Thread by @Maria_Tureaud

Alright fam. It's Thursday, and it's time for another #RevPit thread. On the back of yesterday's #10queries , I think it's time to discuss the query itself #amquerying #writingtips (1

You have 4 seconds. That's about the length of time to read a text message. In those 4 seconds, you need to hook the agent. Why? I timed myself reading subs for #Revpit to get the calculation right. It took, on average, 10 minutes for me to read the query, then pages (2

That's 17 hours to read 100 subs. Agents can receive on avg 50-100 queries PER DAY. Think about that. The query should take time to write and perfect. It's the single most important document you'll ever compose when it comes to trying to sell an agent on the idea of your mss (3

Then, what do you need to include in order to nail it?

1: The hook. This is a one-liner that takes everything that makes your mss different, wraps it into a snappy sentence, and--hopefully--makes an agent say DAMN! (4

Tired: Jack and Jill go searching for water, but a tragic accident sends them tumbling down the hill.

Wired: Jack doesn't realize he's just dropped the last bucket of water on Earth...until it's too late.

(5

Next--this is harder than it sounds--you have to focus on the main plot. If there's a passage that sounds like: with the help of friends they meet along the way, they face dangers and bad guys until they figure out how to save the day.

You haven't focused on your plot. (6

You're actually only giving a brief overview of things to expect, not what happens. Agents need to know what happens. No, you don't have to reveal everything--that's for the synopsis (THERE ARE NO SECRETS IN SYNOPSES!!! MWAHAHAHA). So, how can you focus? (7

Here's a fun trick! Ask your beta readers/CPs to sum up your story into a paragraph. 9/10, writers THINK that element x or y is ESSENTIAL for the query...when it really isn't. Use your readers' summary and build a query from that. That's what stood out to them, after all (8

Alright. You're ready to write the plot summary part of the query! Now what?

Para 1: This is MC--what they want/desire--and this is their normal (9

Para 2: But when X happens, MC is pushed out of their normal and must do Y. If they don't, Z will happen, and Big Bad will cause Even Bigger Bad Things to occur... (yes this works even for quiet stories. Big Bad refers to stakes--things the MC stands to lose) (10

Para 3: Unless MC can overcome 'A' (their emotional wound, the thing standing in the way of them achieving what they want, as listed in para one...but now the stakes have been raised and they MUST overcome). MC now has a choice. Overcome, or Consequences Most Dire (11

I hope some of you found this helpful. Please be mindful that it's hard to tweet tips sometimes due to character limits, and I have lots of subs to go back and carefully consider or I would have fleshed this out! But, if you have questions, just ask #RevPit I'll be around

Clarification on the 4 seconds: In those 4 seconds, the agent will either be hooked enough to read on, or pass. Now, this isn't true of all agents, of course. But most still won't read the sample if the query doesn't grab them. They just don't have time. They're not getting paid

AND they have a ton of work to do that has nothing to do with the slush. Some have assistants to help with the query pile (yay!), but most don't. Just keep that in mind