Writing a Query Letter

   When I'm ready to send my book out to publishers, I write 2 different letters; one for literary agents and one for publishers/editors. However, I keep the synopsis for my book the same in both letters. I only change the opening lines. I try to sound professional while also going straight to the point.

 Below are samples of the queries I wrote.

 Writing a query letter is difficult and it takes time, so don't get discouraged. It takes me forever to write a query letter, and even when I'm done, I don't feel like it's good enough. These are just some samples, you can tweek it however you'd like. Make it your own!


Query for Agents:
_______________________________________________________________

Dear (AGENT'S NAME),

I am seeking representation for (TITLE OF BOOK), a YA contemporary romance (INSERT YOUR OWN GENRE HERE) of approximately (WORD COUNT)-words.

BOOK SYNOPSIS GOES HERE

I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your time and consideration

Sincerely,

Ashley Earley

Email: (INSERT EMAIL ADDRESS)

Reliable phone number: (INSERT PHONE NUMBER)

Website: www.ashleyearley.com  (INSERT WEBSITE IF YOU HAVE ONE)

_______________________________________________________________

Query for Publishers:
_______________________________________________________________

Dear Editor (IF YOU ARE SENDING THIS TO A SPECIFIC EDITOR, ADDRESS THEM BY NAME),

(PUBLISHING HOUSE NAME) has a proud history of publishing quality romantic fiction (INSERT THE GENRE YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HERE) and I am submitting my YA contemporary romance novel (AGAIN, INSERT YOUR OWN GENRE HERE), (TITLE OF BOOK) for your consideration.


BOOK SYNOPSIS GOES HERE


I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your time and consideration

Sincerely,
Ashley Earley

Email: (INSERT EMAIL ADDRESS)
Reliable phone number: (INSERT PHONE NUMBER)
Website: www.ashleyearley.com (INSERT WEBSITE IF YOU HAVE ONE)

_______________________________________________________________

Query I used for Alone in Paris:
_______________________________________________________________

Dear (AGENT),

I am seeking representation for Alone in Paris, a YA contemporary romance of approximately 60,408-words.

Breathe, Taylor.

Taylor Clay's family isn't exactly perfect. They may look the part with the nice, big house and her dad's fancy job, but that's what's tearing them apart. That, and her dad's sudden recurring drinking problem.
Though her family is close to falling apart, she never wished for something like this to happen. She never wished for her father to drive off a bridge. Especially not while they were on vacation; especially not when her and her mom were in the car with him at the time.

Breathe.

She's devastated after the fact. And it isn't helping that the papers are gossiping about how the pristine lawyer could have driven off the bridge on purpose. And just when she thinks nothing could possibly make things worse, she realizes she's left alone with no relatives to care for her.
So she's alone. Her parents are dead. And she's stuck in the country her family was visiting for their vacation. She's alone in Paris.

Just breathe.

Then Nathan walks into the picture. Funny, snarky, persistent, and sometimes, just flat out rude, he annoys Taylor to no end. He won't leave her alone, but Taylor doesn't know whether or not she should push him away.

I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your time and consideration

Sincerely,

Ashley Earley

Email:

Reliable phone number:

Website: www.ashleyearley.com

_______________________________________________________________

Be sure to pay attention to the guidelines that literary agents and publishers require when you query them. They will give you a specific amount of pages or chapters that they want from your book, they might ask for a bio, and may ask for a few other things. Carefully read over what each agent asks for. Every agent and publisher is different, and therefore, want different things.

Good luck!! <3
www.ashleyearley.com
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3 Days until Alone in Paris Cover Reveal

COVER REVEAL in 4 Days! The cover for my upcoming book, Alone in Paris, will be revealed on January 7th! Check out my website for more info, link in bio! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "When we step onto the bridge, Nathan turns and spreads his arms out wide. 'Welcome to Pont des Arts, a.k.a. The Lock Bridge.'" -Alone in Paris by Ashley Earley ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #amwriting #writer #author #booklover #writerslife #bookstagram #bookphotography #bibliophile #bookworm #bookish #bookaholic #booknerdigans #instabook #bookaddict #youngadult #love #writersofinstagram #ilovewriting #creativewriter #creativewriting #authorlife #newyear #followme #bookrecommendation #sundaymorning #coverreveal #paperback #yabooks #ad #thursday

A photo posted by Author Ashley Earley (@ashley_earley) on Jan 5, 2017 at 10:19am PST

“When we step onto the bridge, Nathan turns and spreads his arms out wide. ‘Welcome to Pont des Arts, a.k.a. The Lock Bridge.’”
- Alone in Paris by Ashley Earley

www.ashleyearley.com
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How to Write a Kissing Scene

   Yup, this is what we're talking about today. Kind of glad that I'm not a vlogger because I can hide behind my computer this way.

 What kind of kissing scene are we talking about here? Are we going for the hot and steamy? The gentle, lingering kiss? The gentle kiss that suddenly becomes rough and desperate? The kissing scene that you write will depend on your book, and your characters, and the situation.

 Yes, the situation is taken into account. Your characters could be angry, and if so, you might want to go for the hot and steamy kiss that makes your readers blush because your characters can't get enough of each other.

The Moment.
 Make sure your readers know where your characters are. Are they on a date? Just two friends that suddenly found themselves making out while they watch a movie? Where are they and what are your characters feeling? You have to set up the moment that leads to the kiss. Also, kissing at the end of a date is expected so try to make it a little more spontaneous.

Feelings.
 You have to--and I mean have to--describe what your character(s) is feeling before, during, and after the kiss. Describing what your character feels before the kiss helps build to the moment. Describing what your character is feeling during the kiss helps your readers paint a picture of what is happening and how it's happening. Describing what your character is feeling after the kiss helps your readers understand what the character thinks about the person that they just kissed. Is your character glad that they kissed the other? Are they horrified that they just kissed him/her?

During the Kiss.
 Be sure not to only describe what is happening with their mouths. You need to add what they're doing with everything else, like their hands. Are they running through each others hair? Holding each other tightly? Are they standing close to each other or are they leaning toward each other?

 Writing a kissing scene can be really embarrassing--I know it is for me because I know that if I publish a book, my whole family is going to read it--but you just have to push through and focus on the scene instead of focusing on the embarrassing possibility that your friends and family will read it. Focus on the moment between your characters.

 If you need more help writing a kissing scene, go pick up a few of the books on your shelf and read a few different kissing scenes to help you put the pieces together.

www.ashleyearley.com
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Quotes from My Work in Progress

Here are a bunch of tweets that I've posted for #1linewednesdays! Hope you enjoy!

I was still shaking, but the sobs stayed bottled up. They were building in my chest and my stomach and my arms, waiting to erupt. #1linewed

— Author Ashley Earley (@ashleyc_earley) May 18, 2016

I tossed and turned all night. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt his hands over my mouth; I saw his covered face. #1linewed #amwriting #ya

— Author Ashley Earley (@ashleyc_earley) May 11, 2016

I know it's not much but this is all I have so far! I'll be tweeting more about the book I'm currently working on so if you want to keep up with that, follow me @ashleyc_earley

A Writing Playlist

   So, I didn't do what I said I was going to about keeping up with blogging while on spring break, and I did not write any posts for the future. I got wrapped up in writing and spending time with my friends so I'm just going to try to wing it for the next few weeks and blog when I can.

 But, today, I thought I'd talk about writing playlists.

 Studies have shown that listening to music increases brain function. Some disagree because they think that the lyrics in songs replace thoughts. I think it depends on the person. Everyone is different and everyone has different ways of writing. Some need complete silence to write, others listen to music to help with the flow.

 For me, I can't write in total silence but if people around me are being too loud, I need to block them out by listening to music. If it's not too loud around me, then I don't listen to music. It just depends on where I am and what kind of scene I'm writing that day.

 Everyone has different musical tastes and the theme of your book will also tie into the kind of music you listen to while you write. The kind of music you listen to doesn't matter as long as it helps with your writing. To write a sad scene, some people have to listen to sad music to get them in the mood to write a good, believable scene. Listening to different genres of music can easily change your mood.

For the series I'm writing right now, the playlist is really short but this is what I have so far:

Enchanted Series Playlist

Waiting Game - by Banks

My Blood - by Ellie Goulding

Dead in the Water - by Ellie Goulding

I Love You - by Woodkid

Alive - by Sia

Elastic Heart - by Sia

Begging for Thread - by Banks

Howl - by Florence + The Machine

Outside - by Calvin Harris

Hollow - by Tori Kelly

Rumour Mill - by Rudimental 

Tenerife Sea - by Ed Sheeran

Kiss - by Ed Sheeran

Give Me Love - by Ed Sheeran

Everything Has Changed - by Taylor Swift

 Okay, now go make your own playlist!

Happy writing! <3
www.ashleyearley.com
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You've Finished Your Book; Now What?

   This week, I finished writing a book. It's the first in a trilogy so I know what my next project will be, but I remember what it's like to write a one-shot or finish a series. You start to wonder what you should do next. Should you start on your next book? Maybe edit the one you finished? There are many things you can do once you finish writing your book, whether it's your first or your tenth.

 Edit. Editing sucks, I know. It is frustrating and makes you feel like a horrible writer. But that's the point! Editing is about making your book as good as it can possibly be, so if you're reading your book and thinking, "Wow, this is a piece of crap," then that's good! It means that you can and know how to fix it to make it better! If you write a book, you have to edit it sometime--that's just a fact.

 Start on the Sequel. If you just finished a book, maybe you don't know if it's a one-shot or destined to be a series. How did you end the book you just finished? That's the way to tell. If you can feel that you can make it into a series, do it!
Shouldn't you edit before starting the sequel? Well, I don't because if I take something out in the first book and forget about it as I'm writing the second, I might mention that part by accident and then no one would have any idea what I'm talking about. So I edit when I'm done with the series to make it less confusing. But that's just me.

 Write Another Book. Maybe you want to take a step back from the series you're working on to write something different, and then later come back to finish the series. Who says you can't? That's awesome that you have another idea for a book! Go for it! You can always come back to the series. Though, I would suggest reading the first book before coming back to jump into writing the rest of the series. You don't want to miss any little hints that you had in the first book.

 Take a Break. Taking a break after you finish a book can be refreshing, unless you're someone that always has to write 24-7 to keep yourself sane. I fall into the latter category. If I fall out of writing, I end up reading a lot because I have to leave reality somehow. After I finish a book, I might take 1-4 days off from writing. I just can't go long without going back to my imaginary world.

 Let Someone Read Your Newly-Finished Work. Letting someone read a book you just finished is scary. I only let one or two people read my books when I'm done with them or as I'm writing them, depending. One of those people is my co-blogger over at Infinite Book Reviews, Nadia. She always gives sound advice and points out things that I miss. She's more helpful than she will ever know!
Letting someone read your book can help you fix plot twists, character structures and a whole bunch of other things that you might miss! This is called a beta reader. 
Beta readers are not explicitly proofreaders or editors, but can serve in that context. Elements highlighted by beta readers encompass things such as plot holes, problems with continuity, characterisation or believability; in fiction and non-fiction, the beta might also assist the author with fact-checking. (from Wikipedia)

 Do You Want to Publish Your Book? Are you considering trying to get your book published or self-publishing it? Well, before you do I'm going to suggest editing it first because you can never edit too many times. Polishing your work is good for you and it will help you get to where you want/need to be.
If you want to try to get your book traditionally published, your writing, characters and everything else about your book will be judged by those in the publishing industry because that's their job. They're looking for a book that will sell, but they won't want to spend months on editing your book.
If you want to self-publish, you're going to have to edit too because people aren't going to want to read something with a ton of grammatical errors and plot holes.

There are a few things for you to think about this week :) Good luck with writing!
www.ashleyearley.com
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Holiday Giveaway!

Enter to win a signed copy of Ashley Earley's YA Fantasy novel, The Darkest Light!

I am hosting a special giveaway this holiday season! I will be giving away 1 signed copy of my young adult novel. You can enter today (December 16th, 2015) and up until December 31st, 2015!

Below is the summary for the Young Adult Fantasy:

After discovering a secret her parents have kept from her all her life, Alyssa’s life begins to unravel, and she’s thrown into a magical world she never knew existed—one that’s both frightening and intriguing to her.
While trying to discover who she really is, and who her father was, she begins to see the darkness this unknown land holds, and fears becoming part of that darkness.
Torn between this new world, and the human world, Alyssa must make the ultimate decision between the possibility of losing herself forever to become part of it, or stay behind and let the world of Föld perish.
As if her life wasn’t complicated enough, she’s falling for two guys—that live in totally different worlds. Wesley and Archer couldn’t be more different, but they both have her captivated.
A battle is coming. Will Alyssa be forced to fight against the people she loves?

Here is the link so you can enter: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25540795-the-darkest-light

And here are a few links to where you can find me :)
www.ashleyearley.com
www.ashleyearleybooks.tumblr.com
www.ashleyearleywrites.blogspot.com

Happy Holidays everyone!
-Ashley Earley

Cyber Monday Deal!

The Darkest Light is on sale on Smashwords.com!!

 Originally $2.99 - Now $1.50

 Just in time for the holidays! The Darkest Light is 50% OFF!! Today is the last day so don't miss out! Visit Smashwords.com to purchase The Darkest Light as an eBook for $1.50 when typing in the code: CQ59Y. Then download the eBook to your reading device!

Here is the link to the website: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/542697

Thank you for the support! :)
www.ashleyearley.com
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The Darkest Light Book Review | OneMoreChapter

Should You Read Reviews About Your Book?

   There is no easy answer to this question. Everyone is different, therefore everyone will react a little differently to reading reviews on their book whether positive or negative.

  If You Read Reviews:

  If it is a negative review: Every author gets a negative review. You're not the only one so don't let yourself get down! Getting a negative review might help to point out things that you did wrong. Maybe someone pointed out a plot hole, or a few other things, either way, you'll be more cautious to take notice to such things with your next novel. Negative reviews aren't all bad.
  Don't ever contact the reviewer to harass them, or explain why their review is wrong, and why your book is actually great! Don't be a rude author! Take feedback with grace. Feedback, whether good or bad, still brings attention to your book.

  If it is a positive review: I'm pretty sure reading a good review makes every author swell with pride. Should you comment or write this person about their review? You can if you want to say, "Thank you" but maybe don't praise them--it could make the reviewer uncomfortable. But sending a generic "thank you" email or comment should be okay, it just depends on the person.

  If You Don't Read Reviews:

  If you don't read reviews on your book, you'll never know if someone said a good or bad thing about your work. This isn't necessarily a good or bad thing; like I said, it depends on the person! By not reading reviews, you won't know what needed to be fixed, and you could make the same or a similar mistake in your next novel.

www.ashleyearley.com
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Why Writing Is Hard

   A lot of people who don't write, wonder why it's so hard. Well, I'm about to tell you.

 Here's a list of why writing is hard:

 Writer's Block. Every writer experiences this at one time or another, and it's horribly frustrating. You're staring at your blank page, or at the last line you wrote, and you're just stuck. You don't know what to write next but you feel like you must continue. You get a headache because you're focusing so hard as you try to think of a ways to continue. You feel like you can't walk away and leave your book this way, you want to finish what you've started. Every writer hates and battles with writer's block. It's just part of the process and it sucks.

 Starting a New Book. Starting a new book means: New characters, new setting, new personalities, new descriptions, new plot, and basically, new everything. Starting a new book can be easy for some people, but it can be difficult for others. Or it just depends on how much of your book you already have planned; you may be one of those magical people that already have the beginning of your book planned so that, now, all you have to do is get it on paper. Lucky you. Writers that can't just pull a beginning out of their magic hat both hate and envy you.

 Trying to be Realistic. Every writer wants their readers to feel the main character; understand the main character; understand the main character's situation; understand and see the world you've placed that character in. But if you're writing, let's say fantasy, it can be hard to describe the interaction your main character has in the world you've placed him/her in while also making this fictional world seem real. You don't want to sound too cheesy; you want this fictional world to be awesome and exciting; you also want your characters to seem realistic, but you're hesitant because you are worried your book sounds stupid.
No idea is stupid.
As long as you act and write like you believe this world is real, your reader will feel that it is. The goal is to always make your book entertaining, exiting, good, and realistic. You can only achieve this if you try your hardest to make it these things. Write what you want to write! That's why you have this ability in the first place. Not everyone can just sit down and write. I know it seems natural, but it's not. It's weird and awesome, so embrace that and write whatever you want to write about.

 Making Things Fit. Imagine that you've dropped your favorite vase and it shatters into a thousand pieces. You want to put that vase back together because you love it. This seems totally impossible, right? Well, that is what it feels like to write a book sometimes. Big pieces have to fit. Small pieces have to fit. All the pieces have to come together in order to put together the thing you are trying to create. Details, details, details; they always must be added to make the book, and plot, good. And it can be really frustrating when you're not entirely sure how all those details come together as you get closer and closer to the climax. UGH.

 Getting Emotionally Attached to a Character You Have to Kill. Now, all writers are weird, so we usually enjoy killing off characters, maybe even the ones we like. Though I like killing characters, I don't enjoy killing off characters that I like. Killing off a likeable character will definitely leave your reader upset, and that's usually a good thing. It means you sell more books lol!
But seriously now.
Killing a character you like is so hard, because you've created this person and it's someone you like and feel really bad about killing, but at the same time, you have to do it because killing him/she is part of the plot. It's necessary, so you do it, but you don't like it.

 Character Development. Writers always put a little bit of themselves in their characters. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, because your unknown readers won't know you so they won't see it, but family and friends and other people that know you, will. Everyone puts a bit of themselves in their characters, but you have a draw a line and avoid stepping over it. It's hard to draw the line. You're you and it's hard to change that. It's hard to come up with a person and then become that person whenever you sit down to write.

 World Development. You may have difficulty in describing the world you've created (if you're writing about a fictional world). You want your reader to grasp the world you've created--to see each detail you see, but you may not want to be too descriptive. Depending on their writing style, writers can have a lot of difficulty with this. I feel that a lot of us don't want to spend too much time describing scenery because their worried about boring their readers.

 Character Descriptions. You may already have an idea of what your main character looks like. Well now you have to get that down on paper. And what about the other characters in your book? They need to have a face too, and a body....and everything that entails creating a fictional-human-being. It can be hard to keep up with character descriptions, especially if you have a lot of characters, and it can be hard to come up with looks because you want everyone to be different and unique in their own way. Yeah...I have the hardest time with this. I usually come up with the description, then write it down under the character's name and keep it tacked to my bulletin board so I can keep up with who's who.

 Coming back to writing after having had walked away. It's hard to come back to writing after you've stopped for awhile, however, it's even harder to re-enter the writing world if you've stopped in the middle of a manuscript, short story, poem, etc. because you have to regain your grip on the story and feelings during the scene you were in.

 Not in the Mood. This happens to me more than anything. After work and classes, who feels like writing? It requires a lot of thinking--too much thinking, so after a long day, it can be super hard to convince yourself to write when all you want to do is lie down and watch TV.

 Editing. Editing is really hard for a lot of writers, because we're not editors. We wrote the story, and now we have to do everything we can to make it as good as it can be before we show it to people, try to get it published, self-publish it, or whatever it is that you plan to do with your manuscript once you're done with this process. Editing consists of grammatical corrections, making things (puzzle pieces) fit, adding sentences or paragraphs to make things more intense, taking out scenes that we feel are unnecessary, and so much more. Editing is not a one-two-three ordeal and I, personally, hate it.
But I do it because--as a writer--it's my job, and my novel is unfinished until I've completed the circle-of-writing, as far as I'm concerned.

Did I miss anything? What should I have added to this list?

Happy writing! <3 

www.ashleyearley.com
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Dealing with Negative Feedback

   Every writer has dealt with negative feedback.

 It doesn't matter if you write poetry, short stories, reviews of books, or books. Not everyone is going to like your work. Not everyone is going to agree with your opinions.

 Negative feedback can come from anyone. A publisher, editor, agent, even a friend. Anyone can say that they don't like your book, and that's okay because that is their opinion. They have a right to have an opinion and post it on social media, Amazon, Goodreads, etc. because your book is out there and people are allowed--and going--to talk about it.

  You can either take negative feedback as a learning experience, or ignore the negative comments that people make about your work. What you should NEVER do is reply to a negative comment hostilely. The comment is this persons own opinion. He/she isn't speaking for the whole world. This is what they think and you should accept it and move on. Don't say anything back along the lines of, "You're too simple minded to understand that my story/book is actually great." No hostility should be exchanged what-so-ever!!

 Because:

  1. That's really rude and unprofessional. YOU come out sounding like the simple minded one. Your book isn't perfect! No book is! J.K. Rowling's book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was rejected by 8 publishers and gets negative feedback from readers. Now, I'm not comparing your book to anything J.K. Rowling has written; I'm just saying that even one of the most popular and loved books in the world gets negative feedback from readers.

  2. You're hurting yourself by doing this more than the other person. Your readers will lose respect for you, and will lose interest in your book because of your rudeness. (This could seriously damage you if you're a self-published author.)

 I'm not saying that negative feedback doesn't hurt. I'm just saying that you shouldn't reply to comments with the intention of being mean/rude. You should be happy that someone has reviewed, or talked about your book, even if they didn't like it.

 Negative feedback shouldn't deter you from writing. The more you write, the better you get! So don't give up!

Happy writing! <3

www.ashleyearley.com
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