To celebrate 13 weeks of winter, Winterviews is conducting interviews with various book and author communities across the internet. Once a week, we’ll interview a new community to find out what makes that community great.
Join us on the hashtag #13Winterviews, or join in the fun with tonight’s community spotlight, Query Connection! Without further ado, lets get down to the interview!
Can you tell us a little bit about Query Connection?
Query Connection is, in short, a writing community. It has everything from private genre groups to query critique forums. Our primary goal is for writers to have a safe place to share their submission material with other writers to polish their queries and synopses through member critiques while learning what they like and dislike about others’ queries which can, in turn, be helpful when crafting their own. It is a well-moderated, inclusive space formed to help authors find critique partners, get comp suggestions, and get support where they may not otherwise have it.
Currently we’re working on a way to fund moving from a free service to a paid account with better SEO, Google rankings, and support options, which will benefit our members in the long run. One idea has been to provide a small launch platform for those donors wanting a place with a built-in audience to see their books and participate in give-aways, AMAs, and other launch events. While this idea is still in conceptual stages, we’re excited about running a test launch in the middle of March 2020 to see if the idea will work in this type of environment. It is our hope that we can provide a space for our members to be able to promote their forthcoming books and eventually have those who initially workshopped their queries through the community, celebrate their success.
What prompted the idea to start Query Connection?
I’m not going to take credit for this. I was just asked to be a mod and a back-up for the brains of the operation. CM/Cas Fick is the creator of Query Connection, and in her words: “There was an old forum run through AgentQuery called AgentQuery Connect. It’s where I first learned to write effective queries from other writers. It’s where I found my first CP (who is still a great CP) and where I first learned of the events and writing community on Twitter. Through this community, I learned how to not only revise my own query, but also how to critique others. After I joined in early 2017, the forum stopped taking new members and in the fall of 2019 was discontinued, but I didn’t want to let go of the connections I’d made and the community I’d come to rely on for my own query polishing. Without another place for these writers to come together, and knowing I couldn’t do it alone, I decided to create and launch QueryConnection with a team of moderators who each bring different levels of experience to the table. We’re still a growing community, but we plan on continuing to build a platform where writers feel safe to come, share their submission material, and get feedback from other writers.” -CM/Cas Fick
In what way has being a part of Query Connection made you stronger as a professional?
Being able to critique and interact with other writers helps to identify flaws in our own writing. It helps to tune our own processes and help us see what we can do better and what we are doing well already and can apply in other areas. Not only that, as a professional, it’s essential to lift up other writers around you in any way you can. If it’s a quick critique, or a kind word, then maybe they’ll take that and pass that knowledge or kindness on.
Why is having a community helpful?
Community is a way of building a safety-net around you. When you need help, they’ll run to your side and assist. When you need an ear, they’ll listen. And when you want to celebrate, they’ll celebrate with you. It’s about companionship and friendship and a safe place to express yourself and receive the help and validation that you need.
Who are some of your biggest/most positive influences in the community or in general?
CM/Cas Fick (the brains behind the site) and all the mods are amazing. Some come from other forums with experience critiquing there, some come purely from real life experience. All are in different stages of their writing careers so they have different views and insights to give to community members.
What one tip did you learn from Query Connection?
Follow the instructions. LOL. It’s surprising how many people don’t follow even the basic rules and instructions for submitting, writing queries, synopses, pitches, etc. A little time on Google gets even the most lost writers a good example of a decent query, basic structure for synopses, and pitch etiquette too. I know there’s lots of differing opinions on the nitty-gritty, but when it comes to the basics, 90% of the time, everyone agrees. All that needs to happen is some simple research.
Any advice or quote that you live by?
It’s a silly thing. It’s a fortune I got from a cookie years ago that I keep on my desk. “If you can shape it in your mind, you will find it in your life.” In short: “Imagine and persevere.”
@QueryConnection
https://www.queryconnection.com/
https://www.ajsuperauthor.com/
