Writers Pay It Forward Friday--Query Letters that Worked!

Today is the first post of my Writers Pay It Forward Friday series--where I will feature a writer, showcase their latest and greatest novel, and give newbie writers a chance to look at what I would've given my left nostril to have before I was published...

ACTUAL QUERY LETTERS THAT RESULTED IN A PUBLISHING CONTRACT!

I'm not sure why it is, but actual query letters that got results are hard to find online, especially from the author himself/herself. Maybe it's a hit to their pride; query letters are personal, sometimes embarrassing, soul-baring missives that writers may not want their fans to see. Or maybe it's a territorial thing--sort of a 'I had to muddle through it, so should they!' vibe.

I'm neither prideful nor territorial. 

So over the next few weeks, I'll show you mine--the ones that bombed, and the ones that got requests for partial manuscripts. Along the way, I'll offer tips and tricks to writing a query letter (or query email) for ANY manuscript.

Best of all...I will feature an author each month with his/her actual query letter that got him/her a request for a partial or full manuscript. In that way, not only will you see the actual query that resulted in a contract, you can also see the end result--what the novel came to be after edits and revisions.

Pretty cool, right? If you want 'in' on this party, just check back weekly to see what's new, or better yet, subscribe to my blog by clicking on the link to your right that says, "Follow My Happily Ever After."

Here's to ALL of us writing...
Happily My Ever After,
Dylan

P.S. If you are an author who has been traditionally published and have an actual query letter that got you a publishing contract, please click the "Contact" link above. I'd love to feature you, your actual query letter, and the resulting book on my blog!

ANY WITCH WAY hit #3 on Kindle Top 100 last week!

Any Witch Way, my paranormal romance novella  hit #3 on the Kindle Top 100 lists for my genre last week! Woo Hoo!

I wanted to let all my blog follows know the novella is not only garnering 5-star reviews, but ANY WITCH WAY  is on sale for $2.99 at Amazon until the end of the month when the promotion ends, and the price increases.

Happily My Ever After...
Dylan

P.S. Even if you don't have a Kindle, you can still download Any Witch Way onto your Tablet or Smartphone! Simply go to the Amazon link here and click on the button on the lower, right-hand side of the page that says "Free Kindle Reading App." Like magic, it'll turn your smartphone or tablet into a Kindle reader for you! 

Doesn't get any better than an Underwood No. 5

I saw it as soon as my feet hit the driveway, and my breath caught in my chest as I fell deeply, madly in love...there, gleaming in the morning sun of a local garage sale was the instrument every writer covets:

An Underwood No. 5 typewriter.

I played coy, pretending to examine the other sale items. Yet all the while my eyes darted over to the Underwood. It was in mint condition, all her keys intact, a piece of bond typing paper rolled in, black, blocky type evidence someone had tried her out. It had no price tag--a bad omen. As the saying goes, if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it.

Giving myself a once-over, I grimaced. Damn. I was in a flop sweat from my kickboxing class, and let's just say standing downwind of me would NOT have been pleasant. My post-workout look, combined with the fact I only had $20, made the likelihood of me scoring this Writer's Holy Grail right about 2%.

But I had to try. I mean, look at her! Innit she purty?

The Fates were smiling that day--the wonderful woman found out I was a writer (a teeny little fact I let slip as we chatted), and felt I just HAD to have it for...wait for it...

FIFTEEN DOLLARS!! :)

I'm on Cloud 9! I officially own an Underwood No. 5--the same typewriter that Arthur Conan Doyle and F. Scott Fitzgerald used.

Happily TYPING my way to Ever After...
Dylan