Wow I love this and also truer words have yet to be said - I love an authentic, warm, personable query. I have read every single joke on the planet and I do not want to see another one in a query letter lololol
When I read your headline it struck fear: I’ve written an at times funny memoir with lots of funny drawings, and hence, am pitching it with plenty of jokes and goofy illustrations in my cover letter. And I’ve had *interest* from plenty of agents, but no deal yet. Which is kind of excruciating. Anyway I sent it to you as part of the 50 Queries project, and I feared you were about to spank me for my impertinence Query tone and book tone can/should match, correct? It’s a kind of writing sample after all...he writes hopefully.
Like I said, there's no rule that says you can't joke in your query. If jokes are appropriate for the content of your book, then have at it. But it's not the query's job to make an agent laugh. That's the book's job.
When I first started writing academic essays I always included a few lighthearted comments because I figured the person marking my assignment would be bored and might need some distraction. Turns out I was wrong. I also neglected to explain concepts in any detail because they were the expert and why did I need to explain something they already knew? It took me ages to work out the protocols, so I appreciate you spelling things out in plain english. Also, I haven't answered your poll because I like all the stuff.
Wow I love this and also truer words have yet to be said - I love an authentic, warm, personable query. I have read every single joke on the planet and I do not want to see another one in a query letter lololol
When I read your headline it struck fear: I’ve written an at times funny memoir with lots of funny drawings, and hence, am pitching it with plenty of jokes and goofy illustrations in my cover letter. And I’ve had *interest* from plenty of agents, but no deal yet. Which is kind of excruciating. Anyway I sent it to you as part of the 50 Queries project, and I feared you were about to spank me for my impertinence Query tone and book tone can/should match, correct? It’s a kind of writing sample after all...he writes hopefully.
Like I said, there's no rule that says you can't joke in your query. If jokes are appropriate for the content of your book, then have at it. But it's not the query's job to make an agent laugh. That's the book's job.
When I first started writing academic essays I always included a few lighthearted comments because I figured the person marking my assignment would be bored and might need some distraction. Turns out I was wrong. I also neglected to explain concepts in any detail because they were the expert and why did I need to explain something they already knew? It took me ages to work out the protocols, so I appreciate you spelling things out in plain english. Also, I haven't answered your poll because I like all the stuff.