Meredith Mansfield, Author

I’ve been busy.  I recently finished the major revision to THE IGNORED PROPHECY.  I just finished the first draft of a new short story.  I’m starting a new young adult fantasy, MAGE STORM.  On top of all that, I’ve been working on a new version of the query for BLOOD WILL TELL. 

I’m feeling like I might, almost, maybe be getting close this time.  Writing a query is so different from writing the book in the first place.  It’s a lot harder.

One of the problems, especially with fantasy, is figuring out just how much detail to put in and what to leave for the synopsis or even the sample chapters.  It’s a fine line.  Without some detail, your query ends up sounding generic and not very exciting.  But too much will bog it down in a heartbeat. 

Names are another problem, more so with the often-unfamiliar names of a fantasy.  You feel like you want to name at least the major characters in the query.  But you only have about 250 words.  If you put half a dozen names in there, you can’t expect anybody reading it cold to figure out who’s who.  And you can’t give even a tiny description of more than one or two people and still give any sense of the setting or plot.

One or two more tweaks and then it’s time to send out a few more queries.