Amazon Spike Day on December 1st for Wendy Burt Thomas' New Book, The Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters
For any of you who don't know Wendy, she writes the "Ask Wendy" column for Writers on the Rise and is a long-time writing mentor of mine. In fact, I "met" my husband, Jason, in Wendy's "Breaking Into Freelance Writing" class nine years ago. (Thanks for teaching that class, Wendy!)
Enough about her match-making skills. Check out Wendy's new book!
The Writer’s Digest Guide to Queries; Landing articles, agents and book deals
By Wendy Burt Thomas
Who says query books can’t be funny? Beyond the basic structural “how-to” of other writing books, The Writer’s Digest Guide to Queries offers beginning and intermediate writers a glimpse into real queries that landed article assignments, agents or book deals. Though the title may lead some to believe it’s strictly to be shelved as a reference manual, The Writer’s Digest Guide to Queries is a smooth read from cover to cover.
The 30+ samples of good and bad queries walk writers through the “must-haves” and “don’t-even-think-about-it” with a balance of clear instruction, examples and humor. Where similar query books just tell you to write a hook – it gives insight into what makes a good opening paragraph for an article, novel or nonfiction query.
There are special considerations for book queries by genre (from Romance and Mystery to Speculative and Thriller – plus everything in between) and the FAQs come straight from the author’s experience as a writer, author, magazine editor and book copyeditor. The “what editors/agents/publishers like” and “what editors/agents/publishers don’t like” are incredible resources, offering a look into water coolers throughout the publishing industry.
Much of the book is taken from frequently asked questions from students who attended the author’s workshop, “Breaking Into Freelance Writing,” which ran for eight years. Unlike other books which focus on only one particular type of work (such as how to write a nonfiction book query), this book recognizes that writers often have several interests: articles, nonfiction, genre fiction, etc. The Writer’s Digest Guide to Queries is a great one-stop resource for anyone who wants to go beyond format and structure and into crafting unique queries to get you noticed – and published.
Bio:
Wendy Burt-Thomas is a full-time freelance writer, editor, copywriter
and PR consultant. Her more than 1,000 published articles, essays and
stories have appeared in such varied publications as Family Circle, American Fitness, ePregnancy, NYTimes.com, MSNBC.com, Woman’s World and Home Cooking.
Wendy’s columns – on business, marketing, parenting, writing and
healthy living – have appeared in countless newspapers and magazines.
Wendy’s previous two books, Oh, Solo Mia! The Hip Chick’s Guide to Fun for One and Work It, Girl! 101 Tips for the Hip Working Chick were written with co-author Erin Kindberg and published by McGraw-Hill.
Her workshop, “Breaking Into Freelance Writing” has led her to a
variety of speaking engagements on the topics of writing, PR, marketing
and copywriting. She taught a version of her seminar at the Pikes Peak
Writer’s Conference and to numerous business and networking groups
around the region.
On any given day, Wendy is editing magazines, drafting ad copy, working
on a column, writing greeting card copy, or doing PR consulting. She
lives in Colorado Springs with her husband Aaron, daughter Gracie, son
Ben and two black labs. Learn more at http://www.WendyBurt-Thomas.com.
