Write Good or Die

[email protected]
    www.jonathanmaberry.com/blog

    August 22, 2008

    Joe Bloggs
    The Big Literary Agency
    100 Success Street
    New York , NY 10000

    Dear Mr. Bloggs,

    If you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week then there’s either something wrong with your skills or something wrong with the world…and there’s nothing wrong with Joe Ledger’s skills.

    Patient Zero is a mainstream thriller in which a Baltimore cop is recruited by a secret government organization to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a plague that can turn people into murderous zombies. The story is grounded in hard–but very scary—science and follows Joe Ledger as he goes from a cop with a troubled past to a hero leading a unit of first-team shooters against the world’s deadliest threat.

    Joe Ledger and the DMS (Department of Military Sciences) would immediately excite readers of James Rollins’ Sigma Six novels , Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series and Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books. Joe Ledger is a hero with heart: conflicted, compassionate, idealistic and extremely dangerous. Patient Zero is the first of a proposed series of fact-paced character-driven high concept thrillers that pit Joe Ledger and the DMS against terrorists with cutting edge bio-weapons. He’s the hero we need for these troubled times.

    Patient Zero is 140,000 words and is ready for immediate mailing. I would be happy to send a synopsis, sample chapters (or the complete ms.) along with a competitive analysis that clearly shows how strong and active this genre is, and has been. I’m very experienced with social networking and will be an active participant in co-promotion, using Facebook, Twitter, podcasting, blogs, websites, forums and other forms of viral marketing to build buzz for this book. I’m working on a follow-up novel and can provide e-stories as incentives for cultivating readers during the run up to release.

    Your own remarkable track record with thrillers of every stripe is impressive, and you’ve done so well with best-sellers as well as first-time authors such as Joe Schmoe, Jane Doe and Bessie T. Seller that it’s clear you get this genre. I look forward to hearing from you via email.

    Sincerely

    Jonathan Maberry

    Jonathan Maberry— http://www.jonathanmaberry.com
    ###

25. HOW TO GET A LITERARY AGENT
    By Brandon Massey
    http://www.brandonmassey.com

    Let's face it, every writer serious about publishing needs to find out how to get a literary agent. These book professionals, considered the "gatekeepers" of the publishing industry, can be critical to your success as a novelist. But how do you get one?
    In this article, we'll cover three steps you can follow to get a literary agent for your novel. Keep in mind that the steps I'm going to present are just one effective way to go about this process. I discuss various others in my weekly writers' newsletter on my web site.
    1) Write a marketable novel.
    This is one tip that will never change. Before you have any chance of landing a reputable agent, you have to write a marketable manuscript. It literally opens the door.
    Don't make the mistake of contacting agents before you've finished your book (unless you are a celebrity or veteran writer, in which case, few of these rules apply to you). Complete your novel first.
    A writer with a top-notch novel will be able to pick and choose quality representation. It's the key to everything, and should be your first priority.
    2) Use listings in directories.
    You may be familiar with these guides. Typically, these directories feature hundreds of listings of literary agents, and include their location, contact info, preferred markets, recent sales, and submission guidelines.
    Pay close attention to these listings, because they contain just about everything you need to know in order to get serious consideration from a particular agency. Don't query them about a horror novel if they say they don't represent horror. Don't email them if they say they want snail mail submissions only.
    Just follow the query guidelines to the letter, and you'll have a real shot.
    3) While submitting, start working on a new novel.
    I can't stress enough how important it is for you to get busy on a new manuscript while your other novel makes the rounds of the agencies. It's a key tip, for several reasons.
    First, writing a new novel will keep your mind occupied, and will minimize your obsession over the status of your book currently on submission.