Good advice # 4
This is exciting!
No, it isn’t.
In fact, making such a declaration about your manuscript in your query letter to an agent or publisher is an immediate turnoff. It is as annoying as a pop-up ad that says “Hurry! Won’t last!”
You are not a salesman—you are the product.
Approach an agent from the mindset of strength. You are offering them an opportunity to benefit from your brilliance. Flip the meme—you are not submitting yourself to their judgement; you are judging if they are appropriate to represent your work. You will have researched which books they have published similar to yours and suggest that your novel is compatible with their preferences, and for this reason you are considering having them represent your novel.
There is an old American pop song that applies to love and the hunt for an agent, which leads to this good advice:
“Don’t you go thinking I’m moving in for the kill, but if you don’t do it, I know somebody else will.”
Flex your muscles.
