far it looks like this:
Dear
Please find enclosed a synopsis and the first three chapters of my novel Abstractions of Feeling. This is a completed work of adult literary fiction approximately 90,000 words in length.
This novel is a work of speculative fiction similar in style to Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go or Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Travellers Wife. Nevertheless I believe the themes it explores, its detailed setting and the central strong female character would enable it to appeal to readers of the current market for historical situation novels such as Julia Gregson’s East of the Sun which your agency represents so well.
I read History and English at York University, and have experience contributing to various political publications. I have also worked for a high profile MPs in the House of Commons. This background has helped inform my work and ensured that I developed a professional attitude to my writing.
Abstractions of Feeling is my first completed novel and I believe that my strong literary style offers something fresh to the market. I understand that within Aitken Alexander you have the responsibility of developing new writers, which is the reason for sending my submission to you. I have enclosed a sae and am extremely keen for your response. If you would prefer to see the full manuscript or require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
We may be here sometime….
