This post contains a step-by-step guide on how to write a query letter and pitches like the one included in this post. Our query letter lesson also contains the first draft of the query I wrote for GOOD PEOPLE, the final draft that got me my agent, and a revised draft of how I’d write the query letter now with 5+ years of hindsight and a book deal.
If this query letter post is helpful to your process, please let me know!
This is great! I came from poetry not short stories, but I know back when I was struggling with expanding to novel-length fiction, the hang-up was committing to decisions...as a result my characters often vibed along in a stasis, and I wondered why arcs were so hard to create. Would have been very helpful back then to have that rephrasing of "dilemmas" over "problems!"
The concept of dilemmas is definitely something I wish I had earlier in my writing life. I totally relate to what you're saying about having characters vibing in stasis. Situations are pretty easy to create, but stories with full arcs are a whole other wonderfully complicated thing. It took me a long time to get a handle on this.
You write very generously. And I was startled by the plot of your novel because I'm also writing a coming of age campus novel with a theme of aspirational whiteness/assimilation. It's time for more fiction about this! I've read several memoirs with that theme, but not much fiction (if any). And this project was also born out of short stories so you're experience is relevant in that way as well. I'm eager to read your book!
Woah. Claps for demystifying. I think it always feels like you're fumbling blindly around hoping your novel is going naturally have that lifeline out of the plotless darkness - if only you could find it. It's so helpful to find clear, key things to keep in mind or try to implement. It feels like maybe my lifeline is just beyond my fingertips now. Thanks Kat <3
This is all great stuff. Your perseverance after the first rejections of the novel is admirable. It's so hard to know when to give up on a project. Look forward to reading the book!
Thank you so much for this amazing post! I absolutely loved your points on tension and how all stories must result in a transport nation or a metaphorical or physical death. Made so many things click for the current novel I’m writing!!💗
Really enjoyed this! I saw it in passing a few days ago on my feed and then spent a good hour looking for it again when I sat down this weekend to write the outline for my - 8th! - book. Super useful - nothing beats asking those vital, foundational questions at the beginning of a project to set one up for success. Thank you!!
Haha yeh, I also had to do double take at that thought 😂😅 books 6 and 7 with publishers now, forthcoming in next two years and this one hopefully for late 26/early 27, inshallah. Wild, those timelines!
This is well timed for me, Kat. I've had a first draft professionally edited and after some major work on chronology in my narrative, had draft 2 ( or is it 3 or 4?!) read by Beta readers. Their feedback helped me zero in on ramping up stakes for the main character. That means more focused content! That's where I'm at. 🙂
Congratulations on all this progress! Stakes are some of the hardest things for me to get right in a first draft, but once they’re dialed in, a story really starts to soar. Excited for you and your book!
You are so amazing and generous for this post! Even just showing the pitch is so great and can help in demystifying this whole process. Thank you so much. I have just started my novel a few weeks ago. I have previously written 35k on another novel and stopped as it had nowhere to go. I'm excited about this new story I'm writing and this post is so helpful in the process.
This post contains instructions on how to write a query letter and drafts of the query letter I wrote for this book. In this post, you can see my query letter’s first draft, the final query letter that got me my agent for this book, and how I’d revise the query letter now with 5+ years of hindsight.
Since some people mentioned how helpful it was to see a concise novel pitch in this post, I thought I’d share our post on pitch writing, “How to Write a Query Letter”: https://open.substack.com/pub/katjolewis/p/how-to-write-a-query-letter?r=1nxyt&utm_medium=ios
This post contains a step-by-step guide on how to write a query letter and pitches like the one included in this post. Our query letter lesson also contains the first draft of the query I wrote for GOOD PEOPLE, the final draft that got me my agent, and a revised draft of how I’d write the query letter now with 5+ years of hindsight and a book deal.
If this query letter post is helpful to your process, please let me know!
Thank you for your generosity and specificity in your post. What a gift!
Thanks for reading!
This is great! I came from poetry not short stories, but I know back when I was struggling with expanding to novel-length fiction, the hang-up was committing to decisions...as a result my characters often vibed along in a stasis, and I wondered why arcs were so hard to create. Would have been very helpful back then to have that rephrasing of "dilemmas" over "problems!"
The concept of dilemmas is definitely something I wish I had earlier in my writing life. I totally relate to what you're saying about having characters vibing in stasis. Situations are pretty easy to create, but stories with full arcs are a whole other wonderfully complicated thing. It took me a long time to get a handle on this.
Thanks for reading!
This was fantastic -- thank you so much for such a clear breakdown 🙏🏽
Thanks for reading!
You write very generously. And I was startled by the plot of your novel because I'm also writing a coming of age campus novel with a theme of aspirational whiteness/assimilation. It's time for more fiction about this! I've read several memoirs with that theme, but not much fiction (if any). And this project was also born out of short stories so you're experience is relevant in that way as well. I'm eager to read your book!
Totally agree that we need more books on this topic. Excited for you and your work!
Woah. Claps for demystifying. I think it always feels like you're fumbling blindly around hoping your novel is going naturally have that lifeline out of the plotless darkness - if only you could find it. It's so helpful to find clear, key things to keep in mind or try to implement. It feels like maybe my lifeline is just beyond my fingertips now. Thanks Kat <3
Thanks for reading. Excited for you and your work!
Excellent post
Thanks for reading!
Big, big thanks. Huge generosity and all the best.
Thanks for reading!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I'm very excited to read your book :-)
Thanks for reading!
Oof. I have some work to do. Thanks for this!
Thanks for reading!
This is all great stuff. Your perseverance after the first rejections of the novel is admirable. It's so hard to know when to give up on a project. Look forward to reading the book!
Thanks for reading!
this is really helpful, thank you for sharing!
Thanks for reading!
Thank you! This is helpful to me.
Thanks for reading!
Thank you so much for this amazing post! I absolutely loved your points on tension and how all stories must result in a transport nation or a metaphorical or physical death. Made so many things click for the current novel I’m writing!!💗
Thanks for reading. So glad to hear it was helpful for your writing process. Excited for you and your book!
Really enjoyed this! I saw it in passing a few days ago on my feed and then spent a good hour looking for it again when I sat down this weekend to write the outline for my - 8th! - book. Super useful - nothing beats asking those vital, foundational questions at the beginning of a project to set one up for success. Thank you!!
Thanks for reading. Excited for you and your 8th (!!!) book!
Haha yeh, I also had to do double take at that thought 😂😅 books 6 and 7 with publishers now, forthcoming in next two years and this one hopefully for late 26/early 27, inshallah. Wild, those timelines!
This is well timed for me, Kat. I've had a first draft professionally edited and after some major work on chronology in my narrative, had draft 2 ( or is it 3 or 4?!) read by Beta readers. Their feedback helped me zero in on ramping up stakes for the main character. That means more focused content! That's where I'm at. 🙂
Congratulations on all this progress! Stakes are some of the hardest things for me to get right in a first draft, but once they’re dialed in, a story really starts to soar. Excited for you and your book!
You are so amazing and generous for this post! Even just showing the pitch is so great and can help in demystifying this whole process. Thank you so much. I have just started my novel a few weeks ago. I have previously written 35k on another novel and stopped as it had nowhere to go. I'm excited about this new story I'm writing and this post is so helpful in the process.
Also, if you’re interested in a step-by-step guide to writing a pitch like the one in this post, check out our “How to Write a Query Letter” post: https://open.substack.com/pub/katjolewis/p/how-to-write-a-query-letter?r=1nxyt&utm_medium=ios
This post contains instructions on how to write a query letter and drafts of the query letter I wrote for this book. In this post, you can see my query letter’s first draft, the final query letter that got me my agent for this book, and how I’d revise the query letter now with 5+ years of hindsight.
Thank you so much!
Thanks for reading! So glad to hear you got a lot of value out of the post. Excited for you and your novel!