Noah Lukeman’s book, How to Write a Great Query Letter, is for writers looking to land an agent, but it’s really about how to get yourself noticed in a crowd. Too aggressive, and it’s as if you’re a terrorist. Too gimmicky, and you’re a clown. None of the above, and you’re part of the crowd.
The book fulfilled its promise in another way: it was compelling reading like a good query letter should be. I was tired and sleepy but it made me sit up and take notice. No how-to book has done that before.
In my business, I must reach out to potential clients who don’t know me. The book made me take another look at techniques I have tried in the past and I finally understood why they didn’t work. It made me take another look at techniques I am using now and how to make them work better.
No wonder it’s a 5-star book on Amazon.
But there’s more to it than that. To quote,
When I receive a query letter which says, “Mr. Lukeman, I guarantee you that this will be the beginning of a long relationship. After you represent this book, I will allow you to also represent my romance novel, my science fiction novel, my childrens book and my horror screenplay,” I don’t think of all the money I’ll make. I think that this writer is scattered, and that he will be overwhelming to work with.
It is enough of an accomplishment to get an agent to represent one book. Pitching multiple books not only distracts the agent, but also cheapens each work. If an agent thinks you’ve taken 10 years to craft one work, it will seem as if you’ve put great effort into it; if you pitch five novels at once, the agent might assume you just knocked each one off with a few weeks work, and thus might be more wary of the quality of the writing.
Every day brings another money-making idea. I already have 2, two I’ve rejected in the last 2 weeks as inappropriate. One more cooking in the back of my mind. Noah Lukeman’s message is about not appearing scattered. The bigger struggle is not being scattered. In the end, the question is what I want to be known for. The answer to that is strikingly clear: I want to be the best IT partner for start-ups.
What to do about other money making ideas? I will give them away. Some of them will come back as businesses that want to use my services. The others will be my gift to the world.
