Querying, if you didn't know, is a bit like asking a girl to dance at a school disco when you're twelve. You spend ages wondering what to say, even longer working out the correct order of words, and then, when you finally pluck up the courage to ask, you get either ignored, laughed at or on very rare occasions, invited to submit the first fifty pages.
Actually, thinking about it, kids these days probably ask each other for a dance by text or MSN or whatever.
So then, first draft.
Dear ....
I am seeking representation for my novel, Too Big To Fail.
What if the banks had been allowed to fail?
Rob, a small town newspaper reporter, watched first the banks collapse then the government and eventually the world's banking system. A mysterious overseas consortium's offer to bail out Britain left Rob wondering at what price. After printing his own paper telling the truth, the secret police track and capture him. Escaping after a lorry accident near a holding centre, Rob and four other detainees run for their lives.
Too Big To Fail follows Rob and his companion as they run night and day through the New Forest. Eventually recaptured, they're sent to a dissident holding centre where the consortium's real aims become clear. Determined to make a difference, the group combine their efforts and plan to fight back against the consortium.
etc
So, if this was a disco and you the person I was asking, would you say yes or would you tell all your mates then laugh at me for a month?
Answers on a postcard to...
