Want to Test-Drive Your Query Letter? Check Out Evil Editor

After spending weeks (or months) tweaking your query letter to perfection, you may want to solicit some feedback before you send it out. Evil Editor is your guy. He'll post your query on his blog, often with tongue-in-cheek comments, where other writers can chime in with their own opinions.

But Evil Editor adds a twist. He posts the titles of the manuscripts the queries represent, and invites blog readers to guess the plot based upon the titles. The most interesting (and far-fetched) plot ideas get posted along with his query critique in his Face-Lift series.

Another feature on Evil Editor's blog is the New Beginning series. Writers submit the first 150 words of their manuscript, and blog readers show how they think the piece should continue. Evil Editor posts the most interesting continuation, and invites blog readers to give the original author feedback on how the opening captured their interest.

It's nice to find a site that gives good feedback with an element of fun. If humor is not something you want to mix with your fiction, you may want to stick to more "serious" sites.

Evil Editor conducts monthly book chats, where readers discuss recently published books. There's also a weekly contest for writers to contribute captions to a posted cartoon. The best captions get published on the blog. If you need a laugh to relieve your writer's block, check out Evil Editor's short films to give you some relief. And at regular intervals writing exercises are posted, with the best examples posted on the blog.

Does humor help to relieve the tension of the journey to publication?

7 comments:

  1. That actually sounds like fun. Thanks for the lead!

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  2. You're welcome. We all need a break from the seriousness of trying to get published!

    ~Debbie

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  3. Hi Debbie,
    This is great! Our writing group is going to be discussing the query letter in our upcoming meetup and I've been scouring the net for helpful links. So glad I saw this posting.:)

    Hey I'm sorry I haven't been commenting in awhile. I have just recovered from a week long bout of flu. Hopefully once I get caught up on work, I'll be able to leave more blog comments. :)

    By the way, maybe you'd be interested in joining my first ever blog contest. I'm giving away some awesome writing tools for creating great characters! Check it out! http://www.thewritingnut.com/contest/characters-count-contest/

    Oh do join! I'd love for one of my fellow bloggers to win the prize!

    warm regards!
    Nutschell

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  4. I've been following Evil Editor for a while, but I'm too scared to submit my queries LOL

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  5. Nutschell: It would be fun to sit in on your group and see what everyone has come up with! I have several query links in the archives. Glad you're feeling better, and I'll definitely check out the contest!

    Trisha: I'd be scared, too. I think I'd submit anonymously for sure!

    ~Debbie

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  6. This looks like fun! With something as stressful as putting together a query, a bit of humor goes a long way to alleviate our anxiety. You always find the best sites. :-)

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  7. I agree with you, Krindon. I need all the humor I can get!

    ~Debbie

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