Author: LDS Publisher

Second Chances

Do you ever give potential authors a “second chance” by allowing them to revise a manuscript and resubmit it?

If so, does that happen very often?

Under what circumstances?

Once you receive that revised manuscript, does it have a better chance of being published?


Yes.

No. I assume that the author is sending me their best work. If their best isn’t good enough, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to revise it enough to make it publishable. Usually, they’re better off starting fresh with a new story.

For fiction, if I like the story line and the writing is pretty good, but they have a secondary story line that doesn’t work, or maybe the age of the characters is off for the target audience, or something relatively minor. But it has to be pretty good to begin with. I’m more likely to offer a second chance on non-fiction, if the concept is really good.

Yes and no. It has a slightly better chance, in that there was something intriguing about the original submission. If I hadn’t liked it, I would have rejected. But after that, it has the same chance as any other submission.

FanFic Contest Submissions

I only got two submissions for this contest. Both are posted below. Since there are only two, let’s not vote for a winner. Instead, leave comments about what you liked about the stories, if you felt they captured the feeling of the original story, if you’d like to read more. If it didn’t work for you, give specific suggestions on what you’d do differently.

I will post my comments about each one on Monday.

FanFic Contest #2: Supernatural

Dean pushed the door open, shotgun cocked in his hand. He eyed the room. “Sammy, where are you?”

Sam burst through another door. “Did you see anything?”

“No.” Sam lowered the shotgun.

“Salt pellets might not work, you know,” Sam said.

“I keep telling you, it’s a demon. Nothing else.”

“But, the bright light—“

Dean cut him off. “Are you gonna start in again?”

“Why is it so impossible for you to believe that we’re chasing something else this time?”

“Like what?” Dean assumed a defiant stance.

“You know.”

“Give me a break, Sammy. This is like any other job. People keep dying and we’re going to hunt it down and stop it from killing again. End of story.” Dean checked inside a closet.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because.” Dean turned around to face Sam. “We’ve been hunting these things for years. They’re demons, that’s all. Nothing else.”

The door creaked open.

Dean whirled around, shotgun pointed and ready to fire.

“Don’t shoot.” A withered man crackled as he attempted to raise his hands.

Sam rushed to him. “What are you doing out here?”

“I check on the place now and then.”

Dean reluctantly lowered the shotgun. “Sorry about that.”

“Why are you in my cabin?”

“Oh, us, we’re, uh—“ Sam started.

“Gas inspectors. Someone reported a leak and we came to look things over. The shotgun’s for safety.”

“There hasn’t been gas here for years. I don’t even use it anymore, not since my Edith passed over. It was our special place.”

“We’re sorry to bother you then,” Dean said.

Sam glanced around the room. “It’s getting lighter in here.”

The old man smiled as light spilled into the room.

Dean pulled the shotgun close. He shielded his eyes.

“Edith? Is that you?” The old man reached out. “I’ve been praying for you to come and get me. It’s finally time.”

Sam and Dean stepped back while the light took the form of a young woman.

“It is you. You’re so young and beautiful. Like the day we met.”

Sam grabbed Dean’s shoulder. “Don’t shoot.”

Mesmerized by the powerful light, Dean watched it envelope the old man and whisk him away. In a flash, it was over.

Dean rubbed his eyes. “Why’d you stop me, Sam?”

“I think she was an angel.”

“Oh, come on. That poor dude was taken by a demon and we didn’t do anything to prevent it.”

“No, Dean. I really think she was an angel.”

“I should’ve blown her away.”

Sam moved close to Dean. “I think she was sent here to bring him back.”

“Back where?”

Sam shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“You believe that?”

“After what we’ve seen, how can we say there aren’t angels?”

“’Cause.” Dean jutted out his chin. “There’s not.”

“Why are you so certain?”

Dean walked to the window. He gazed outside and swallowed hard. “Because, Sam, if there was,” he paused, “why didn’t any of them save Mom?”

FanFic Contest #1: A Portrait of the Jedi as a Reckless Young Teenager

Disclaimer: The characters of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, the concept of the Force, and the entire Star Wars universe belongs to George Lucas. I am borrowing them for purposes of entertainment with no intent to profit. The droejan is my own creation.

Reckless! Pressed up against the putrid-smelling belly of the droejan, Obi-Wan Kenobi wondered how he could have been so stupid. He should have listened to the warnings about the droejans luring people into their lairs with mirages – but he hadn’t reckoned on seeing a mirage of young Bail Organa. The boy had disappeared, and as the Jedi were negotiating the succession to the Viceroy’s throne anyway, they had been asked to investigate. The Force had led them into the mountainous terrain, and when Obi-Wan had seen the boy in the mouth of a cave, he’d simply run ahead, eager to rescue.

The droejan had caught him almost immediately, sweeping him up to its underside with long, strong limbs. Now inside, it laid Obi-Wan on the floor and stroked his face with something thin and bristly. The limb rasped against the skin of his neck, then retreated. Something else plunged directly into his jugular vein, and Obi-Wan screamed as his blood was sucked out of his body.

Abruptly, the droejan stopped and, despite the pain, Obi-Wan felt delighted surprise ripple through his consciousness. Drooling with desire, he determined to take only small, regular sips of this special blood. He could drain the other human, but he’d keep this one as long as he could. Realizing he was sharing the droejan’s consciousness, Obi-Wan swallowed in disgust.

Hot acid shot into Obi-Wan’s bloodstream, then the droejan removed its fang. The torment faded to a comforting numbness and he no longer felt the droejan’s desire to feed. Its back legs rustled, and then one of its arms lifted his head quickly while the other one slipped something silky over his head and around his neck.

It jumped away, and Obi-Wan sat up and examined his neck. Something foreign covered the wound and when he touched it with his fingertips, the feeling drained out of them. When he tugged on the silky thing, he could feel a thin cord like a leash. Fighting increasing drowsiness, he followed it to a stone column, then recoiled as his foot stepped on something soft and yielding.

Yawning, Obi-Wan knelt down, feeling around. An arm! His hand came in contact with hair, then a face. Just then, the lair was lit by the green glow of Qui-Gon Jinn’s lightsaber and Obi-Wan could see who was lying there. He’d found Bail Organa, asleep.

The light went out for a moment, and pain stabbed through Obi-Wan’s neck, banishing his sleepiness. It felt as though the droejan had come back, but when he put his hand up, there was nothing there. Below him, Bail whimpered and stirred as well. The agony disappeared abruptly and the drowsiness returned. Trying to stifle another yawn, Obi-Wan watched Qui-Gon remove his lightsaber from the droejan’s head.

Kneeling down at Bail’s side to check the boy’s pulse, Qui-Gon glanced over to his apprentice. Obi-Wan braced himself for a lecture on his recklessness, but his master merely said, “Obi-Wan, I hope you get a padawan just like you.”

Legitimate Contests

Do you think we can use [winning the question contest] on our cover letters?

No. Very few of my colleagues even know this blog exists, so they would have no idea what you were talking about. Besides, this is not a legit writing contest.

I know you were joking, but here’s what you can use–legitimate contests that offer real prizes of cash or publication, like Writer’s Digest contests. Being published in an anthology does not count.

How to tell if the contest is legit? Check Preditors and Editors.

Question Contest Winners!

Okay, here we go.

Almost as Smart as Me question (tie)
What writing books would you recommend? I’ve heard that some rules of grammar have changed/are changing–how do we keep up? (Rebecca Talley)

What subjects are “off limits” that you would not consider publishing, no matter how well written? (Rebecca Talley)

These are both really smart questions. The answers change from time to time, so it’s good to keep asking them.

Obviously Doesn’t Have a Clue question
Should I spend a lot of time trying to figure out where best to place chapters or will that all change anyway if my manuscript is accepted? (Rebecca Talley)

Even though Rebecca knows better and intended this question as a joke, the unfortunate reality is I’ve had people ask me that. Really.

Got to Be Kidding question
Last month I decided to become a best-selling author and ever since then, I’ve had my eye on a silver Mercedes. Do you think I should buy it when I get my contract or wait and pay cash for it when I get my first royalty check? By the way, I’m planning to have my book written and published within six months. (Rebecca Talley)

Again, Rebecca is joking but some people really believe they can buy a new car with their first royalty check. Not in this market. Not usually in any other market either, although there are the rare exceptions.

Never Heard That One Before question
I have created a soundtrack for my book. Would it be useful to send in a CD of the soundtrack with the book? Should I list the songs and artists at the end of my book as notations for inspiration? (Andi Sherwood)

I honestly have never heard this one before. Answer coming soon.

Made Me Spew My Drink While Laughing question
I’m trying to figure out if it’s best to use designer perfume to scent the pages of my manuscript and cover letter or if it’s okay to just go with a perfume from Target? (Rebecca Talley)

It was tough picking a winner in this category, but I think this one is it.

My Favorite question
Do you think it’s easier to become a brain surgeon than a published author? (Rebecca Talley)

I don’t know if this is my favorite because it’s such a cool question, or if I like it best because I had so much fun answering it. Either way, it wins.

Are You Sure You’re Not a Three-Year-Old? (aka: person who submits the most REAL questions)
Is there anyone here who wonders who is going to win this one? 80% of the questions, serious and tongue-in-cheek, came from Rebecca Talley, who is now my new best friend.

Thanks also to Andi, Melanie, Tristi, Terri, Mindi, Nolan, and a few other anonymous question submitters. I really appreciate your questions and will answer all of them in the coming days.

Personal Issue is NBD

Based on all the kind words of concern, posted here and e-mailed, I have belatedly realized that I probably shouldn’t have worded my post quite that way. It’s really not a big deal.

Personal Issue = end of school year for my children who all need my personal attention RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE. I probably get 10 texts/e-mails a day asking me what a word means or how to spell something or if the comma is in the right place or (my personal favorite) will I write their 20 page term paper for them please, and btw, it’s due tomorrow. Then there’s all the year-end banquets and awards events and dances and cramming for finals (which they’ve never learned to do by themselves; even the ones at college want me to quiz them over the phone). And one of them has Girls Camp the week after school lets out. So, well, you get the idea.

I had to choose between writing the LDSP posts or being nice to my kids. They won. And they’re still winning. I really will get back here soon. And I’ll choose my words more carefully next time.

Taboo Topics

What subjects are “off limits” that you would not consider publishing, no matter how well written?

This is going to vary from publisher to publisher. However, in the LDS industry, there are some basic standards–for example, most are not going to publish books that celebrate or glorify lifestyle choices contrary to the doctrine of the Church. Most will not publish books that bash Church leaders or policies. Most will not publish novels with graphic sex or violence. Most will not consider books on the occult.

After that, you’re looking at individual preferences. Some won’t touch novels with polygamy in any form; others don’t mind it in historical novels. Many won’t publish “contemporary” topics (addiction, unwed pregnancy, homosexuality) in any form; others will, if it’s done tastefully and shows the consequences of poor choices.

I won’t accept anything that I think will upset or tick off the average LDS reader, even if I think it’s well written or it’s something that I personally like. For example, I received a submission a few years ago about an addict who turned their life around. I thought it was well written, had a great message, and that some LDS people would be touched by it. But I rejected it because too many people would be upset by its grittiness and I cannot afford to offend my readers. Other taboo topics at my company include homosexuality, child abuse, incest, the occult, gratuitous violence, descriptive intimacy, murder of children or real-time description of the death of children. Topics that would raise a flag, but might not be an automatic rejection are addiction, spouse abuse, infidelity, unwed pregnancy, loss of testimony.

How to Make Me Hate You in One Easy Step

I’ve heard it was a good idea to turn a page upside down in the middle of the manuscript to make sure it was really read. I was thinking, if I turned every other page upside down, not only could I tell if it was read, but I’d be remembered, too. What do you think?


I would much rather you hide a $20 bill around page 115.

Just kidding. Please do not send money.

Brain Surgery

Do you think it’s easier to become a brain surgeon than a published author?


Yes.

It’s all about perception. There is an actual mathematical equation for this. It is:

Actual difficulty + [(perceived personal skill + personal desire to achieve goal) X number of people who believe they have the skill and desire] + number of perceived stumbling blocks unfairly placed in the way by people who are not as intelligent as you = perceived difficulty

According to the scientific study of 1,000 random people that I did last night in preparation to answer this question, I discovered:

(10 being most and 1 being least)

10 + [(0 + .2) X 0] + 3 = 13 = Difficulty in Becoming a Brain Surgeon

4 + [(10 + 9.5) X 1,000] + 10 = 19,514 = Difficulty in Becoming a Published Author

Subplots–What’s the Magic Number?

Is there a general rule of thumb for how many subplots should be in a novel? How many are too few? Too many?

You want enough to keep your story interesting, but not so many that the reader can’t remember what’s going on with who. How’s that for a definitive answer?

I’m gonna’ go out on a limb and really commit myself here and say between two and ten. Part of it depends on how complex your main plot is; how complex the subplots; whether the subplots are needed to move the story forward (good), or if their main function is to add pages (bad); if the subplots involved the main characters or side characters; etc. etc.

Here’s my general rule–if I’m bored, it needs more complexity, which can be provided by subplots. If I have to read with a pencil and paper to keep all the characters and plots straight, then you’ve got too many.

Grammar and Writing Resource Books

What writing books would you recommend? I’ve heard that some rules of grammar have changed/are changing–how do we keep up?

Much as I personally hate it, grammar rules change over time (ex: lit vs lighted). Even the experts disagree about what is correct grammar and they will argue over something as “simple” as comma placement, each absolutely certain that they are correct and fully supported by other experts. To someone unfamiliar with the history of language and basic grammar rules, it may seem that there are no rules, or that rules can be broken at will.

This is an incorrect assumption. There are rules, and there are acceptable ways to break the rules. Editors know both. We can tell if you’re breaking a currently in-vogue rule because you’re following a different rule, or if you just don’t know what you’re doing. Unfortunately, there is no one, generally accepted, definitive grammar rule source book.

I prefer more traditional usage over the modern, but I’ve argued with many of my colleagues about what is correct, and we can all defend our own stance. You’re never going to guess what a particular publisher uses/wants, so don’t bother trying. Even if you know what a publisher usually wants, the grammar rules may change slightly depending on the style of book.

The key to grammar is to select a good source book and be consistent. You need to understand enough grammar that you know why you’re following (or breaking) a particular rule.

Here’s a pretty good list of sources. You’re probably safe with the current edition of Chicago Manual of Style (although I don’t agree with all of their rules). I like Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynn Trus as a punctuation manual. If you’re writing LDS, use their Style Guide to Publications.

Now, for writing books in general, there are so many good ones I hardly know where to start. I have about 40 on my shelf that I really love, and almost that many that I’d like to get. Some of my favorites are Julia Cameron’s books on writing, Natalie Goldberg and Annie Dillard. I also have a lot of books published by Writer’s Digest that are pretty good. The best way to find good books on writing is to just go spend a day at the bookstore and browse. Or ask a writer you know and respect what their favorites qre.

So how about it readers? What are your favorite writing books?

Fonts

Might as well finish the week on the same theme:

Don’t you think a fancy font would get noticed more than that boring Times New Roman or Courier? And, what about a few drawings, too? I’m a pretty good artist.


No.

Because all editors are stuffy, stodgy, opinionated bores.

We want to make our own pictures.

And we don’t really like Courier either.

Publishers Directories

Is there a directory available that lists publishers and editors with their home phone numbers? I’d really like to call a few and ask them why they rejected my manuscript.

Thank you so much.

Yes. It’s 1-800-I’ll never publish your book in a million years!

Although the person who sent this question intended it to be humorous, it’s really not that funny when I get the call. (Yes, I get those calls. Usually when I’ve just dozed off for my Saturday afternoon nap.)

With all the resources available these days, it’s not too hard to track down a publisher’s personal info. Don’t do it! I guarantee, they will not admire your tenacity and gumption. Anything else you send them in the future will be an automatic pass. And they’ll probably gossip about you to their publisher friends.

[And it’s not just writers who do this. A million years ago, in a city far, far away, I was a drama critic for the local paper. I gave a show a moderate review, but pointed out several things that were sub-par in the performance. The director called me up and chewed me out–several times. From then on, I always wrote with a pen name. It’s also one of the reasons why this blog is anonymous. I can’t handle conflict. I buckle under criticism. I…well, fine. I just don’t want the aggravation.]

Tips to Make Your Manuscript Stand Out

I’m trying to figure out if it’s best to use designer perfume to scent the pages of my manuscript and cover letter or if it’s okay to just go with a perfume from Target?


The more expensive the perfume, the better. The stronger the scent, the more I will enjoy reading your submission. Don’t be stingy. Douse that thing. Or better yet, soak your paper in it over night, then line dry it before using it to print your manuscript. And if you have any left over, put the rest of the bottle in the package as a bribe.

Do I really need to give a serious answer to this? Yes, apparently I do, because I sometimes get scented submissions–particularly romance submissions.

I have also received submissions with:

  • the query letter hand-written in purple ink
  • the entire mss printed on neon paper
  • the entire mss printed in a calligraphy font (or script; or Curlz; or…)
  • confetti that explodes out of the envelope when you open it

no, No, NO, NOOOO, NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Reader Comments

I have heard that you can request readers’ comments from publishers after you have submitted a manuscript to them. What is the best way to do this? In the query letter? A note after you have been rejected?


You can request them. You may or may not get them. Depends on the company policy. Some companies don’t mind sharing the comments; others won’t.

I would make the request in the query letter. Some publishers file readers’ comments and keep them for a long time. Others simply note them in their log and toss the originals, in which case, by the time you get your rejection and request to see them, they may be long gone.

FYI–Readers’ comments refer to the practice of editors/publishers sending pages out to trusted readers with a comment form. If all the comments are favorable, chances are you’ll be accepted. If they’re not, you’ll be rejected.

However, many submissions are rejected before they go out to readers. Readers are only involved after the editor and a few in-house employees give the manuscript a thumbs up.

Tangent question: What if the editors like it but the readers don’t, or vice versa? Who decides? The marketing department.

I Despise Taggers!

Okay, maybe despise is too strong of a word.

I was going to pretend I didn’t see the tags over on Six LDS Writers and on Josie Kilpack’s blog. (Both of which I read regularly). But then some blabber-mouth mentioned it in the comments trail here. Kind of hard to pretend I don’t read my own blog.

So.

1. Go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday without the year:
(Thought you could trick me, eh? Josie said I could use the date my publishing company started–as if I can remember that far back. So I’m going with the date I started this blog.)

April 29–voted 364 to 1 as THE most boring day in the history of the world

2. List 3 events that occurred that day:
1429–Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orléans.
1770–James Cook arrives at and names Botany Bay, Australia.
1967–After refusing induction into the US Army the day before (citing religious reasons), Muhammad Ali is stripped of his boxing title.

3. List 2 important birthdays:
1982–Kamran Jawaid, Pakistani film critic and producer
1957–Timothy Treadwell, American bear enthusiast

4. List 1 death:
2002–Lor Tok, Thai comedian and actor

5. List 1 holiday or observance:
Baháí Faith–The ninth day of the Festival of Ridván.

Resubmitting Rewrites #2

Let’s pretend I sent you a manuscript and your company liked it enough to ask for a rewrite. Then let’s pretend the rewrite got lost in the cracks: the editor who asked for the rewrite changed jobs, the rewrite sat somewhere in the office for several months and then was rejected after I called to inquire on its status.

Fast-forward several months and now let’s pretend the rewrite has been reworked, had professional input and editing, and is even better and tighter than before.

How would you want me to ask you for the chance to resubmit once again?

Okay…forget pretending. It really happened and I really want to resubmit it.

Okay, this is a slightly different question from the last one. Based on the timing of events, your rejection may have been a matter of cleaning house, rather than a true rejection based on the quality of your book. This happens sometimes when editors leave. It’s not fair, but that’s the way it is.

My first suggestion would be to try to track down your first editor and see if the company they’re with now publishes stories like yours. They might remember you and be eager to see your rewrites.

If that isn’t a possibility–because they’re in a different specialty or a different industry–then send a query reminding us that we’d liked the original enough to ask for rewrites, and that you’ve now done those rewrites based upon our previous recommendations. Give a few specifics about the changes.

This would be one of the few times I’d suggest sending the entire mss (or the first few chapters) vs just a query because the first thing I’m going to do is check my log. If my comments aren’t glowing, I’ll reject on the query. But if you’ve mentioned the issues in your query that I have listed in my log, and if I have a few chapters right there on my desk, I’m going to accept your challenge and read a few pages.

Resubmitting Rewrites #1

Is it taboo to rewrite/rework a rejected novel manuscript and send it back for review to the same publisher that rejected it?

No, it’s not taboo, but it isn’t often successful. Whether or not you can resubmit depends upon why it was rejected. If they gave you reasons that have something to do with your style or your story, and you’ve done rewrites to address that, then your chances are better.

Your best bet is to send it to other publishers, but if you’re really set on this one (and face it, you have limited choices in the LDS market), then send a query stating that you’ve rewritten and would like to resubmit. Be specific about how it’s been rewritten. Then cross your fingers and hope it works.

Big SASE, Little SASE

Howdy LDSP,

Is there really a point to sending enough postage to have a novel-length manuscript returned? Doesn’t it make more sense to just send the SASE for your reply?

Thanks.


No. There is really no point in sending a large envelope with postage for the return of your manuscript. By the time it goes through the mail twice, plus gets read through several times, it’s really beat up. You won’t be able to send that same copy to another publisher and most of the time, there will not be notes of any value in the margins.

If I do have notes that I think would be helpful to the author, I e-mail them and tell them that they have a week to send me a large SASE if they want the mss back. Then I date a stickie, slap it on the mss and put it on my assistant’s desk. If the SASE doesn’t show up by that date, I assume she tosses it.

A #10 SASE is all you need to include.

How to Spot an Amateur

What are some common mistakes that a first time or amateur author makes, that an experienced author does not? This can be both in writing and/or in submission.


Sometimes even experienced writers make these mistakes, but these are the ones that immediately pop into my mind.

Writing Mistakes:

  • Thinking your story is polished and done, when it is not.
  • Writing in a style that’s wrong for the genre.
  • Technical errors–grammar, punctuation, spelling.
  • Thinking the editor will (has time to) fix all the mistakes.
  • Failing to send mss out to qualified readers for critique.
  • Characters, plot, storyline problems.

Submission Mistakes:

  • Sending the mss to a publisher before it’s ready.
  • Sending mss to publishers who don’t publish in that genre.
  • Using the shotgun method of submission (sending out queries/submissions to every single publisher on your list without doing any research to see if your mss would be a good fit for them.)
  • Lack of research into the business side of publishing and the common how-tos for submitting.
  • Doing the research on how to submit, but ignoring the suggestions and doing it your own way because that shows you’re unique and creative. (Not.)
  • Poorly crafted query.
  • Making excuses for less than quality writing in the query; emphasizing that you’re a beginner and lack experience (I do not mean that you can’t state that this is your first novel. That’s fine. I mean going on and on about how you don’t really know what you’re doing and you hope I’ll overlook your ignorance and inexperience…)

Experienced authors, help me out. What am I forgetting?

May Contest

I can’t deal with the fact that I’ve disappointed a reader by not running a writing contest–and one of my most frequent readers at that. I had nightmares of her taking revenge upon me all weekend! (Well, not really. But I did think about it once or twice.)

So in addition to the Question contest, here is a contest for May.

In honor of Star Wars Day on May 4th, let’s do a fan-fic contest. Submit a 500 word story for consideration. It does not have to be a Star Wars fan fic; pick anything you like. It does not have to be LDS, but it does have to be PG (no swearing, sex or graphic violence).

Deadline for Submission: April 30th.

I will post all submissions during that next week. You can vote for your favorites. Prizes will be awarded to My Fav and Readers Fav. More details later, but this gives you enough to get started on your story.

Oh, and one last thing, ALL STORY SUBMISSIONS MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A QUESTION FOR THIS BLOG.

(How’s that Melanie? Now we’re both happy.)

Don’t You Dare Query an Unfinished Novel!

I like the new contest. Very interesting. So here is my first shot, and yes, this is a real question. 🙂

What is the benefit to submitting a query letter before actually writing the book?

Thanks for the blog. I love it. 🙂

If you are writing non-fiction, you do not need to complete the work before querying. All you need is well expressed compelling reasons that speak to the need for a book on your topic, a well developed outline (chapter by chapter breakdown and synopsis), the first couple of chapters, and probably some credentials. But you need to be prepared to finish the book very quickly after acceptance–within a few months, if not sooner. Some non-fiction is accepted because of its timeliness and if it takes 6 months or longer for you to finish it, it may not be timely anymore.

If you’re writing fiction, you ABSOLUTELY have to have a finished work before you query. An editor expects to see the finished manuscript immediately upon request. Also, many stories change as you write them. You think it’s going to go one way, and then the characters develop minds of their own and take it another way. It could very easily become a different book from what was described in your query.