Queries 18 and 19: Two That Are Too Short
I am submitting to you my picture book manuscript A Beach For All Seasons. It is a love story about a beach, a mom, and a daughter. I thought that you might appreciate this tale set on a New England beach. I am a writer of nonfiction and fiction. I am published in Appleseeds magazine, in the book Stories of Strength, and recently sold work to Hopscotch andHighlights magazine. Thank you for your time and consideration. I have include a SASE and this will be a simultaneous submission. I am a member of SCBWI.
Steven didn't actually mean to steal the egg, he just wanted to see what would happen. But when Old Mrs Hartman summoned him to her house, he knew he was in trouble. Typical teacher, she didn't believe a word of what he told her.Now he's got to keep his nosy little sister quiet and find out about dragons before Mrs Hartman accidentally hatches it. Steven's Dragon is a story of fantasy and coming of age aimed at 10 to 12 year-old boys. It is complete at 10,000 words.
For the EGG story--
ReplyDeleteA 10,000 word story computes to roughly only 40 pages (250 wrods per page). Sorry, but that is not a "book" if it is to be aimed at a 10-12 year-old boy.
Young adult, referred to as "YA" are for readers ages 12+ and many of them are 40,000-60,000 words. And even for the Middle Grade (MG)section of readers, 40 pages isn't considered a book.
You need more "there" in there or make it into an Easy Reader for first or second graders. Though to be honest there isn't a huge market for easy readers.
Rethink this. Go to your library's kid section and check out books! Read, read, read. Ten and twelve year-olds are surprisinlgy sophisticated these days. You need more than a stern neighbor and a pesky kid sister to keep their attention.
Please don't take this as discouragement. It's not meant that way. Read, read, read!
You think this one's serious??
ReplyDeleteI don't know -- EA, is this one serious??
ReplyDeleteI think both of these short queries are serious, but neither has enough description for me to guess whether there's something worth requesting here.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering about queries for very short picture books, say 250-500 words. The "too short" comment took me by surprise. When something doesn't have a complex plot, do you deliberately make a query longer than necessary? I hate writing queries for very short PBs because it seems like a waste of time to write one that can be longer than the actual manuscript. But yes, I do it when that's what the guidelines call for.
ReplyDeleteI would love some insight shed on this whole query/PB thing, EA.
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