An interesting query

I put the final touches to my query letter today.

I guess I should explain that, for all you non-writers. A query letter is a writer's calling card. In many cases, when you're approaching an agent or a publisher, it's your one chance to impress.

Unlike a few years ago, a good proportion - maybe even more than half - of agents will now accept queries by email, but this is a double-edged sword. It opens the floodgates to many more queries from first-time authors and thus makes it even more important to create a stand-out query letter. You have to describe yourself, your novel, the plot and why it's the perfect novel for them to be interested in, all in 3 or 4 paragraphs and all in as compelling a way as possible.

Sound like a hard job? You're damn right. There are examples of "good practice" online, but simply taking one of these and slotting in your own details is clearly not a good idea. Thousands of others will have been there before you. That is not "stand-out."

And then there's that secret ingredient - sizzle. That's marketing speak for what makes your query irresistible. What makes it POP!

So anyway, after a lot of work and several revisions, I'm now pretty happy with my query letter. Now I just have to work out who to send it to.