Friday, February 7, 2014

Writing a Premise Statement for Your Book: Inner and Outer Story Synopsis and Why It Helps Get You Published

Imagine receiving 300-400 manuscript queries--each week!  Flooding your inbox.  Some weeks, even more.   

Welcome to the life of agents.  And their hired assistants who sort through queries to find the lucky few that stand out.  Maybe you'd like it to be yours?  What would you have to do, to make that a possibility?

Writers working on their first book may not even know what a query is.  It's a short, one-page letter (via email, often) that presents your book in the most engaging way.  It goes like this:  one paragraph about your book, one about your credentials for writing it, one about why you chose to solicit this particular agent.  It's brief, it's punchy, it's eye-catching. 

At least, that's the plan.

How do you start writing a good query? 

With a premise statement, also called a tag line or pitch or elevator speech.  A quick synopsis of your book's inner and outer story.