query letter

A Query Letter that Sold a Book

Author John Quinn did his homework. He studied the elements of a query letter, then penned the query below. All it takes is one agent to like a query and request the proposal or manuscript, decide to represent and make a sale. In John’s case, that agent was the talented Claire Gerus, who proceeded to sell John’s book, Someone Like Me, to History Publishing. Note the hook used to begin the letter. It immediately draws you in and keeps you reading.

 

Dear Ms. Gerus:

I have a secret I want to share with you, a secret that only a few people in the entire world know…so far.  I was born with cerebral palsy and I joined the United States Navy.  I’ve only had to keep that secret for my entire twenty-year career as a sailor. (more…)

By Lynn Wiese Sneyd, ago

Lessons Learned from a First-Time Author

Today’s guest blog comes from John Quinn, author of the memoir Someone Like Me –  An Unlikely Story of Challenge and Triumph Over Cerebral Palsy published by History Publishing. John was born with cerebral palsy and kept it a secret in order to join the United States Navy. When John decided to write his story, he had to dig in and learn about the publishing process from square one. He tapped into the amazing determination and persistence that he developed during a lifetime of challenges and successfully ushered his dream of a published book into reality.

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     I would like to share a few of the lessons that I learned in getting my memoir published.  These lessons come hard-earned and are things that I wish someone would have passed along to me when I was struggling to become an author. I hope they help you (more…)

By Lynn Wiese Sneyd, ago