Why This Book, Why Now, Why You: Fiona Kenshole on Queries That Get Read

Out of the 200 stories that land in an agent’s inbox, why should yours be the one she reads? Agent Fiona Kenshole of Transatlantic Agency joins us from our Presentation Party to share what she looks for in a query, and why there are really no hard rules, only what works. Before agenting, Fiona was a publisher in the UK (think Mary Poppins, Paddington Bear, and The Giver) and made films like Coraline and The Boxtrolls. Now she’s on the hunt for animal books, funny picture books, and stories she can’t wait to share with every editor she knows. In this episode, you’ll learn: ****The three questions every query should answer: why read this book, why read it now, and why only you can write it ****Why you should keep a Post-it note of your original “light bulb” idea and use it as the jumping-off point for your pitch ****How to find your book’s story question (with examples from Where the Wild Things Are and Pride and Prejudice) ****The bowling pin rule: how much of your plot to reveal, and why most queries only cover the first 25% of the story ****Why your bookseller and librarian are your best sources for recent comps ****How to let your voice shine (without opening with “Hey, dude”) ****What belongs in your bio, and how much platform really matters for fiction and picture books ****How to avoid the generic, cliché pitch that could describe any fantasy novel ****Why you only need one agent to love your book Writing your pitch can even reveal something new about your story. If your query is pulling in lots of directions, Fiona suggests checking whether your main story question is running all the way through. Celebrate with us: It’s our 10th anniversary season! See what we’re up to at anniversary.manuscriptacademy.com. Watch more: Video versions of the podcast, mini classes, events, and agent interviews are on our YouTube channel, @manuscriptacademy. Get one-on-one time with agents: Book a consultation and join our amazing community of writers at manuscriptacademy.com. And get on our mailing list for an invite to the next Presentation Party!