Query Tracker: How long have you been writing?

Ash Krafton: Since I was a kid, I guess; I've had one of those quirky "writer's calluses" on my middle finger since grade school. Although I was always drawn to reading and writing, the nerd in me prevailed and I pursued a pharmacy career instead. A few years ago, I reached a good place in my life-my children were in elementary school, my career was stable-and I decided to get back to serious writing. Pretty much woke up one day and decided it was time to write a novel.



QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

AK: Towards the end of querying, I was starting to feel a bit down, but not out. There were plenty of reasons to stay positive, so I can't say I ever felt like giving up. This moment-being represented-wasn't one of my original goals. Because I never looked too far ahead, I never had moments where I thought the road was too tough or too long to continue.



QT: Is this your first book?

AK: This is my first complete novel. I had begun writing a YA fantasy as my first project, but when the idea for BLEEDING HEARTS bloomed, that's when I got serious.



QT: How long have you been working on this book?

AK: Let's see-I started the first chapters in 2005, and completed the first draft in May 2007. I spent the next year submitting to contests, getting feedback, and revising. I spent the year after that on-line in writers groups like Absolute Write and QT, and in the bottomless lake of writers' and agents' blogs. I studied the market. That's when the revisions began occurring-a major earthquake of changes.



QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

AK: No, although I was definitely Team Humanities in college. The other pharmacy students were busy being good pharmacy students while I hung out at the Writing Center. Even while out on externship, I chose sites that featured writing as a focus-advertising, drug information centers, and the like.

My "real" writing education came along the way. I've amassed a great library of handbooks and manuals that have all helped me to improve my craft, but I learned most by reading blogs and forums. Real people, real experience.

I'd often thought about going back for a degree in creative writing, but honestly, I am so not classroom material anymore. And who can find the time?

QT: Do you follow a writing "routine" or schedule?

AK: Early mornings are the most productive time, when the kids are either asleep or in school. I brainstorm and story line exploration every possible downtime moment-usually in the car or while doing housework. I keep a notebook (and a netbook) handy for the time I spend waiting in the car waiting for the kids to get out of school or before work.

Not having the luxury of an office and hours of uninterrupted writing time, I try to make the most of every moment.



QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

AK: Three major revisions, and countless, immeasurable editing. There is always something to change and improve.



QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

AK: Yes, to a degree. They were all readers who gave great feedback from a reader's viewpoint. I think for my future projects, I'll recruit some writers. One thing I learned-a writer can never read like a reader ever again. The whole point of view is different.



QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

AK: This one was done in skips and jumps with lots of bridges added later. My style has since streamlined considerably and is reflective of all I've learned along the way.

QT: How long have you been querying for this book?

AK: Here's the part where I earn sympathetic sounds: thirteen months overall.

I started with my original query in June 2008, and sent out about 40 over six months. Response was "eh"-maybe 4 requests. I took time off during the ABNA and planned my next round.

The QT blog published a series of posts about writing the query, and I studied them, rewrote my query, and gave it a test run on the forum. I also worked my hook line, wrote my three sentence query, and boiled my query down to a totally new letter, which I sent out April first.

During this time, I also took a good look at my story, which I had been calling "urban fantasy." In fact, it won several contests for that genre so I felt most comfortable with that label. However, I realized I had been too narrow-minded-the story also had elements of chick lit and women's lit. When I broadened my search to include those genres, my list quadrupled, and, coupled with my QT blog-style query, the response was amazing.

I queried Mr. Croce on May 2, received request for full June 16, and got an offer June 29. I queried him on paranormal chick lit, and he's presenting it as paranormal romance. If I had stayed focused on fantasy, I'd have never approached him. That's why it is so important to know your genre-especially if it has elements of more than one.

So, technically, thirteen months; however, it was only three months once I had a query letter that rocked.



QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

AK: One hundred seventy five, with nineteen requests and about seventy non-responses.

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

AK: Genre was my first consideration. I queried widely, to say the least.

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

AK: I personalized a few to comment on what I liked about the agency or authors I enjoyed, but for the most part, I kept it short and focused on the book. I had one referral from another agent, so that letter was definitely tailored.

QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

AK: Most important: never read into a form rejection letter. Some of them are deviously crafted to sound like the agent is being personal, sincere, and helpful. They aren't. They are FORM REJECTIONS. Log it into Query Tracker, then throw it away.

And that "every rejection is one step closer to a yes" doesn't help either. If there is an agent for your work, and you query widely enough, you will find him. If you give up, you don't get him. Simple as that.

QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?

I'll give you two. I'll give the first round query that received a lackluster response, because I thought it was great. Agents didn't. It was a jacket blurb, not a query:

I am offering my 106000 word urban fantasy, BLEEDING HEARTS. This is the story of a young woman with a "savior complex" who meets her greatest challenge-and greatest love-a man who cannot be saved.

Sophie Galen is a bleeding heart advice columnist whose work only brings more problems. Thanks to her innate compassion, her little internal voice, and her magnetic charm, Sophie really knows how to attract little black clouds.

Marek Thurzo is no little black cloud; he's a maelstrom. Marek is Demivampire, a race with the potential to evolve into vampire. A warrior who's taken his share of spiritual damage, he hovers dangerously close to destruction. He seeks salvation. She's driven to save him. But what if he can't be saved?

He's convinced Sophie can redeem him. He's convinced she can repair the damage to his soul and prevent his evolution. He's convinced she's the Sophia Oracle, the only salvation of the Demivampire. She's convinced he's mistaken.

She begins to sense Marek's otherworldly power and is stunned when her Sophia emerges. Sophie is becoming a manifesting force to be reckoned with, although the job description entails more action than her comfort zone can stand (and pays way less).

Everything plummets once the Master vampire and his Fallen take an interest. Marek will be driven to the edge of hope, of sanity, of evolution. Can Sophie save him from Falling?

BLEEDING HEARTS is my first novel. Most recently, it won Grand Prize in the Maryland Writers' Association 2008 Writing Contest; one judge said the story "reads like a combination of 'Sex And The City', 'Buffy', and a well-written contemporary novel." A sequel is nearing completion and a third book is in outline form.

Gack! It was long! It ended with a question, and a non-compelling one! It said "my first novel!" Some agents HATE that. But still-I loved it (and still do.) It just wasn't getting any response.

Next is the successful query that I wrote with the help of the QT blog posts:

Saving the world one damned person at a time-shy advice columnist-turned-oracle must find a way to save her dangerous demivampire lover from the fate that threatens each of his race: evolution and the destruction of his soul.

When shy advice columnist Sophie meets dark and alluring Marek, she learns life-changing secrets about them both-he's a demivampire struggling to avoid evolution and she's an empathic oracle destined to save him. Sophie possesses the rare ability to reduce the spiritual damage that causes a demivamp to Fall, making her the only thing that stands between a DV and evolution. However, as Marek's dangerous past propels him toward his desperate fate, his enemies make darker plans for him: once vampire, powerful Marek would be second only to the Master himself. The vamps want to cause Marek's Fall, and they intend to use Sophie to do it.

I am pleased to present BLEEDING HEARTS, paranormal chick lit complete at 106000 words. This novel won grand prize from the Maryland Writers Association in 2008 and is a finalist in the current Pikes Peak Writers competition. If you would like to see more, I'd be happy to send you the manuscript.

Thank you for your consideration.

See? Hook-line and three sentences. Set-up, conflict. Short. Sweet. Successful.

It made all the difference.