Comments on: How To Be An Excellent Hooker

By: On writing hooks | Althea Hayden

On writing hooks | Althea Hayden — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:13:32 +0000

[...] Writing your query? Just came across this article at the Romance University by C.J. Redwine, titled ‘How To Be An Excellent Hooker‘. [...]

By: C.J. Redwine

C.J. Redwine — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:00:47 +0000

Leona, I replied to your comment only it’s late, I’m tired, and I suffer from Swiss Cheese of the Brain Syndrome (you can blame my three boys for that) so I forgot to hit “reply” and doubt it emailed you because technology so RARELY intuits what I MEANT to do.

Pfft.

So, come on over and read my pithy response to your questions. And my unabashed SQUEE that someone besides my mother wants to read my books.

By: C.J. Redwine

C.J. Redwine — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:58:45 +0000

Leona,

1. I’m so thrilled you want to buy my books. I get butterflies when I think of strangers wanting to read what I write. May that slightly giddy feeling never go away.

2. Deep breath. I can help. Or you can help yourself. Or both. My query letters used to be stilted, formal, and oh-so-bland and I wanted to beat my head against my keyboard in frustration because my novels are anything but stilted, formal, or bland. Again, I’d grab a stack of your favorite books (within your genre), read the back, and look for how that author infused the voice of their story into their blurb. Then, throw out every query you’ve written and start over, only THIS time, write it in a way that mimics those book backs. It still took me three times to get it RIGHT, but every time was a definite improvement!

Good luck to you!

By: Leona Bushman

Leona Bushman — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:09:14 +0000

Wow. Your query letter sounds incredible. My query letters suck. I’ve written one about a fantastic paranormal short story. It sounds stilted. I can’t seem to find the voice of my story when I hit the letter. I don’t know if you have a trick for finding the voice when trying to type the business letter, but I would love some tips. I can find the ABCD stuff, but I sound like my grandma trying to talk about sex. Wrong words, ebarrassed or sheepish, or worst apologetic! definitley not my voice in the story about the son of Lucifer. HELP

PS I plan on buying anyone of your books I can get ahold of, and that was BEFORE I read your sample query letter. Your sense of humor hooked me.

By: C.J. Redwine

C.J. Redwine — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:40:37 +0000

Thanks, Kristina! I appreciate you stopping by.

By: Kristina McMorris

Kristina McMorris — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:20:11 +0000

Great blog, CJ! Not that I’d expect anything less from a Pixie.

Your story sounds fabulous! And your querying tips are just as fabulous.

By: C.J. Redwine

C.J. Redwine — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:45:15 +0000

Thanks for stopping by Theresa. I’m glad you enjoyed it!

By: Hooks or how to be the best hooker you can be. « Just another day in the life…

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:20:57 +0000

[...] 16, 2009 by Shawna Yesterday I read a wonderful post at Romance University. C.J. Redwine, who is a talented and funny writer with a love for stilettos to match my own, [...]

By: Theresa Ragan

Theresa Ragan — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:42:53 +0000

C.J., wow, what a great explanation on “how to write a query.” Fabulous job. Love the story, too! Thanks for sharing.

By: C.J. Redwine

C.J. Redwine — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:16:16 +0000

Shawna,

Thanks for stopping by. I’m so glad you found it helpful. You can keep up w/release dates for my books on my blog. (link is in the post)