Yes, querying agents takes forever. At least it feels like it. Rejection letters or no response at all is no fun, but I've been tinkering with my query letter, changing the opening to my novels, and doing everything else I can think to do to interest an agent.
I went back and reread Hooked. Must have missed it the first time, but author Les Edgerton gives specific examples of how to hook a reader. The author even gives hints from agents who say never start with a passive scene, the weather, a long, static description of the main character.
Instead, hint at a secret, puzzle, or something exciting that will draw the reader in. It boils down to starting a novel with phrases like: After Mom fell down the ____. Or, My behavior changed after______, He was so mean________, "Don't tell anybody this, but _______, When I got there they were burying_______.
As a result of all this, my Sexual Politics novel is now called WITHOUT CONSENT (because some critiquiers thought it sounded like a romance!!),
That's it for now. Got to send out a full manuscript of my latest cozy mystery which an agent just requested. Hallelujah!
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