Excerpt 1"
First, I want some questions answered," Cara told
him, chewing.
He was
quiet. His face stayed blank; his emotions well hidden.
"You
get three," he finally agreed. The cool tone to his voice told her he
wasn’t pleased with her request or with the fact he was granting it to her. She
tried to think of questions that would give her the answers she wanted.
"Who
are you?" she asked first.
There was
no change in his features, but something in his eyes shifted. "I am
Commander Nikolas Caine," he responded. Even though it was an
intentionally short answer, at least now she had a name and knew he was
military.
"Okay,
Commander, where am I?" She hadn’t meant for it to come off sounding so
sarcastic and hoped it wouldn’t ruin her opportunity to get some information.
"On
the U.C.S Archon."
He was
being deliberately vague. She still couldn’t understand how she was on a ship.
New York was surrounded by water, but why would the military be involved with
an accident cleanup. She was reasonably sure American ships were labeled
U.S.S., but she had only taken one year of college history. Paired with his
accent, it confirmed her suspicion he was foreign.
"Are
you American?" she ventured.
"I am
a citizen of the Confederation."
She was
right. He wasn’t American. How had she managed to go from a New York subway to
a foreign ship?
Caine was
confused by the woman's strange question. He recalled no place in the
Confederation called America, but the name sounded familiar. She opened her
mouth to speak, but he held up a hand.
"I
agreed to three. My turn now."
There was
no use in arguing, so she glared at him instead.
"Who
are you?” He turned her own original question against her.
Playing
word games wasn’t the smartest idea since he had the upper hand. Still, she
couldn’t help but try and twist the situation in her favor just a little. She
didn’t want to make him angry, but she hoped to at least find a little ground
to stand on.
"Cara."
She deliberately responded with an answer as equally ambiguous as the ones he
gave her. “My name is- “
He sharply
cut her off. "Yes, I know. Cara DeLeon. Who are you actually?" She
looked unsettled; her forehead all scrunched up.
"I
told you who I am. I live in New York, and I was on my way to work when I think
I was in a subway crash."
Caine’s
nerves were getting frayed. "Who do you work for?" The color drained
from her face, and her eyes widened.
Dread
twisted her gut. The situation she’d had some hold on slipped through her
fingers. The tables had turned. She was at a loss. He did believe she had
something to do with the train crash. The military would have gotten involved
if they thought it was an act of terrorism. Shit. He was accusing her of being a terrorist.
He stood
and turned away, walking over to the counter. More out of shock, a bubble of
incredulous laughter worked its way up her throat. She couldn’t hold back the
nervous giggle, and it escaped.
He
whirled, eyes ablaze. “You think this is funny?”
“No, no. I swear.” The hostility directed at her caught her off
guard. “Look, I don't work for anyone. I'm just a telemarketer. I don't know
what you are talking about. I had nothing to do with the train crash, and I
don't understand why you think I’m involved."
Caine
stared at her for a moment, his mouth set firmly in a straight line. He was
getting nowhere. The time had come to push further.
Excerpt 2:
The next morning, Cara found Than in
a hall. “You need to tell me what the hell Caine is,” she demanded, sliding
onto the bench across from him.
Than
coughed, nearly choking on his food.
“Does he have magic powers?”
“What?”
Cara
stopped, and her eyes widened. “Is he an alien?” she gasped out, shocked by
this sudden possibility she had discovered. "He told me there weren't any
aliens."
“Whoa, slow down.” Than held up his hands defensively. “What
happened?”
Cara told
him how Caine had somehow transported her back to her apartment, but Than
showed little reaction. When she was finally finished, he stared at his food
for a long time before he spoke.
“Cara, I have been friends with Caine for a while. This isn’t
easy for him. This is something Caine needs to tell you himself,” he said
softly.
"What?
No!"
Than shook
his head in a way that told her he was trying to control his tongue. "This
is not my story to tell. You deserve to hear it from him, and he deserves to
have the chance to tell you himself."
Cara knew
when to accept defeat. "Fine,” she pushed away from the table. If she
wanted an explanation, the only way she would get one would be by talking
directly to Caine. She admired the loyalty he had earned from his friends.
She stood
up and whispered into Than’s ear. “I knew it. He is an alien.”
Than’s
wild laughter followed her out of the room.
Excerpt 3:
“I promise you, I will do everything
possible to make sure you get back home safely,” he told her. “May I make a
recommendation?” he asked. Cara followed him to the shelves as he scanned the
rows. He pulled out a book and handed it to her.
“The Complete Works of Shakespeare,” she read the cover. “How did
you get this?” She looked up at Caine, eyes wide in astonishment.
He smiled
down at her, pleased he’d managed to surprise her.
“I have quite an extensive collection of books from Old Earth. My
family was smart enough to keep them over the centuries, and now I have them.”
Cara
traced the well-worn leather cover of the book with a finger. "When he
dies, take him and cut him out in little stars."
"And
he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with
night." Caine finished the quote.
A slow
smile spread across Cara’s face, lighting up her features.
"Romeo
and Juliet. I have read most of the books in the library. They aren’t just here
for show." Caine’s features were hard, but his eyes held warmth. In his
eyes, she could see he was holding back things from her, secrets she hoped
would eventually reveal themselves.
So you’re finally done with your book and you are ready to
query. But where do you start? Here are some tips to help you through the
querying process and landing the agent of your dreams.
1)
Refine your query letter. Just like you revised your
book, do the same thing with your query letter. Edit, edit, edit. Think of your
query letter like Gandalf the Grey from Lord of the Rings, if it doesn’t wow an
agent, you shall not pass. They won’t request to read your book. In a way your
query letter is as important, if not more important than your book itself. You
want the agent to want to read your book and the query letter is how you catch
their attention. Learn how to write a query letter. I spent six months
researching online, writing and editing, then researching some more and I still
got over eighty rejections. That doesn’t even count the agents I never heard
back from.
2)
Research your agent. Look at the books and authors they
represent. Don’t just pitch your book to anyone and everyone. Many agents will
have lists of works and authors they currently represent. Check to see if your
manuscript aligns with what they represent. For example: I am a science fiction
and fantasy author and many agents will list themselves as SFF agents but will
lean heavily to preferring one over the other. Check what kind of books they
currently represent. If they represent mostly fantasy novels and you are
pitching a science fiction novel, chances are they will reject it simply
because it doesn’t fit their personal tastes. Remember, getting an agent is
very subjective and all about personal preferences so you have to query agents
that will fit with your book. Use the two websites Manuscript Wish List and
MSWishList or the hashtag MSWL on Twitter to find what agents are specifically
seeking. If they are looking for a modern day spin on Romeo and Juliet with
zombies and that is what you wrote, then that might be the agent you query!
Check out Writer’s Beware for a list of bad agents and bad publishing
companies. There are tons of scammers out there so do your research to weed out
the good from the bad.
3)
Use tools to help you keep track. Query Tracker or
Query Manager but you can also use an excel spreadsheet or an old fashioned
spiral notebook to track who you queried, the date and their response. Many
agencies have strict rules about querying other agents after a rejection. A
rejection from one agent in the agency means a no from the entire agency. Read
their rules and guidelines so that you do not accidentally query someplace or
someone you shouldn’t. Organization is key. It doesn’t look good for you if you
query the same agent twice by accident or send a query letter with the wrong
name at the top or company name within it. Do your research into pronouns. Many
agents will have them listed. When in doubt, address the letter directly to the
agent by name.
4)
Make sure your book is edited before you submit query
letters. An agent will be less than impressed if they request to see your book
and then get an unfinished manuscript or a manuscript filled with errors,
spelling and grammar mistakes.
5)
Be prepared for rejections. Be prepared to not hear
back from many of the agents. Be prepared to wait. And wait. And wait. Some agents
have a six month window before you should consider yourself rejected and to
move on. Remember, this is a highly subjective business so just because this
agent didn’t like your book it doesn’t mean someone else won’t! Don’t give up.
It only takes one yes to land an agent!
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