Querying Elana J's Way

The word Query has been known to bring writers to their knees. It's natural. Taking a story with all its twists, turns, and gosh-only-knows word count, and compressing it into a single paragraph all while wowing the already hungry agent/editor/publisher is no easy task. 


But there are those who've found success through the process. It's all about weeding out the basic plot of our stories. And this lady is a gem in the realm of the query. 
The Graffiti Wall is thrilled to welcome back Elana Johnson, Author of POSSESSIONS, due out this summer. During PART I of her interview, we chatted about her personal journey to seeing her manuscript reach publishing light. Today, she's giving us a few pointers in the querying ring, info on a fab online conference, and her secret first kiss.


FROM QUERY TO THE CALL is an online writer's guide to writing a dynamic query letter, and it's written by you. What compelled you to write it?

I started writing for the QT blog (Query Tracker), and wrote a few posts on how to write a query letter. I felt like I knew what I was doing in that department, and I realized that very few people feel like that. So I embraced it. I went whole hog (like I usually do) and compiled all the information I’d spent two years learning into the ebook. It’s really the one-stop place to find everything you need to write a killer query, research agents, submit to them, and field “the call.”

Do you have any theories why some writers struggle desperately to hammer out a solid query while others breeze through?

If you’re struggling, it’s because you don’t know ~ 

A) the purpose of the query letter

B) you’re trying to cram too much into the query letter

C) you need solid examples and structure to craft a query letter.

{any one or all of these may be the problematic area}

That was my problem: the structure. So I studied query letters that worked, and found the structure. After that? No problemo.

Elana has more simple notes to writing a successful query on her blog under Writing a Query Letter. She also is now offering her ebook Query to the Call for FREE download off her website. Hurry over NOW! I'll wait.

Glad you've returned...back to Elana....

I'd like to mention a site you're a part of where authors can utilize your advice on queries and their work. WriteOnCon - an online writing conference. The first conference was launched in August of 2010. It was an amazing success. 

WriteOnCon is the most amazing opportunity out there for aspiring authors – and published or soon-to-be published authors! It’s basically a writer’s conference just online – and it’s free! Every writer, no matter the genre/age you write for. So come join!

Last summer, some of the top names in literary agents, editors, and authors wrote blog posts and recorded vlogs, which were posted on the main WriteOnCon site. There were critique forums, chats, panels, and live workshops, where writers could connect. 

This year's free WriteOnCon Conference is scheduled for August 16th-18th. It be a great place to hammer out a fantastic query letter and participate in critiques.

You belong to the book reviewers, The Bookanistas. This is a great way to support and promote other authors. How did you all decide on doing it, and what about the title? How did you decide on that?

Okay, this started as me being incredibly selfish, so I’m afraid to spill those inner details lest the blogosphere thinks less of me afterward… Just know that I’m incredibly selfish, surrounded myself with people way smarter than me, and got what I wanted.

Hah...sounds pretty wish to me. LOL

The name came from Lisa and Laura Roecker. Shelli Wells designed the badges we have. We sent mass emails and brainstormed until everything was worked out. Now we have a spreadsheet and a mailing list. It’s much cleaner. (Again, all due to people smarter than me.)

And as always, here's my silly question: On your site, your About Me page mentions a secret wish of yours: experiencing your first kiss again. What elements do you think it takes to correctly portray a first kiss in today's YA world?

Ah, the first kiss. I think the reason I put that on my site is because my first kiss was less than memorable. So in today’s YA world, I want to make that kiss magical, even if sometimes they’re not. I want it to be that way in my books. So I think to do that, you just have to be authentic to the situation and characters. That’s it.

So, what's with your first kiss?? Telly, telly...

Ha! Well, there’s nothing remarkable about getting kissed—for the first time—during a lame game. 

Thanks, Elana, for stopping by again! Want more E or her soon-to-be-coveted-book POSSESSIONS? Stop by her blog, website, or heck, join the RESISTANCE and help Elana spread the word about POSSESSIONS. 


Share your thoughts with Elana about your querying experience. Even better, what was your first kiss??