books

Query Craft
(April 2020)
Query Craft
The Writer in the Know Guide to Getting Your Manuscript Requested

If your goal as a novelist is to secure the representation of a literary agent, then you’ll need to write a query letter. Daunting? Not anymore! In Query Craft: The Writer-in-the-Know Guide to Getting Your Manuscript Requested, Angie Hodapp of Nelson Literary Agency takes you step-by-step through writing the four-part query letter. From the greeting and project summary to the pitch and bio, you’ll learn not only what to include, but also how to avoid the common pitfalls that cause agents to reject so many query letters after only a few seconds. In addition, you’ll find answers to the following questions:

  • How do you find the right agents to query?
  • How important are genre, word count, and comparable titles?
  • What are some overused words and phrases to avoid in your query letter?
  • Do you need prior publications or other credentials to get an agent?
  • What’s the best query strategy for you?
  • How do you set up a query tracking system?
  • Part industry manual, part fiction-craft guide, this book shows you how to turn the best parts of your novel into the best possible query letter—one that stands out in the slush pile and will get agents excited to read your manuscript.

Part industry manual, part fiction-craft guide, this book shows you how to turn the best parts of your novel into the best possible query letter—one that stands out in the slush pile and will get agents excited to read your manuscript.


Do You Need a Literary Agent?
(January 2019)
Do You Need a Literary Agent?
The Writer-in-the-Know Guide to a Literary Agent’s Role in the Publishing Industry

Do you need a literary agent? The answer is…it depends. With so many publishing options available to writers today, figuring out the best way to get your novel into readers’ hands can be overwhelming.

This book provides a deep dive into the traditional-publishing process, giving you a clear view of what to expect from the moment you get an idea for a novel to the moment your novel goes out of print. Topics include:

  • How to handle an offer of representation from a literary agent
  • How to navigate an agency agreement How to read and audit royalty statements
  • When and how to request a reversion of rights from your publisher
  • And more

Gain the industry knowledge you need to make informed decisions that will help you build the writing career you want.


False Faces
(August 2018)
False Faces
Twenty Stories about the Masks We Wear

In 2018, my husband, Warren Hammond, and I edited False Faces: Twenty Stories about the Masks We Wear, the biennial anthology of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. False Faces was a Colorado Book Award finalist. Two stories therein—”That Donnelly Crowd” By Anne Therese Macdonald and “If You Say So” by Suzanne Proulx—were reprinted in The Best American Mystery Stories 2019, edited by Jonathan Lethem and Otto Penzler, and a third story—”Not a Mother” by BJ Eardley—was listed among the other distinguished mystery stories of the year.

Description: Masks. Everybody wears them. Perhaps they are tangible, worn for a job or as part of a costume. More likely, they are metaphorical, shaped by the stories we tell each other and the lies we tell ourselves. This collection of twenty tales by members of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers explores what happens when we conceal ourselves behind carefully constructed identities. Why do we hide? What are we afraid to confront? And what happens when at last the masks come off?


Short Fiction

My short stories have appeared in a variety of science-fiction and horror anthologies, including the following.


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