davidthompson
08-20-2006, 08:28 AM
I'm polishing my novel and starting to think about writing the dreaded query. Problem is, I could write several different hooks that would sound like completely different novels, yet still describe it accurately.
So based on the following facts, what angle would you take in the query?
It's a tender coming-of-age story about a teenage boy's first infatuation and then his first real love. He happens to be gay. But it's not erotica; the steamiest sex scene is a brief hand job.
It's set in 1856 Ohio and the main conflict centers around the underground railroad, though the focus is on white slave catchers rather than black runaways or conductors.
It's first person from a 16-year-old's viewpoint, 70,000 words, but I don't think it's Young Adult. He's naïve in many ways, but since it's 1856, he's finished school, works two jobs, and is ready to leave home. The other main characters are 45 and 22, and everyone else is twenties or older. Plus there's the racism (though not by the white main character--he fights against it) and the homosexuality. Is that of interest to young adults or suitable for them?
And despite all that, it's not mainly about being gay, or the 1850s. Escaping and capturing slaves is a metaphor for the theme: Overcoming the circumstances you're born into is a lifelong struggle.
What would you emphasize in a hook and brief description, to sound most attractive to agents? And what category is it? Mainstream? Literary? Historical? Young Adult? Gay?
So based on the following facts, what angle would you take in the query?
It's a tender coming-of-age story about a teenage boy's first infatuation and then his first real love. He happens to be gay. But it's not erotica; the steamiest sex scene is a brief hand job.
It's set in 1856 Ohio and the main conflict centers around the underground railroad, though the focus is on white slave catchers rather than black runaways or conductors.
It's first person from a 16-year-old's viewpoint, 70,000 words, but I don't think it's Young Adult. He's naïve in many ways, but since it's 1856, he's finished school, works two jobs, and is ready to leave home. The other main characters are 45 and 22, and everyone else is twenties or older. Plus there's the racism (though not by the white main character--he fights against it) and the homosexuality. Is that of interest to young adults or suitable for them?
And despite all that, it's not mainly about being gay, or the 1850s. Escaping and capturing slaves is a metaphor for the theme: Overcoming the circumstances you're born into is a lifelong struggle.
What would you emphasize in a hook and brief description, to sound most attractive to agents? And what category is it? Mainstream? Literary? Historical? Young Adult? Gay?