Daedalus

Hi @philippaeast
Here’s my revised letter:

Dear xxxxx xxxx,
I’m pleased to submit the opening 10k words of my novel, AnGal, a 137,500 word supernatural / slipstream thriller. Set in the Philippines, its focus is the manananggal, a mythical, winged half-woman that grows within the one possessed.

I’m writing to you specifically because of the mat…[Read more]

You’re welcome. Good luck!

Hi again, Philippa,

You’ve been really helpful and thorough here. Thanks so much.

I’m waffly about the genre because I can’t pin it down. I looked up ‘Ice’ and notice it’s described as slipstream (the fiction of strangeness). I think slipstream could fit mine, maybe more so than thriller. It’s been said that AnGal is a book like no other (also…[Read more]

Philippa if you ever want a side writing-business I suggest a cover letter consultancy/critique service.

To explain my changes:

Para 1: what kind of book
You sound a bit waffly on genre. I’ve tried to make it more specific, avoid the term ‘borderline literary’, and simply give your nice elevator pitch upfront. I think your setting is a real USP so I’ve got that in upfront too.

I fear an agent will freak at your word count! Books above 100k words…[Read more]

Hi @alanr,

Ooo, thanks for sharing! I like the sound of these supernatural elements, and the interplay between your three main characters. I was just thinking today about then book “Ice” by Anna Kavan. I think yours has similarities to this too.

Okay, I’ve dived straight in and edited, as I see fit. Feel free to disagree with any or all of my…[Read more]

Ah, the difference is the crash / crush. The story I read was def. the former and it was long before 2015, so certainly not yours.

My novel is about a manananggal possession.

This is my current cover letter:

Dear xxxxx xxxxxx,
I’m pleased to submit the opening 50 pages of my completed first novel, AnGal, a supernatural of 137,500 words, which I…[Read more]

Check out the novels first though – a good way to judge whether they’re you’re sort of publisher.

Nice one! What is your book about?? Don’t think you’ve told me yet.

Not sure it was mine you read. No tube crash in mine (just a tube crush). only started it in 2015 too. I wonder whose story it was!

You know, since I read that cover letter earlier this afternoon, a memory has resurfaced, and it’s of familiarity with your work. I think, quite some time ago, I read an opening chapter about a Tube crash and a young girl that could have been Jess or Nancy.
I can’t remember when, or the circumstances, or the writing site. It might have been in the…[Read more]

Thanks for flagging this, @sandradavies

Incidentally, despite the call to arms for subs from female writers, @pinkbelt75 I wonder if you’ve considered these guys for your crime novel(s)?

Hi @alanr,

Nice typo spot! Man, there’s always one (or 12).

Yes, this is the novel I’ve now rewritten in dual POV. The original version I was peddling here was too much of a coming-of-age story and (in Sarah’s words) “not twisty enough”. Cue complete rewrite!

Though, as I’ve mentioned before, the suggested changes simply helped me get it…[Read more]