Does the a$$ kissing in the query actually help?

quicklime

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People are agreeing with me. This is unnerving.


go back and change your original answer....


"Yes, an agent, inundated with desperate writers, some of whom have zero people skills and boatloads of naivete, only rarely sees attempts at ass-kissery, and thus invariably falls right into the trap of ego-stroking at the rare moments when someone attempts to butter them up"
 

quicklime

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interesting....welcome to AW, J. Reid. I see with 44 posts, you're new, but stick around and maybe we can teach you a few things about publishing.....


(yes, tongue firmly in cheek)
 

Ari Meermans

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interesting....welcome to AW, J. Reid. I see with 44 posts, you're new, but stick around and maybe we can teach you a few things about publishing.....


(yes, tongue firmly in cheek)

toofunny.gif





Hey quicklime (aka chum), here's the smiley to go with your post:
fish12.gif
 

shelleyo

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You know, it's a good thing that everything isn't about ass-kissing.

Because I would never get anywhere.

It's not in my blood. I don't want to do it, and frankly I can't.

I know some people get pretty far that way, not necessarily in publishing. But man, I just can't do it.

I'd rather be disliked by everyone I come into contact with than have to pretend to eat somebody up, when I don't want to. Sue me. :Shrug:

Shelley
 

Ari Meermans

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You know, it's a good thing that everything isn't about ass-kissing.

Because I would never get anywhere.

It's not in my blood. I don't want to do it, and frankly I can't.

I know some people get pretty far that way, not necessarily in publishing. But man, I just can't do it.

I'd rather be disliked by everyone I come into contact with than have to pretend to eat somebody up, when I don't want to. Sue me. :Shrug:

Shelley

I can tell you from personal experience there's a huge benefit to be had there—more time for writing.
 

djf881

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A query should never be longer than 300 words. With the exception of a one-sentence biography of the author, every single word in a query letter should be about the book.

If the agent has sold similar books, this might be worth pointing out. Gushing about what a big fan you are just makes you look like an amateur.

Your goal in a query is to be impressive, not ingratiating. If you can't impress the agent, no amount of groveling is going to make them embarrass themselves by submitting your work to editors.
 

ladyleeona

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interesting....welcome to AW, J. Reid. I see with 44 posts, you're new, but stick around and maybe we can teach you a few things about publishing.....


(yes, tongue firmly in cheek)

*Snorts coffee all over computer screen*

~~~QL~~~~/\~~~
 

Windcutter

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But from a business stand point, the agent knows that more than likely, you're saying the same thing to every agent you query.
IMHO.
I believe I actually heard a story about an agent who laughed at a writer in her blog entry--said writer submitted an ass-kissing, fake personalized query to her but forgot to change the agent's name.
 

Susan Coffin

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Voodoo,

The way I see it, a query letter is just a business letter written to certain requirements. If you wrote a business letter to a lawyer, for a class, to a business, or wherever, you would not suck up, would you?

Whoever told you sucking up in a query is a tried and true method to grabbing an editor attention is pulling your leg (to put it nicely).
 

Chumplet

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Well, pretending to like an agent will certainly get you in hot water in the end, but the operative word is "pretending." If you genuinely like the agent, have had positive interaction with him/her in the past, what's wrong with a little friendly reminder?

That being said, it 's not wise to stretch that tenuous thread of contact to the point where the agent says, "Where have I met you? Who the hell are you, anyway?"

In the end, yes it's a business letter, but let's not make it so dry it dissipates in the breeze as soon as the agent breathes on it.
 

Susan Coffin

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Well, pretending to like an agent will certainly get you in hot water in the end, but the operative word is "pretending." If you genuinely like the agent, have had positive interaction with him/her in the past, what's wrong with a little friendly reminder?

That being said, it 's not wise to stretch that tenuous thread of contact to the point where the agent says, "Where have I met you? Who the hell are you, anyway?"

I agree--if you've had interactions with agent, then it's fine to mention that. But, I think kissing up would be along the lines of telling an agent how great he/she is.

In the end, yes it's a business letter, but let's not make it so dry it dissipates in the breeze as soon as the agent breathes on it.
Love it! :D
 

Christine N.

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I try and personalize every query I send out, but not with crap. It's where I found their name, read about them in an interview and heard they like they type of thing I'm sending, met them at a conference, who we mutually know. Or even if I've read a book by their client and what I write is similar.

It shows that a) I'm not sending a robo-query and b) I've done a little homework before writing to them. Hopefully it pulls me out of the pile of BS queries and blatant carpet-bombers and gets them to read to the end.

Personalize yes. BS ego stroking, no.
 

shelleyo

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I believe I actually heard a story about an agent who laughed at a writer in her blog entry--said writer submitted an ass-kissing, fake personalized query to her but forgot to change the agent's name.

Yeeeouch.

Shelley
 

rwam

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Put your focus and energy into crafting a killer query letter.

By the time they finish reading your full, here are the only things that matter:
1) Your ability to think up a great story
2) Your approach on telling that story
3) Your ability to translate that story into words


Azz-kizzing won't help. BUT....during that back-and-forth with the agent when he/she requests the partial and then the full, I would have to think if you come across as genuine, down-to-earth, and respectful, it could make the difference in what kind of feedback you get on the full.