Query Letter for Counting Down with You
Hi all! With the next round of Author Mentor Match approaching (for which I’m a mentor!), I thought I’d share my query for hopeful mentees. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS POST HAS SPOILERS FOR MY DEBUT NOVEL, COUNTING DOWN WITH YOU, BELOW.
My querying stats are nowhere near the usual situation, but I’ll share them anyway! For reference, Counting Down with You is the first book I ever queried (and my third book ever written), and I queried in May 2019.
Agents queried: 7
Full manuscript requests: 5
Offers of representation: 2
Querying duration: 10 days from first query sent to first offer of representation.
Query letter:
Dear [agent],
[Personlization.] In FOOLISH LIONHEART, an ownvoices YA contemporary complete at 88,000 words, the relationship dynamics of Jenny Han’s TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE meet the familial difficulties of Sabina Khan’s THE LOVE AND LIES OF RUKHSANA ALI.
Sixteen-year-old Karina Ahmed has spent her entire life trying to be the perfect daughter. When her parents say sit, she sits. When her parents say stand, she stands. When her parents say pursue medicine, she… falters. College applications are approaching fast, and Karina doesn’t know how to tell her parents that she wants to study English when they’ve sacrificed so much for her education. By the time her parents depart for their month-long visit to Bangladesh, leaving her in the care of her beloved grandmother, Karina has already resigned herself to a miserable future.
Then Karina starts tutoring Alistair “Ace” Clyde, the standoffish boy in her English class, and he’s unlike anyone she’s ever met. Instead of living up to his family’s expectations, Ace goes out of his way to defy them. And instead of admitting to his family how much he cares about his grades, he ropes Karina into a fake-dating façade to hide their tutoring sessions. Despite her initial reluctance, she finds herself enjoying their extended time together. With Ace, she feels braver and bolder. However, as the month passes by, Karina grows to dread her parents' return. Even with her grandmother’s support and Ace’s encouragement, Karina doesn’t know if she can risk standing up to them about wanting to pursue English. As junior year comes to an end, Karina is forced to choose between acceptance from her parents or happiness within herself.
[Author bio.] Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best,
Tashie Bhuiyan
@tashiebhuiyan
If you have any questions, feel free to message me via the contact form on my website or tweet me at @tashiebhuiyan. Good luck to all of you in the mentorship or query trenches!