Query Letter, Starting Early This Time

I am well into my next book and one of the things that I am doing that I wish I would have done with my first book is to start thinking about my query letter before I am finished writing. With my first book I didn't start thinking about the query letter until I had finished writing and was almost complete with editing phase. I think that was a big mistake on my part. I think as a writer one of the hardest things to do is to take a 90,000 word volume and condense it down into two paragraphs. It's difficult because you have spent countless hours mulling over details, developing your story and characters, and putting it all down on hundreds of pages. Now to squeeze that amount of work into such a tiny space, and doing it in such a way as to catch the eye of an agent, is beyond daunting. So in order to give myself the best chance for success with this new book, I started to think about my query letter very early in the writing process. Even before I have hit that milestone halfway point I have been spending time trying both in my mind and on paper to condense the story into a nice, neat little package, beautifully wrapped like a juicy Texas cheese burger just waiting for a hungry agent. I am determined to make the, "finding an agent" process much easier and more successful than my last endeavor. The query letter process for my last book felt much like being a city dweller being dropped empty handed into the middle of an East Asain jungle and told to find my way out. This time I am being dropped into that jungle with a backpack full of supplies and just enough training to make myself dangerous. Look out agents, I've got two paragraphs about a story that will blow your minds. I hope you're ready.