Do you think Q's for horror.....

CACTUSWENDY · May 23, 2010

Do you think a query for a horror/dark genre is done a little differently than what is done with most other genres? Why I ask is that when I read the q-hell threads, and in my mind try to place a horror story in that vain, I can't see it working.

Part of the horror aspect is the tension/the intrigue/ the twist that come out in word choices/pacing/voice. When I read what is shared in the SYW horror area I don't see how you can do that without coming across as blah.

Any insight would be appreciated. I'm sure there are some here that have done one with success. Hugs to you all. :evil

dgrintalis · May 23, 2010

Hi Wendy! Yes, I've written a query letter for a darker flavored story with success.

I don't think the query letter itself is done in a different fashion from other genres. You still need a hook, voice, and enough of the story to garner an agent's interest. Sure, the story itself is darker than a YA or a work of literary fiction, so the content of the query letter is darker in tone, but the basic writing of the thing is the same. If you want to see my query letter for Ink, it's in the Successful Queries thread in QLH. I hope that helps!

bethany · May 23, 2010

I recently did a query for an, um, literary YA horror.

I think I followed the regular query pattern because I focused on what my character wants and what's keeping her from getting what she wants... I worked hard to get the mood right, and to add details that I thought gave a taste of the horror of the manuscript.

Madeline Usher is doomed, though she's spent her life fighting fate. She thought she was succeeding but then she woke up in a coffin. In a blind panic, she claws at the lid of her prison--a place so oppressively dark that she has to check again and again to make sure her eyes are still in their sockets.

The Fall is a 60,000 word YA horror story, and a reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of The House of Usher.

Revealed through short bursts of memory, Madeline needs to escape the haunted house where she was born and wants her beloved twin brother to return to her. She tries to find hope for the future, but Ushers die young, and hope is hard to come by in a house where vacant eye-like windows look out onto white decaying trees. Still, Madeline bravely plants flowers under the dead trees, clinging to a childhood belief that if the flowers bloom her future will hold love instead of death. They never bloom.

By studying the house's moods and history--and by finding a journal left by an ancestress--Madeline decides her only chance is to destroy the house. In the end she'll bring the house down, but it will take more strength than a lone girl, half mad and trapped in a coffin, should be able to muster.

Success rate was a little over 100% in that I queried 6 agents, got 5 requests and 2 requests from agents I didn't query.

bethany · May 23, 2010

ETA, thought I'd pop back in to say I know some of the reason for the phenomenal success of that query came from multiple factors, but the query wasn't too bad! I think that if you have a main character, horror readers, like other readers, like to be able to latch onto that character and live and breathe their success. The stakes tend to be nice and high...I think if done right a horror query is easily as compelling as other genres.

Good Luck!

FOTSGreg · May 24, 2010

bethany, I'm curious. How did you get requests from agents you didn't query?

bethany · May 25, 2010

FOTSGreg said:
bethany, I'm curious. How did you get requests from agents you didn't query?

One came in the form of a sort of fan letter from an agent who had read my book and knew my previous agent was leaving, but I'm pretty sure she also saw the query on my website because I posted it there on teaser tuesday. (and she knew the premise of The Fall) And one came through QLH from an awesome agent who is selling books left and right.

IDGS · Jun 26, 2010

Queries for Horror are really the exact same as any other.

Don't ramble about how spooky your tale is, or how it will instill terror into the hearts of the young and old alike. Give a concise telling of your tale, be nice, and be professional.

For my first published work, I sent out at least 100 queries to agents, all fails. I sent out.. oh let's say... less than 10 queries to publishers and got a two full reqs, one of which picked it up for publication.

I think it really comes down to the fact that so many different subgenres get lumped into the 'horror' heading that it's really difficult to find someone who truly identifies with what you're writing, but if you plug away long and hard enough at it, you'll find someone with whom it just clicks!

Cheers and good luck!

Do you think Q's for horror.....

CACTUSWENDY

An old, sappy, and happy one.

dgrintalis

'Tis true, she is a monstergirl

bethany

:)

bethany

:)

FOTSGreg

Today is your last day.

bethany

:)

IDGS

@LeaveItToIan