As an author, I have two basic approaches to getting a novel published.
I can do self-publishing, which (as the name implies explicitly states) means I do it all myself. Editing, copyrighting, cover design, interior layout, etc. all are my responsibility, as is marketing. I’d split the proceeds with distributors (such as Amazon.) A great many people do this, and to varying degrees of success.
The other option is traditional publishing. In this, I will partner with a publishing company that will assemble and print my novel and market/distribute it. This is the route I mean to try, and the first step is to secure an agent to represent me.
So how does an author find an agent? With a query letter, of course! It’s an introduction of the author and the work, sort of a hybrid resume/advertisement. There are many resources online for developing a query, but I thought it would be interesting to track my own work on my query letter here.
Since the lion’s share of the query letter is the book blurb, I’ll focus on that. So here is my first pass for the Mystics of Sonoduhl blurb. Enjoy!
Maghrurio is a middle-aged common laborer living in the small town of Decra. But when his employer – famed Mystic Abner – is murdered in a fiery explosion, he becomes the new Mystic and is charged by Abner to find the Assassin.
A Mystic in name only, Maghrurio has no magical skills and zero self-confidence. He’s pursued by a power-hungry duke and the Assassin determined to end his investigation. Aided by his housekeeper and an apothecary he barely knows, Maghrurio must overcome his imposter syndrome and lack of magical training to stop the Assassin from destroying the Mystic order.