HOT OFF THE PRESS! We love to share our information with writers, and we’re happy to pass some of our INSIDER’S SECRETS along to you. Feel free to print these posts to use as a reference. Pass the links along to your writer friends. It’s packed with great information this month. DEADLINE-DATED lists of anthologies, theme issues, and contests are included at no charge!

In This Issue:

* * First of a two-part guide to THE QUERY LETTER.

* * IN MEMORIAM: THE INTERROBANG?

* * Read about our NEWEST E-book, entitled UNTANGLING WEB SUBMISSIONS: ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PUBLISHING YOUR WRITING ONLINE.

* * Still confused? THE COMMON COMMA may clear things up for you.

* * Do you want to get your submissions in the mail by next week? Our A LA CARTE SERVICE is quick, easy, and affordable.

* * THIS ISSUE’S WRITING PROMPT brings you to the movies.

* * LOTS OF HELP for CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHORS—100 CONTACTS and Everything You Need To Know To Publish Your Children’s Book.

* * We’re giving away a FREE REPORT that outlines industry-standard Manuscript FORMAT Guidelines when you order our E-book entitled REJOICE IN REJECTION. 

* * You won’t find a better list anywhere (AND IT’S FREE!) of upcoming ANTHOLOGIES, SPECIAL-THEMED JOURNALS, and CONTESTS. 

↓ Scroll Down to Read These Exciting and Useful Articles!! ↓

When you send out a query letter to a literary agent, you have to know what to include. The letter has approximately two seconds to grab an editor's or agent's attention before being relegated to the Round File. But what if you don’t know how to write a query letter, or what to put in it? If your query letter doesn’t contain the proper information, your book probably won’t get a second glance.

Getting Ready To Write Your Query Letter

Many writers are tempted to start their query letters with some snazzy attempt at humor, a rhetorical question, or some witticism. Unfortunately, if the first line of a query letter is too flashy and splashy, it will fall flat. Read more: Cover And Query Letters: Striking The Right Tone In Your Writing.

Many writers rush through the process of writing the query letter, thinking that the focus should be on their manuscript, not their introductory letter, but editors and literary agents do not have the time to evaluate manuscripts individually. That’s what your query letter is for—to succinctly state your case for representation.

Your query letter must be convincing on its own, both in its ideas and the quality of the writing. Any number of common query letter mistakes can get your query passed over, and although it may seem unfair to be judged on a one-page letter, that's the nature of the business.

There is no magic formula to help sell your ideas. The most writers can do is to educate themselves on the art of the query—by adhering to industry guidelines, studying successful query letters, heeding the advice of editors and agents, and through practice.

There are four necessary parts to a query letter, and it's up to you to decide how to effectively order them. Writers with impressive backgrounds, publishing credits, or expertise in their subject matter may choose to highlight their credentials first thing. An unpublished writer may choose to wow the editor with the premise of his story right up front. The important thing is to cover all the important points:

1) Opening lines

At this early stage an agent will likely make the decision to read further based on book genre and word count alone. Make it clear what you are offering, and define your work in terms of genre and length.

My book falls into the women's fiction category and was inspired by a family member who struggled with bulimia.

Or: My book is a science fiction novel based on my experience in DNA research and is complete at 150,000 words.

2) The synopsis (aka blurb, aka overview)

Describe the plot of your story (or the concept of your nonfiction book). Keep it to one paragraph or two, and give just enough information to describe the general plot, the setting, central characters, the conflict, and the resolution. Be specific. Your plot paragraph should include the time frame of your novel as well as the location or setting.

This novel takes place in rural Georgia in the 1960s—a time of strife and racial tension.

Introduce your main characters, but leave the minor characters for your full-length synopsis. At this point you want to avoid slowing the editor or agent down with any unnecessary information. Keep it interesting and keep it moving.

Read more: How To Write A Killer Book Blurb For Your Query Letter: What Literary Agents Want To See.

3) Your credentials

Composing your professional writing bio is an easy task for previously published authors and experts, but a daunting task for the unpublished writer. Whether you've got a string of best-sellers behind you or this is your first writing endeavor, make sure you come across as confident (but not arrogant). If your query letter is good, your lack of experience need not count against you.

Highlight any publishing credentials, writing experience, and education. Know the best way to highlight self-published books in your bio.

Examples:

I've published numerous short stories in Literary Magazine and have a degree in journalism from Impressive College.

Or: This book is based on my findings while on an archaeological dig in Africa for Stanford University, where I currently teach archaeology.

If your background experience has no bearing on the subject, leave it out. However, if your writing credentials are not impressive, by all means highlight anything in your background that merits writing your book.

As a mother of a child with Down's syndrome, I feel uniquely qualified to write about the subject.

If you don’t have any publishing credentials, there are few things you can do to help convey that you’re serious about your craft. Read more: How To Build Up Your Writing Bio Super Fast.

Writer’s Relief helps our clients query literary agents and build up their writing credentials in the literary magazine market.

4) Thank you

In closing, be sure to thank the editor or agent for his or her time and offer to send sample chapters (if not enclosed) or the complete manuscript. Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for convenience, and sit back and wait—or start working on your next submission.

Don’t want to write your own query letter? Since 1994, Writer’s Relief has been helping authors compose query and cover letters that get results.

Americans have embraced many fads and phases over the years, and some have been fairly forgettable (pet rocks excluded, of course). These trends, including trends in punctuation, eventually fade into the woodwork until very few people actually remember them at all. Unfortunately, this is the case for the poor old interrobang.

What?!?! You've never heard of the interrobang?!?!

If we were to use this sad, maligned creature right now, it would merge the exclamation points and question marks of the previous sentences into one new, glorious punctuation mark and save us all some grief. Who needs to see such a confusing conglomeration of marks anyway?

Martin Speckter came up with this concept in the 1960s, when he headed up an advertising agency. He believed that a single mark would look better than a combination question mark/exclamation point in his copy, and, indeed, the interrobang, as he named it, became popular for most of that decade.

It appeared in some dictionaries and in magazines and newspapers across the country. Some typewriters even featured an interrobang key, but, much like the typewriter itself, its was phased out.

It's possible that the interrobang died a natural death because of its irritation factor. It is irritating to read a sentence that contains more than one exclamation point or question mark; it is irritating when the sentence combines question marks and exclamation points; therefore, it must have been quite irritating to see this freakish combination mark in print. Could it be that the I-Bang never really had a chance?

Want to know where to find the interrobang on your keyboard? Don't fret too much. Check Microsoft's Wingdings, as well as a few other fonts. But remember: just because you can still find platform shoes with goldfish swimming in the soles doesn't mean you should buy them. And you definitely shouldn't wear them out in public!

Got grammar questions? The Writer’s Relief proofreading team is here to help. We specialize in working with creative writers!

Using commas after introductory phrases or other words. When you’re considering whether or not to put a comma after a word in the beginning of a sentence, there are a few rules to keep in mind. Commas exist to indicate a natural pause in a sentence and to avoid sentence confusion. In many cases it is the writer's choice whether or not to use a comma. Here are a few guidelines to follow.

DO use a comma:

--After introductory exclamatories and after expressions of affirmation or negation.

Well, it's about time. Oh, you shouldn't have! Yes, I'd love to.

--After an introductory clause.

As I told you, the principal won't be back until Monday.

--After an introductory prepositional phrase of more than four words.

After driving for more than eight fun-filled hours, we finally arrived at the motel.

--After an introductory verbal phrase, appositive phrase, or absolute phrase.

Having formed an instant bond, the boy and the puppy quickly became inseparable.

In order to give a good estimate, the plumber spent over an hour investigating the leaky pipes.

A lawyer from Texas, John Stetson is an expert in copyright law.

--After introductory transitional words.

However, I never said I would actually attend the party.

Of course, I wasn't actually invited...

Do not use a comma when a gerund or an infinitive is used as a subject.

Watering the lawn is a good way to attract birds.

To tackle the subject without any research would be foolish.

Who Has The Final Say About Using Commas?

As with many elements of creative writing, comma usage generates much debate. Many experts recommend separating all introductory elements with a comma. It makes for a natural break or pause, and it contributes to better comprehension.

Others argue that if the sentence is clear without the comma, and the introductory element is short, the comma is unnecessary; ultimately, it comes down to personal preference and what works best for the reader.

If you’re not sure when your commas are necessary and when you can delete them, the Writer’s Relief proofreading team can help you! We’re here to make sure literary agents and editors see a clean, impressive copy of your work by formatting your writing to meet industry standards—including comma issues!

Writing prompt: Songs have played a vital role as background pieces for movie scenes time and time again. In fact, some scenes are remembered more for the song that was playing than the actual scene.

Which song, in your opinion, was best used to accompany a scene from a movie? You know, the one scene that made you double over because the song selection truly drove the point across.

Describe what it meant to you, how it affected you, and why you believe it was a perfect, audiovisual onscreen marriage.

If you're feeling ambitious, try to write a movie scene with a specific song in your head to revolve the scene around. What picture does your selected song create inside your head as you listen to it? Map it out on paper. Write about whether or not music has helped or hurt movies as a whole. Or maybe we're getting carried away...

Writer’s Relief helps creative writers submit their prose and poetry for publication. We hope you like our writing prompt! And REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT OUR LIST OF WRITING CONTESTS and ANTHOLOGIES! You won’t find a better list anywhere (AND IT’S FREE!) of upcoming anthologies, special-themed journals, and contests.