Writing a Query is Easy Peasy
Writing the query is easy when you have a team. Genie, Mihai, and Zoe helped with every detail, from edits to suggestions from authors and books that compare with The Paper Boat to delivering it to you in this post.
It started, as it often does, with a grand realization + anxiety + fear, which all led to pure excitement. The query signaled that The Paper Boat was finally ready to enter the world and find its guides and audience. As I write this, I realize I didn’t sit properly with that moment. I didn’t acknowledge its full significance because I was too frightened by the fact that I had no idea what a query was. I mean the whole thing–that I can ONLY access the literary agents by submitting a query–was new, which probably reveals to you how I go about my writing journey. I don’t over-research. I take it as it comes while feeling fully supported at each step.
Supported first of all by life itself, and by my team who, as far as I can tell and have been told, are people that The Paper Boat itself attracted, which proves that it is alive and has an energy about it, a force. I love that about creations and books; they are independent and know what and who they want on board.
I woke up one morning and found a video online explaining the process of writing the query, so I began writing it while pausing the video from time to time and asked my editors, Genie and Mihai, to bring on their contributions. That is the thing about having a dedicated and supportive team; you are never going through it alone, which is the real juice of creative endeavours.
So:
Write a book
Get a team
Write a query
Here is the query, which is a really good read because it gives you compact information regarding The Paper Boat and offers you a template if you are a writer.
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Dear X,
I am seeking representation for my book The Paper Boat, a work of narrative nonfiction totaling 45,732 words.
The Paper Boat follows the tracks of a female digital nomad of Eastern European descent at the beginning of her solo travels through Cyprus, Portugal, Ireland and Moldova. The story centers on the inner relationship with her alter ego, Zonja Bubbles, and her interactions with the characters she meets along the way.
The central questions of the book are “What would I do in her place?” and “What is she up to now?” Readers are immersed in situations that require detachment and honest self-reflection as they follow the narrator on her quest for self-actualization.
“Trust the language” has been the guiding mantra of The Paper Boat. To this end, I worked with two editors: Eugenia Nordskog for language and Mihai Tropa for developmental guidance. Eugenia specializes in helping non-native writers express themselves confidently in English. Mihai Tropa, an academic who taught languages and education for many years, has curated and translated books for Edition Tertium in Stuttgart, Germany.
Comparable titles, from my perspective, would be Tracks by Robyn Davidson for both the simplicity of the language and the examination of crucial moments in a dedicated traveler’s inner life. The frank treatment of the potential for power imbalance within a sexual encounter reminds Eugenia of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, while Zonja herself conjures a modern-day Moll Flanders. Mihai sees affinities with Vonnegut’s works.
I have a BA in Journalism from the University of Babeș-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Essex, UK. In 2022, I self-published my first poetry book, The Paths We Travel Alone. I currently work as a Lead Linguist and Project Manager for Datamundi / Summa Linguae data collection company, where I train AI, work closely with numerous freelancers and play a key role in ensuring the quality of work.
My next project, already half-written, is a sci-fi novel which revolves around the idea of “a woman’s world.”
I am currently based in the Republic of Moldova.
Thank you so much for your consideration,
Cristina Burduja
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