I’ve been happily writing for a little while…
…gotten grammar; learned character and craft, plot and how to tame that protagonist (well, sometimes); managed 1st-person in a hopeful dystopia and multiple-POV set in Maine; both wrung my hands and reveled in every revision…
BUT OH, THOSE QUERY LETTERS!
Yup, they’re a necessity, and if any of these questions rings a bell, I’d love to help you whip your query letter into shape.
- Has spellchecking ever worked its backwards black magic and corrected you into misspelled words and unintended meanings?
- Is your plot summary still refusing to cooperate?
- Are your characters not grabbing the agent by the hand?
- What DOES that ideal literary agent want to see in your query, anyway?
(And the bio… Oy, the bio! We’ll get to that.)
~~~
Let me speak to your query letter—I’ll be firm but kind.
Having learned the long and hard way as a professional author/translator/editor/proofreader for 20+ years,
I’m excited to now laser-focus my editing on…
FICTION QUERIES ONLY
TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS:
- Are you a bot?
I am not.
- Will you rewrite my query?
No, but I will thoroughly and thoughtfully guide your revisions in a 1-page critique or using Track Changes.
- What’s your turn-around time?
Often same-day. Depending on workload, 3 days at most.
- More about you?
– MFA in Creative Writing from UBC, MA in Italian from UBC, BA in French & Italian from Middlebury
– Bread Loaf Scholar and Pushcart Prize nominee
– Shortlisted for the 2016 HarperCollins/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction
– Award-winning fiction published by “Solstice,” “Literary Imagination,”
“The Toronto Star,” “The Lascaux Review,” “Stone Canoe,” “bosque,” Moon Willow Press, Exile Editions, and more
– In 2023, longlisted for the Fugere Book Prize and shortlisted for the
Lascaux Prize and Exile Editions’ Best Canadian Short Story Award
– Working on adult literary fiction, climate fiction, and middle-grade
stories in my wildly creative German-Punjabi household
– https://laughinginthelanguage.com/
– https://linktr.ee/AnnelieseS
– https://www.facebook.com/aschultzauthor/
– www.linkedin.com/in/anneliese-schultz
- What does it cost?
- – 1 edit – $95.USD
- – 1 edit + answers to 3 follow-up questions from you – $130.USD
- – 1 edit + 1 review of your new draft – $175.US
- How do I contact you?
aschultz@mail.ubc.ca (state Query Critique Request in RE: line)
Query Tips:
Something your blurb might say How Query Speak might put it
She’s getting tired of this. Which way is the exit?
(because agents want voice)
What you might say in your bio How Query Speak would have it
…the first in a trilogy. …a standalone with series potential.
(because you don’t want to overwhelm the agent, just make them ask to see more!)