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Query Letter Builder / KoppTech, LLC

ansky

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Wasn't sure where to post this, but there's a brand new (totally free) resource available for writers, the Query Letter Builder ( http://www.queryletterbuilder.com/ ) that helps writers with the querying process. A lot of questions asked in this thread are answered on there, so anyone looking to query should find it helpful.
 

cornflake

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I couldn't resist.

That was sad and no fun at all.

For anyone wondering, it doesn't actually help you do anything. It... pastes a salutation you enter into a box into a thing on top of the query you enter into a box, atop the 'sincerely' you enter into a box. Seriously, it does nothing. It has a bunch of fields, like 'agent name, salutation, hook, title, wc, body of query, bio, etc. so you just paste each element in and then it puts it in one thing to copy. I honestly have zero clue what the point of that is, except if you have legitimately no idea what to put in a query (not in a 'what information' way, but in a 'help, what do I do at all' way).

Each field does have a couple of guiding sentences -- it explains a salutation might be "Dear..." and that the query should be under 300 words and explain the character and stakes but... uhm, yeah. That is more of a waste of bandwidth than the Trojan Room coffee pot. (may it live forever in our hearts I'm only kidding it's not a waste -- that's the dripping tar. THAT'S a waste of bandwidth, no just kidding, this thing though...)
 

mrsmig

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I tried it, too. Couldn't see the point.
:Shrug:
 

Maggie Maxwell

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I can see the benefit if you simply don't know what goes into a query letter, but it doesn't give any help for writing a good description of your novel, which is the part that matters more than anything else. I also wasn't fond of the fact that it looks like it prefills some of the things like the salutation, but if you don't type anything because "Dear" is fine for you, it doesn't transfer over to the built version. I'd say useful as an initial educational tool, but not any guarantee for a "successful" query like it describes itself.
 

be frank

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I can see the benefit if you simply don't know what goes into a query letter, but it doesn't give any help for writing a good description of your novel, which is the part that matters more than anything else.

And given the lack of guidance on what type of content to include in that section, it's a bit problematic that it's headed "mini-synopsis" which isn't what a query letter is.
 

cornflake

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It seems more like 'if you don't know how to write a letter,' like third-grade style, when you had to practice writing letters to your congressperson.
 

ansky

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Hmm thanks for the feedback on this. I really just wanted to make a simple tool for people who truly have no idea about writing query letters and are overwhelmed with the amount of information there is out there (like blogs). I see, all the time, people post on my writing facebook/reddit communities with simple questions that were easily compiled into the builder's notes. I also follow the #querytip hashtags and see people making so many mistakes (probably due to them being new to querying) that could be avoided with little warning messages. I've made those mistakes myself, and I wanted to help others avoid them.

I have changed the tagline to "[FONT=&quot]A free and simple tool for writers new to query letters." [/FONT] because you're right, it doesn't guarantee anything successful, just helps avoid insta-rejections.

If anyone has any other tips for me to better this, I will definitely check back! Thanks again, everyone.

Anna
 

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Anna, what is it about this letter generator that makes it useful specifically in writing queries? Because I'm just not seeing it.
 

ansky

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Anna, what is it about this letter generator that makes it useful specifically in writing queries? Because I'm just not seeing it.

I guess not writing them, but putting them together without making mistakes that would make them be automatically auto-rejected. It's why the questionnaire is there, for those looking to query but not sure what to do and thus probably not ready in the first place. The tips and warnings are what I was trying to make the main benefit, so what when a writer is writing it, they can see what they need to avoid without having to read through thousands of agent tweets (like for example, writing in 1st person, avoiding comparisons to Harry Potter, or adding that it's a best seller). Since agents get so many queries, little things can turn them off and that's what I'm trying to help with.
 

ansky

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Wait. The OP is the creator of this tool? Because in the first post, it sounded like they'd "found" it on-line.

I'm confused.

I am but I wasn't sure where to post it (was initially posted in another thread and moved).
 

ansky

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ETA: The agents I've contacted to look over the builder's tips/warnings have responded back saying it's great because they get so many queries that could benefit from them, and that this tool would be very helpful.
 

cornflake

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I guess not writing them, but putting them together without making mistakes that would make them be automatically auto-rejected. It's why the questionnaire is there, for those looking to query but not sure what to do and thus probably not ready in the first place. The tips and warnings are what I was trying to make the main benefit, so what when a writer is writing it, they can see what they need to avoid without having to read through thousands of agent tweets (like for example, writing in 1st person, avoiding comparisons to Harry Potter, or adding that it's a best seller). Since agents get so many queries, little things can turn them off and that's what I'm trying to help with.

How would this keep someone from getting automatically rejected?

Also, yeah, so... spamming. Not cool.
 

ansky

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Just by looking at auto-rejections in #500 queries, most of them could be avoided just by knowing what to avoid.

I guess I really don't know how else to explain it. I was really only trying to help. =\
 

Richard White

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Ansky,

If that's your goal, I'm not sure this is necessarily the correct means to the end. While formatting is important, it's the actual writing of the pitch - how to avoid wasting words, how to avoid burying the plot in a bunch of minutia, knowing how much to tell and how much to hint at to get the agent's attention, and so on, that make or break a query. I just don't see how an on-line form is going to help authors with their queries.

Now, I'm willing to accept you weren't trying to spam us, but it might have been better if you'd stated, "Hey, I've been working on this idea to help authors. What do you think?" up front. Nothing against you, but those of us who've been here for quite a while have seen people come and go trying to hide the fact that they're a publisher/agent/publicist/etc. by starting off "Hey, I just ran across X and what do you think?" when in reality, they are X. It's made some of us a little gun-shy and we're quick to pick up on certain "tells" in conversation. Also, we've also had people try to use this board as unpaid consultants for their ideas by disguising their association with X project.

So, let's take this again from the top, because again, I think your heart is in the right place.

And, don't feel bad -- One of the most common "new" ideas is someone coming up with, yet again, a web-based display site guaranteed to get queries in front of agent's eyes. Been tried since the 80s (? - have to check with Uncle Jim on this) and not one has replaced submitting queries yet. Still, every year, someone discovers the idea anew and spends a lot of time developing something that's just not going to work. Maybe, someday, there'll be a better (different?) system than querying, but for now, writing good queries and understanding what MAKES a good query is the way to go.
 

ansky

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Thanks a lot for your honest response Richard,

I'm not very active on this site so I had no idea there's been so many issues with things like that. I'm not trying to get paid for any of this (hell, I'm not even doing ads on the site because I don't want people to get distracted while writing their query). I simply wanted something to compile the information I wish I had when I began querying, and when someone on a forum or reddit or facebook says 'I just finished my novel, how do I go about sending a query to agents?' I could give them something simple to check out to get them started.

I do see the biggest glaring issue that was pointed out - help on the actual query body. This was something I thought better left to the myriad of blog posts about it, but since the builder itself doesn't seem to have a true 'purpose', adding that information would be my next step. That way, it can help write the query as well.

Thanks again,
Anna
 
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Maggie Maxwell

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Yeah, it's a problem we've seen frequently like Richard described: someone comes in, pretends they've found a new publisher, turns out later they're someone behind it. It's often frustrating and deceptive, but I get the feeling that wasn't what you were going for.

As for your site, it's definitely well-intentioned, and well-designed too. Did you do it from scratch or was it a template somewhere? Whatever the case, you did a great job with functionality and visuals.
 

ansky

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Yeah, it's a problem we've seen frequently like Richard described: someone comes in, pretends they've found a new publisher, turns out later they're someone behind it. It's often frustrating and deceptive, but I get the feeling that wasn't what you were going for.

As for your site, it's definitely well-intentioned, and well-designed too. Did you do it from scratch or was it a template somewhere? Whatever the case, you did a great job with functionality and visuals.

Thanks! I used Bootstrap to make it look pretty, but the entire site was made from scratch. I actually just got an HTML/CSS for Dummies book in July because I really wanted to make this site happen. My husband is a programmer but I made him not help me because I wanted to learn it myself. =D
 

Maggie Maxwell

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Thanks! I used Bootstrap to make it look pretty, but the entire site was made from scratch. I actually just got an HTML/CSS for Dummies book in July because I really wanted to make this site happen. My husband is a programmer but I made him not help me because I wanted to learn it myself. =D

Dang! Job well done! It's better than anything I made when I did a web/graphic design minor in college. You must have a natural eye for good design principles, because inexperienced web designers can get, uh, "creative" (read: cringeworthy) with their layouts and color choices.
 

ansky

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Hey everyone,

I've taken the weekend and added a whole lot more information for the body of the query. Hopefully this will now be a little more helpful for those looking to use the site as first-time query writers, which was my goal in the first place.

Anna
 

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Been tried since the 80s (? - have to check with Uncle Jim on this) and not one has replaced submitting queries yet.

The first one I'm aware of (alas I no longer have the postcard that they sent to every Writers' Digest subscriber so I can't check for sure) was in '91.

That particular wheel has been reinvented so many times that we have the abbreviation YADS (Yet Another Display Site) to label them.