Okay, so I think I’m officially the slacker child of the M&M blog. Sorry this is SO late to post, everyone. I’ve been in hard-core editing mode for the past couple of weeks and I have major tunnel-vision. I’m almost through with my final read-through of Shaedes and this bad boy will be ready to send back to my editor!

On that note, we’re all talking about the query letters that landed us agents. Let me just say right off the bat, I HATE writing queries. I suck at it. Having said that, I asked for a lot of help from my writerly friends. I started with a skeleton and counted on my friends to tear it apart. Which they did. More than once. And luckily, I didn’t have to tweak the query for Shaedes of Gray during my query process. I had REALLY good luck with it. In fact, I managed to get three times as many requests with my query for Shaedes than I did with my first novel. Like Sandy, I sent out in batches of 10 and when a request or rejection would come in, I’d send out a new query to replace it. I definitely sent out more queries than Sandy, I think somewhere in the realm of 110 total. I researched the agents who I thought would be the best fit for me. They repped what I wrote, and also repped some of my favorite authors. From my first correspondence with my agent, Natanya Wheeler, I knew I wanted to worth with her. And when we finally talked on the phone, well, that just sealed the deal. Here’s my original query to her. Enjoy!

I was pleased to read on the QueryTracker website that you are accepting submissions. I am seeking representation for my urban fantasy, SHAEDES OF GRAY which is complete at 80,000 words.

For a century Darian has existed in a realm of darkness. Made and abandoned, she is a Shaede, virtually immortal with the ability to blend with the shadows once the sun sets. An assassin by trade, she spends her nights as a hired hand, meting out death for the highest bidder. She’s alone in the world, the last of her kind, merely existing—or so she thinks.

When her infatuated employer, Tyler, sends her out on a routine hit, Darian discovers that her new mark is not only another Shaede, but Alexander Peck, King of the Shaede Nation. Her not-so-chance meeting with Alexander takes her deep into the realm of who—and what—she really is. Only when she puts her life in his hands does the supernatural world unfold around her, revealing that she is not as alone as she once thought. Under the tutelage of Alexander’s fiercest warrior, she prepares to find and kill the man who set her adrift in the world of humans.

But with that quest comes danger. Not even Tyler, revealed as her unearthly protector, can save her once she crosses into their dark realm to face the truth. As her role in awakening an ancient evil is revealed, she must face who she was, who she is, and what she could become.

Of course, I had a personalized greeting and closing with this letter, but as it’s on my old computer (which is temporarily out of commision) I couldn’t dig it up. I think it’s important to tailor each query to the agent you’re sending to. It builds a relationship right off the bat.