After months of endless tinkering with my manuscript (followed by years of writing and re-writing), I have finally decided that it is in good enough shape to put it through the querying process. I sent out my first batch of query letters, emailing roughly 20 prospective agents in the hopes that one of them will choose to represent me on my publishing journey!

I am under no illusions that I will find success right away. Even highly-successful authors had to face mountains of rejections before finally getting their first break. But this is still an exciting first step after years of toiling away at this story in private! Finally I will be able to test my mettle in the public arena and see if I’m capable of breaking through to the next level.

I am fully expecting to receive a wave of “No”s in the coming weeks, but that’s okay. This will be a long process, and I intend to chronicle every step of my journey here, even if it mostly consists of failure. So if you’re here to witness me fall flat on my face for a while, you are probably in the right place! But that will only make it that much sweeter when I eventually succeed, don’t you think?

For fun, I am including a copy of my default query letter below. I might change things here and there to address specific agents’ interests or meet their strict guidelines, but this is the template I’ve been using to attract interest thus far. Fingers crossed it does the trick!

Check back in a few weeks for my inevitable update sharing the news of my first rejection letters. But who knows? Maybe I’ll catch a lucky break, and you can say you were here before I hit the big time!

-Austin Daniel

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QUERY LETTER TEMPLATE:

Hello [agent name],

I am seeking representation for my debut novel, THE BLOOD GAMES: an action-thriller story centered around a violent team deathmatch sport that becomes the most popular sport in the world. (93,000 words)

Ryan Eastwood didn’t join The Blood Games to become famous. He joined because he needed an outlet for his aggressions and had nowhere else to turn. He and his older brother Jake ruled the early days of the fledgling sport as it rose to international prominence. But tragedy strikes when Jake is cut down in the arena and killed, leading Ryan to walk away from the sport in his prime.

Eight years later, Ryan is enticed back to the sport by an enigmatic new team owner looking for someone to mentor his young players. Ryan does not recognize what the sport has become, and is appalled at how fame-driven the new generation of fighters are today. He takes on the challenge of coaching these young players and instilling values of teamwork and selflessness in them, which proves to be an uphill battle.

All the while, Ryan battles the demons of his past, as his brother’s death continues to plague his dreams and his approach to the sport. On the horizon lies a formidable enemy: a ruthless fighter who goes by the moniker ‘Hotshot.’ Hotshot taunts Ryan for his past mistakes and attempts to goad him into strapping on the pads for one last chance at glory. Will Ryan resist the call? Or will he succumb to the same temptation that led him to the sport in the first place?

The action of The Blood Games can be compared to that of The Hunger Games franchise, as sadistic game makers torment their fighters in the name of bloody entertainment. It has a student/teacher dynamic similar to that of Top Gun: Maverick, following a reluctant mentor tasked with counseling unwilling protegees. It also features a non-linear story structure that reveals more about the protagonist’s traumatic past over time, reminiscent of The Kite Runner or Life of Pi.

The Blood Games was a semi-finalist in the 2021 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition, and peaked at #2 on the now-defunct Coverfly list for top action manuscripts.

I am an aspiring novelist and screenwriter based in California. I graduated from UCLA in 2014 with a B.A. in English. I’m a major cinephile and voracious reader of all genres, who also dabbles in fan fiction and other online writing and blogging communities. My dream is to write stories for a living, and possibly even see one of my creations on the silver screen one day!

See attached for a ten-page sample of the manuscript (Chapter 1). The rest of the manuscript is available upon request. I look forward to working with you on getting this story out to the world!

Thank you,
Austin Daniel