FYI: Word Count Guidelines for Different Genres.

There were some comments raised that my manuscript may be too long, since it comes in at about 96k words and may be ONE reason my queries are rejected. IT MADE ME THINK!  I had spoken with some agents prior regarding word count, and from several sources I had heard at least 75k words. So I did a little more digging, and I post this just for your information.

Keep in mind, THEY ARE JUST GUIDELINES!! There are exceptions to the rules, but if you keep getting rejected, it may be one of the reasons.

This is taken from litreactor.com in a Q&A session with a literary agent.

Adult Fiction:

Anything above 70k but less than 115k (science fiction and fantasy tend to run up around 100k-115k words). The sweet spot for adult is about 90k. 

Middle Grade:

With fun, lighthearted, simple middle grade you’ll want to stay around the 20k-30k word count range. The average middle grade is 30k-40k. Upper middle grade can hit in the 50k word count range (possibly longer, if it's something really special).

Young Adult:

Young adult fiction allows for a lot of flexibility in word count. And as you’ve probably guessed… it is sitting pretty right in between middle grade and adult. YA manuscripts can have a word count anywhere from 55k to 90k.  

Picture Books:

Picture books are generally less than 1000 words. About 500-700 words is perfect. 

Also remember (because there are a bunch of new novel imprints opening their doors), a novella is 40k or less.

Pro tip: Try not to completely tether yourself to word counts. Let your writing take you where you need to go. But use good intuition and follow some of the rules.

I hope that clears up some questions! For me personally, since I am coming in at 96k for YA, I may be pushing the range a bit, so I'll see if there's something else I can take out to put it closer to 90k.  

Let me know if you've heard differently! Thanks!

UPDATED! A New Hope, A New Query Letter...

After posting my query letter, I received some comments that it may be pushing it in terms of length and amount of paragraphs, probably a borderline synopsis if anything. Thank you for the feedback!!!

With that, I decided to put my thinking cap on and consolidate things a little more. Overall I think we have a pretty good outcome - not too long, not too short, just "Goldilocks" sweet!

Please let me know what you think! I appreciated the comments last time.

Dear AGENT XXXXX:

  First of all, I wanted to thank you in advance for your hard work and the time you put in for aspiring authors, despite having an incredibly busy schedule.  On your bio, you have said you are seeking XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, and for those reasons I feel my manuscript would be a terrific fit for your representation!  I am Unbroken is a YA fiction, most relevant to the paranormal fantasy genre. It currently totals 96,000 words. Those readers enjoying such titles as Alice in Zombieland or The Vampire Diaries will readily identify with its style of writing. 

    Sixteen-year-old Gavin Ashmore had always suspected his family was different, maybe even insane to the point of hearing voices and seeing “ghosts.”  But lifelong loner Gavin doesn’t believe, won’t believe any of it. All of that begins to change after the plane crash however. Gavin begins to see and hear things, just like his family he thought was so crazy.  Because of that ability, he learns that an ancient spirit named Cain has been searching for Gavin, and now that he turned sixteen, Gavin becomes vulnerable to Cain. Gavin learns he is one of many in a long line of Ashmore's that has received the title of Unbroken, the curse bearers. This curse is what keeps Cain stuck between the living and dead worlds, thus imprisoning him in a nearly impenetrable cell.  As with anything, there is still one provision to break Cain free, and that lies within the very heart of Gavin Ashmore.

   To survive, Gavin must learn to fight Cain. He can only do it with the help of his own guardian angel, Alina, a beautiful dark-haired Italian teen who lived centuries ago. As he trains however, Gavin learns he has his own unique ability to manipulate spirits, a talent only one other in history has possessed - Cain. Gavin himself must decide if he will destroy Cain or take his place as one of the most powerful beings on the planet. 

    In trade, I am a dentist, but my heart has always been in writing. I have published several articles in various dental journals, and have even won scholarships by writing essays. I also maintain a blog called “Christian Quits His Day Job,” which describes my process as a writer. However, I am seeking to do more with my passion of writing, and so I turn to you for your help to make this dream come true.

   Thank you so much for your time, which I know is precious. While I have included a sample of the first 5 pages, a partial or full manuscript is ready at your request.

More Rejections = More Query Letter Revisions!

So following a string of about 20 rejections with no requests at all, I figured it was time to go through and revamp things a little more. Since I posted my last query letter, I've since defined what makes my story unique. I also realized that most agents receive thousands of queries, hence the delay in getting back to you.

The hardest part of being a writer is not getting feedback I think.

If not, you go on in your merry way, thinking you've written the best thing on the planet, and it's the agents' problems they aren't taking your manuscript and sending it to every publisher in the world. I decided though if after twenty query rejections, I would go back and revise.

Again, I had to find what was unique about my YA paranormal fantasy when it's a tough sell. Thanks to some already established authors, they helped me to see that my conflict and world building is what makes my book unique.

So I focused on that (It took lots of thinking and deleting) but I really enjoy the final product. I post it here not necessarily for your criticism (though it's always welcome) but more so for your feedback and progress..

Here it is:

Dear AGENT XXXXX:

   First of all, I wanted to thank you in advance for your hard work and the time you put in for aspiring authors, despite having an incredibly busy schedule.  On your bio, you have said you are seeking XXXXXXXXXXXX, and for those reasons I feel my manuscript would be a terrific fit for your representation!

   I am Unbroken is a YA fiction, most relevant to the paranormal fantasy genre. It currently totals 97,000 words. Those readers enjoying such titles as Alice in Zombieland or The Vampire Diaries will readily identify with its style of writing. 

    Sixteen-year-old Gavin Ashmore had always suspected his family was different, maybe even insane to the point of hearing voices and seeing “ghosts.”  His own father had even walked out on the family in a fit of paranoia when Gavin was younger, insisting that someone was after him, putting their whole family in danger.

    But lifelong loner Gavin doesn’t believe, won’t believe any of it. He has other mundane teenage drama to deal with – his politician step-father, the class bullies, and rolling his eyes as the cheerleaders “LOL” with each other.  That’s why he takes it upon himself to wish for a different life on his sixteenth birthday.

    But Gavin wasn’t prepared for how different his life was about to become after the plane crash.

    Following the accident, Gavin begins to see and hear things, just like his family he thought was so crazy.  Because of that ability, he learns that an ancient spirit named Cain has been searching for Gavin, and now that he turned sixteen, Gavin becomes vulnerable to Cain. Gavin learns he is one of many in a long line of Ashmore's that has received the title of Unbroken, the curse bearers. This curse acts as collateral to keep Cain stuck between the living and dead worlds, thus imprisoning him in a nearly impenetrable cell.  As with anything, there is still one provision to break Cain free, and that lies within the very heart of Gavin Ashmore.

   To survive, Gavin must learn to fight Cain. He can only do it with the help of his own guardian angel, Alina, a beautiful dark-haired Italian teen who lived centuries ago. As he trains however, Gavin learns he has his own unique ability to manipulate spirits, a talent only one other in history has possessed - Cain. Gavin himself must decide if he will destroy Cain or take his place as one of the most powerful beings on the planet. 

    In trade, I am a dentist, but my heart has always been in writing. I have published several articles in various dental journals, and have even won scholarships by writing essays. I also maintain a blog called “Christian Quits His Day Job,” which describes my process as a writer. However, I am seeking to do more with my passion of writing, and so I turn to you for your help to make this dream come true.

   Thank you so much for your time, which I know is precious. While I have included a sample of the first 5 pages, a partial or full manuscript is ready at your request. 

What the querying process is REALLY like...presented in gif format...

Just a little comedy for all the aspiring authors out there. 

Hope you enjoy!

Finishing your manuscript is like...(FINALLY!)

Queries sent...now the looooooong 6-8 week wait....per agent....lots of waiting....

FIRST rejection letter/email back...

Rejections 2-10...

 

And MORE rejections pile on...

Then out of nowhere...

the partial/full manuscript request comes along.

And then it's REJECTED.

This process happens some more, until you finally 

RAGE a little...

But then (And I'm still waiting for this one)...You get 

THE call/email...the REPRESENTATION! 

Your first reaction...

Followed by...

And then...

Finally, the realization sets in that you get to do the whole process over again...that is until you find a publisher...

#thewriterslife #amquerying

Good luck out there to all the aspiring authors!

-C

Query Letter 3 - HOPEFULLY my final version!!!!

I'm hoping this one will be the ONE. Thanks to some fellow writers for their tips, I was able to piece together what I feel is a perfect query letter for my manuscript. Granted, it really is NOT perfect, but at least I personally am not questioning myself, and I feel confident sending it out to agents. Now, it really is only a question of IF the manuscript itself is not catching the attention of agents. But I feel like I've taken one of the factors of rejection out of the equation now. 

PRESENTING:

Dear AGENTXXXXXX,

    First of all, I wanted to thank you in advance for your hard work and the time you put in for aspiring authors. I have made good use of your blog in my evolution as an aspiring author, and I feel that of all the agents, you are definitely looking out for us as writers. Today, I wanted to submit my debut novel, I am Unbroken, which is part one of a series, The Otherworld Series. I feel as though it would be a great fit for your representation, as it is similar in style to XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    I am Unbroken is a contemporary YA fiction, most relevant to the urban fantasy genre. It currently totals 100,000 words. Those readers enjoying such titles as Alice in Zombieland or The Vampire Diaries will identify with its writing. One of my favorite aspects of the book is the 1st person point of view of the main character, Gavin Ashmore. I feel that YA readers will readily be engaged with him from the beginning, as he experiences many of the struggles that every teen has to deal with, including stepparents, popularity contests, and bullies.  Not only that, but he has to put up with puberty while trying his best to save the entire world, both the living and the dead one.

    Sixteen-year-old Gavin Ashmore had always suspected his family was different, maybe even insane to the point of hearing voices and seeing “ghosts.”  His own father had even walked out on the family in a fit of paranoia when Gavin was younger, insisting that someone was after him, putting their whole family in danger.

    But lifelong loner Gavin doesn’t believe, won’t believe any of it. He has other mundane teenage drama to deal with – his politician step-father, the class bullies, and rolling his eyes as the cheerleaders “LOL” with each other.  That’s why he takes it upon himself to wish for a different life on his sixteenth birthday.

    But Gavin wasn’t prepared for how different his life was about to become.

    An unknown force of evil stirs against Gavin after his sixteenth birthday. Little does he know, but he is one of many in a long line of Ashmore's that has received the title of Unbroken, as well as the role of being the curse bearer. This curse acts as collateral to keep one of the most dangerous beings, known as Cain, stuck between the living and dead worlds, thus imprisoning him in a nearly impenetrable cell.  As with anything, there is still one provision to break Cain free, and that lies within the very heart of Gavin Ashmore.

    Along the way, Gavin encounters allies, friends and even hot guardian angels.  He falls in love with his own guardian angel, Alina, and because of Gavin's innate abilities, he is able to become Alina's guardian angel in turn, restoring her humanity once again, and only through her does Gavin begin himself to live life as his father always taught him.    

    But as with any great story, sacrifices will have to be made.

    The ultimate question is will the curse be broken, or will it ultimately break Gavin?

    In trade, I am a dentist, but my heart has always been in writing. I have published several articles in various dental journals, and have even won scholarships by writing essays. However, I am seeking to do more with my passion of writing, and so I turn to you for your help to make this dream come true.

   Thank you so much for your time, which I know is precious. While I have included a sample of the first chapter of my manuscript, a partial or full manuscript is ready at your request. 

   Thank you and Merry Christmas!

I would love any comments you have regarding room for improvement, or if you like it. THANKS!!!!

-C

Query Letter Version 2 -- (Not my most recent version)

Hello all,

   I just wanted to take a second and post for you a follow up from yesterday's post to show you a progression of my query letter. I have yet to hear anything positive from agent's, not even a partial request, so I thought it best to go back to the drawing board. This was my second attempt, which I'm not super psyched about, but you'll get the idea of how it evolved with time and a little elbow grease. Message me with more tips if you have them - I really appreciate the responses I got with the last post...so here we go! FYI I also changed the title of my novel to have a more catchy #hashtaggy sort  of name (not that "hashtaggy" is a word, but in this day and age anything goes, right?)

  Dear AGENT:

Sixteen-year-old Gavin Ashmore had always suspected his family was different, maybe even insane to the point of hearing voices and seeing “ghosts.”  His own father had even walked out on the family when he was younger, insisting that someone was after him, putting their whole family in danger.

But lifelong loner Gavin doesn’t believe, won’t believe any of it. He has other mundane teenage drama to deal with – his politician step-father, the class bullies, and rolling his eyes as the cheerleaders “LOL” with each other.  That’s why he takes it upon himself to wish for a different life on his sixteenth birthday.

But Gavin wasn’t prepared for how different his life was about to become.

For one, there’s his newly discovered, beautiful guardian angel, Alina, who saves him from certain death, propelling Gavin full throttle into the Otherworld, the realm of spirits who have unfinished business on earth. Second, there’s the evil spirit Cain, trying to resurrect himself to deal with some centuries-long grudge and take over the world. Third, there’s that little bit about Gavin being the Unbroken, a curse bearer that stands as the only hurdle stopping Cain from fulfilling his darkest desires. Puberty was nothing compared to this dramatic change. Life was about to be different for Gavin Ashmore...big time.

My debut novel, I Am Unbroken (100,000 words) is a contemporary YA fiction, entering the mind of a teenage boy dealing with many of the challenges that confront teens today, such as step parents, popularity, life goals, love and death. The dynamic love interest between the protagonist, Gavin, and his guardian angel creates a whole host of interesting possibilities that should entertain any young adult.  

Even though I’ve entered the professional world with a career in dentistry, I feel as though deeply ingrained within me is a passion to create worlds, characters, and plots through literature. My day is filled with anxious patients and caring for my little girls at home, but sitting down at the keyboard to write a few lines disconnects me from that world of reality and lets me enter into a whole new one that’s my own making. I hope to have the opportunity to share this world with others.

Thank you in advance for your consideration, as well as your time, which I know is precious. While I have included a sample of my first chapter, a full manuscript is available for you upon request.

Sincerely,

1st Draft of the Query Letter

The dreaded query letter...how do you some up your entire year plus' worth of writing into a few paragraphs. It's probably the hardest thing I've encountered, and I think the hardest part of it all is you never really know what the agents are thinking when they look at it, or if they even look at it.

So I thought it would be appropriate starting out if I place a copy of my first draft query letter as an example of how things can evolve over time. I haven't gotten any requests, partial or full, for this first one, so I thought a revision was needed. I will post that at a later date, and will hopefully hear back from some agents in the mean time.

Without further ado, here is my first query letter. Judge it how you will...critique is always welcome...

Dear AGENT XXXXXX:

When lifelong loner Gavin Ashmore makes the wish for his sixteenth birthday to be different, he never realized exactly how different his life was about to become.

For one, there’s his newly discovered, beautiful guardian angel, Alina, who saves him from certain death, propelling Gavin full throttle into the Otherworld, the realm of spirits who have unfinished business on earth. Second, there’s the evil spirit Cain, trying to resurrect himself to deal with some centuries-long grudge and take over the world. Third, there’s that little bit about Gavin being the Unbroken, a curse bearer that stands as the only hurdle stopping Cain from fulfilling his darkest desires. Puberty was nothing compared to this dramatic change. Life was about to be different for Gavin Ashmore...big time.

My debut novel, Gavin Ashmore and The Unbroken (100,000 words) is a contemporary YA fiction, entering the mind of a teenage boy dealing with many of the challenges that confront teens today, such as step parents, popularity, life goals, love and death. The dynamic love interest between the protagonist, Gavin, and his guardian angel creates a whole host of interesting possibilities that should entertain any young adult.  

Even though I’ve entered the professional world with a career in dentistry, I feel as though deeply ingrained within me is a passion to create worlds, characters, and plots through literature. My day is filled with anxious patients and caring for my little girls at home, but sitting down at the keyboard to write a few lines disconnects me from that world of reality and lets me enter into a whole new one that’s my own making. I hope to have the opportunity to share this world with others.

Thank you in advance for your consideration, as well as your time, which I know is precious. While I have included a sample of my first chapter, a full manuscript is available for you upon request.

Sincerely,

Christian Smith

What have you done in your query letter that works? Tweet me/message me and let me know. Thanks!

-C