Critique My Query

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Mysterious Gift, a novel

An evaluation of an agent query letter

By Marla Miller
Published: September 20, 2010
Marla Miller
Marla Miller
The query letter

Dear ________:

I am pleased to submit my manuscript—Mysterious Gift—a 119,000-word YA-to-adult science-fiction fantasy, set in contemporary United States, Egypt and an alien galaxy. This is the first of a trilogy where the gods of ancient Egypt teach mortals to fight their battles against evil usurpers.
 
Jen’s birthday gift controlled her mind but her dreams freed her to save billions.
 
In Mysterious Gift, a spell-imbued medallion and Jen, a young archaeologist, and her four friends come together to defeat Seth—an Egyptian god—to ensure the freedom of a human race rescued from Earth thousands of years ago and displaced on an alien planet. Seth’s goals include: destroying anyone who opposes him, enslaving all habitable planets and taking over as the supreme deity. Her job is to rally the troops, defeat an alien race and a few depraved gods … yikes!
 
People who read Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians series and his new Kane Chronicles will enjoy this adventure. Along with a passion for Egyptian archaeology, my credentials include a B.A. in history, participation in several archaeological field digs and 20 years as a naval flight officer. The above knowledge adds credibility to this fast-paced book. I understand the value of multi-platform book marketing.
 
I would be glad to send you my stand-alone and engaging manuscript. Thank you for your time and consideration.
 
Sincerely,

[Name withheld]

The critique


Want Marla to critique your agent query letter?

Send your letter to marketingthemuse@gmail.com. Be sure to use the subject line "The Writer Query Letter Critique." Queries for nonfiction and fiction (all genres) are welcome, and critiques are free.

What do you think of this query?

Join the discussion in The Writer's forums.

Marla Miller, a writer herself, teaches Marketing the Muse Workshops at the Southern California Writers' Conference and the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. Her Quick Query Critique video segments are available at www.marlamiller.com.
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4 stars
JANICE PARYS from NORTH CAROLINA said:
Excellent advice. We writers fall in love with our stories too often and then don't help the editors/agents to do so.
Thanks for the help
4 stars
WESTLEY TURNER from CALIFORNIA said:
Actually, the problem is that at work, ALL non-work related content is blocked. Now that I'm at home, it works just fine. :-)
Thanks for the helpful suggestion.

Interesting that they don't just block The Writer completely...yet they DO block the Sentence Sleuth (grammar discussions). [shrug]
MARTHA LUNDIN from WISCONSIN said:
Hello, Westley! You may be able to see the video critique of the query if you open the page in another browser. Please let me know if that works.
2 stars
WESTLEY TURNER from CALIFORNIA said:
Very good query letter, and apropos to my genre, so of course I would love to read about it. Unfortunately (for me anyway) the critique of the query appears totally blank. Upon clicking around, I find that there is an unloaded movie somewhere in the middle of the page. Though the text is visible, apparently the movie is blocked. :-(
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