I pay my bills by being a marketing consultant and I have a web site which obviously casts me in a pretty impressive light, with a strong educational background, recognizable clientele, and a discussion of advertising/promotional services. Do you think it might be a good idea to mention the web site in my query letters? "For more information about me, check out my business web site at xxxxxx.com." Since many agents now want to know about one's ability to help promote a work after publication, the fact that I make my living promoting products and services for businesses, might work in my favor. . . . Just a thought. I welcome your thoughts on this. Thanks.
Query Letter Question
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All the promotional expertise there is won't matter a bit if your book isn't good enough.
Having a web site isn't impressive on its own. Having a good one might be, if you're pitching a non-fic book which is related in some way to your website.
If you're writing fiction then good agents are interested in your ability to promote, but they won't worry too much if it's something you aren't able to do.
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Only if you're querying nonfiction that has to do with marketing. 
I've heard that agents might Google you sometimes if they're interested in offering rep. They'd find your site then, presumably.
I've heard that agents might Google you sometimes if they're interested in offering rep. They'd find your site then, presumably.
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I've seen agents say that if you have a website, you could just put it below your name and they'd check it out if they're interested. So it would be something like:
Dear Agentname,
Query
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best wishes,
Hippo
www.hippo.com
Dear Agentname,
Query
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best wishes,
Hippo
www.hippo.com
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Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)
As the hippo said, include the link below your signature.
In the bio section of your query, you can say "I make my living as a marketing consultant," and leave it at that. Agents who are interested enough to read that far will be able to make the inference without your telling them to click on the link.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
As the hippo said, include the link below your signature.
In the bio section of your query, you can say "I make my living as a marketing consultant," and leave it at that. Agents who are interested enough to read that far will be able to make the inference without your telling them to click on the link.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
Siri:
In one way or another the other responses echoed your recommendation for the more oblique, inferential reference to my web site instead of the direct "check out my web site" approach. I respect your recommendation and would just like to know the reason for the more subtle, oblique approach. . . . Is it because it would look more professional? Thanks for your help.
In general, a query for fiction needs to be about the book. Unless your real life experience has direct bearing on the contents of the novel (you spent two years working on a tall ship and then wrote a novel about pirates, for instance) the query is not the place to point it out.
Having a background in marketing is something an agent may see as an advantage down the road, but it still doesn't trump having a good/great novel. If you have a good/great novel, then the marketing background will be icing on the cake, but it won't make a difference if the agent isn't sold on the book. It's the sort of thing you can mention in your bio paragraph, but isn't worth making a big deal about (so to speak) because at this point you're selling the novel, not your other skills.
I don't know if you've ever seen The Voice, but the query letter is kind of like the blind auditions. Sure, it's great if you have a great fashion sense and are funny and personable to talk to, but none of those things will help if you can't demonstrate that you can sing first. With the query you're selling the book. When you get interest from the agent, you sell yourself.
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Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)
What Aggy said.
But also, most agents dislike being told to clink on links as it smacks of spam, hackers, etc. And agents only have so much time to look at each query; sending them off to a link is not cost effective time-wise.
It's only non-fic queries that require you to sell yourself as well as your book. And even then, you don't say, "click on the link;" instead, you say, I have these and these marketing skills and intend to use them in service of the book.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
What Aggy said.
But also, most agents dislike being told to clink on links as it smacks of spam, hackers, etc. And agents only have so much time to look at each query; sending them off to a link is not cost effective time-wise.
It's only non-fic queries that require you to sell yourself as well as your book. And even then, you don't say, "click on the link;" instead, you say, I have these and these marketing skills and intend to use them in service of the book.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
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1. To be blunt and kind of a jerk about it, if the agent isn't hooked by your query letter, your website and experience marketing isn't going to help.
2. Agents do receive emails all the time from people that skips the query and just says, "Check out my website!" Kind of like spam, essentially. I am NOT saying that's what you're doing, but I think it makes them wary about seeing that kind of thing in a query.
But those are just my thoughts. I'm unpublished and unagented, so take that with a grain of salt.
2. Agents do receive emails all the time from people that skips the query and just says, "Check out my website!" Kind of like spam, essentially. I am NOT saying that's what you're doing, but I think it makes them wary about seeing that kind of thing in a query.
But those are just my thoughts.
I'm unpublished and unagented, so take that with a grain of salt.
From the submission guidelines I've seen many agents expect to see after your signature a phone number, an email address, and (if you have one) a link to your website. If they want to use one or more of those pieces of info they can.
It doesn't hurt to give them that chance. But none of them will avail themselves of that chance if your query generates no interest in them.
It doesn't hurt to give them that chance. But none of them will avail themselves of that chance if your query generates no interest in them.
1. To be blunt and kind of a jerk about it, if the agent isn't hooked by your query letter, your website and experience marketing isn't going to help.
2. Agents do receive emails all the time from people that skips the query and just says, "Check out my website!" Kind of like spam, essentially. I am NOT saying that's what you're doing, but I think it makes them wary about seeing that kind of thing in a query.
But those are just my thoughts.
This. Honestly, I don't think most agents are going to care much about your marketing experience, especially if you're writing fiction.
I am throwing in with Mayqueen also. Your marketing experience may be an asset, LATER.
Thrusting it at them as part of your pitch may however be off-putting. They want a story first and foremost, so at best the more time you stress your ability to market the less space you can dedicate to what they truly want (you're in marketing, so think of these as particularly savvy consumers--you sell bud light to armchair quarterbacks with tanned breasts, but you sell Bell's Two Hearted or Sammichlaus by discussing dry-hopping, cask aging, etc...agents aren't armchair consumers, you NEED that space to sell your book itself instead of oblique promises and flash).
Sell the book. If later they discover you can help market, so much the better, but that won't sell a book which can't sell itself. It CAN subtract 20 words from your pitch though...
Thrusting it at them as part of your pitch may however be off-putting. They want a story first and foremost, so at best the more time you stress your ability to market the less space you can dedicate to what they truly want (you're in marketing, so think of these as particularly savvy consumers--you sell bud light to armchair quarterbacks with tanned breasts, but you sell Bell's Two Hearted or Sammichlaus by discussing dry-hopping, cask aging, etc...agents aren't armchair consumers, you NEED that space to sell your book itself instead of oblique promises and flash).
Sell the book. If later they discover you can help market, so much the better, but that won't sell a book which can't sell itself. It CAN subtract 20 words from your pitch though...
I'm with Siri's original post. If you make a living at marketing, they'll assume you can market something you are passionate about, like your own work. The rest of the details can come up in the call.
Thanks
Some great, helpful posts here . . . thanks. Where I come out on this is the following . . . Let them know I make my living as a marketing consultant and then just put my web site under my signature area . . . This is my professional marketing web site . . . I do not have a writing web site as I am unpublished and too new at the craft . . . But the key is just put my web site under my signature with no explicit mention of "Check out my web site" . . . . Does this sound like a reasonable way to go? Thanks for your feedback.
Some great, helpful posts here . . . thanks. Where I come out on this is the following . . . Let them know I make my living as a marketing consultant and then just put my web site under my signature area . . . This is my professional marketing web site . . . I do not have a writing web site as I am unpublished and too new at the craft . . . But the key is just put my web site under my signature with no explicit mention of "Check out my web site" . . . . Does this sound like a reasonable way to go? Thanks for your feedback.
You must not have read my post, because I answered this question. I'll repeat the answer here for you.
I would probably leave the comments out entirely, but if you're gonna do this then I would keep it to a single line about "I run a marketing website..." and a link in your sig, and that's IT. No awards which don't pertain to writing, and absolutely no comments on lacking "a writing site or experience."
Simple is your friend, and if you don't have writing credits they can deduce as much without you flopping it out there in front of them and essentially stressing your newness
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I agree. I feel simple & super is better. Make those first few words count.
Agents are very busy people, sometimes getting a hundred queries a day on top of a jillion other jobs they have to get done by quitting time. If those first few words don't captivate, they are likely to pass.
This is especially true as agents more & more read those queries on their smartphones as they commute or eat lunch or "relax" at home. The windows into our queries on phones are not very large even on the newer larger ones.