u/Every_Aioli3012

Hello! I may be returning to the query trenches after about five years, so I'm out of practice. I've also never written a query for a multi-POV, multi-timeline book OR something that is more character-driven than plot-driven. I think this might be too vague, but I'd love some input.

Dear [agent],
It’s 1959, and Flora Abney has just one job: be the perfect housewife. Society demands that she keep the house tidy, greet her husband at the door with a smile, and never let on just how miserable she really is. When Flora’s husband admits that there was an incident at the nuclear reactor where he is an engineer, she’s left to deal with the fallout of his increasing absence from their family and the resulting rift in their already tenuous marriage. 
Three years later, the world holds its breath for six days in October, teetering on the edge of nuclear annihilation as the crisis in Cuba unfolds. The missiles are never launched, but fifteen-year-old Jinx Abney’s world ends just the same when her parents announce their separation. Jinx doesn’t know anyone whose parents don’t live together, and she’s not sure what to say when her little sister asks if they are still a family. Maybe “family” doesn’t mean what she thinks—maybe there’s more to it than just sharing DNA.
At the end of the ‘60s, the Age of Aquarius is coming to a close, and Birdie Abney, now fifteen, is used to being alone. Her father is never around, her mother works nights, and her sister hasn’t been home in months. But when she sees Jinx dumpster-diving with a mysterious hippie, she realizes that her sister has been closer to home than she ever imagined. 
As the Abney family disintegrates against the backdrop of the turbulent 1960s, their trust in the institutions of society erodes, launching them on a path that will eventually cross with one of the most notorious cults of the twentieth century: the Manson Family. 
NUCLEAR FAMILY (100,000 words) is a character-driven, adult literary fiction novel that combines the intergenerational saga of Jonathan Franzen’s Crossroads with the 1960s setting of Where the Girls Were by Kate Schatz. It will appeal to fans of historical fiction and complicated family dynamics, particularly those between sisters, mothers, and daughters. 
[Author's bio redacted for privacy, but this includes publication/award info for my first two YA books published by a reputable small press.]
Thank you for your consideration!

Hello! I may be returning to the query trenches after about five years, so I'm out of practice. I've also never written a query for a multi-POV, multi-timeline book OR something that is more character-driven than plot-driven. I think this might be too vague, but I'd love some input.

Dear [agent],
It’s 1959, and Flora Abney has just one job: be the perfect housewife. Society demands that she keep the house tidy, greet her husband at the door with a smile, and never let on just how miserable she really is. When Flora’s husband admits that there was an incident at the nuclear reactor where he is an engineer, she’s left to deal with the fallout of his increasing absence from their family and the resulting rift in their already tenuous marriage. 
Three years later, the world holds its breath for six days in October, teetering on the edge of nuclear annihilation as the crisis in Cuba unfolds. The missiles are never launched, but fifteen-year-old Jinx Abney’s world ends just the same when her parents announce their separation. Jinx doesn’t know anyone whose parents don’t live together, and she’s not sure what to say when her little sister asks if they are still a family. Maybe “family” doesn’t mean what she thinks—maybe there’s more to it than just sharing DNA.
At the end of the ‘60s, the Age of Aquarius is coming to a close, and Birdie Abney, now fifteen, is used to being alone. Her father is never around, her mother works nights, and her sister hasn’t been home in months. But when she sees Jinx dumpster-diving with a mysterious hippie, she realizes that her sister has been closer to home than she ever imagined. 
As the Abney family disintegrates against the backdrop of the turbulent 1960s, their trust in the institutions of society erodes, launching them on a path that will eventually cross with one of the most notorious cults of the twentieth century: the Manson Family. 
NUCLEAR FAMILY (100,000 words) is a character-driven, adult literary fiction novel that combines the intergenerational saga of Jonathan Franzen’s Crossroads with the 1960s setting of Where the Girls Were by Kate Schatz. It will appeal to fans of historical fiction and complicated family dynamics, particularly those between sisters, mothers, and daughters. 
[Author's bio redacted for privacy, but this includes publication/award info for my first two YA books published by a reputable small press.]
Thank you for your consideration!

This is my first attempt writing a query for a multi POV, multi timeline manuscript. The book is evenly split among three characters, but I consider Jinx the main character who drives the story forward, so that’s who I focused on. However, she is NOT the first chapter, so I’m worried that will be confusing. I can’t put her chapter first because each character’s POV is a different year, and it starts with the earliest year. I would love any thoughts or suggestions!

Dear (agent),
(Personalization if possible)
The Cuban Missile Crisis: six days in October 1962 when the world teetered on the edge of nuclear annihilation. The missiles were never launched, but fifteen-year-old Jinx Abney’s world ends just the same. Her mother is unstable, her father is increasingly absent, and her younger siblings are floundering with their own challenges. As Jinx’s family disintegrates against the backdrop of the turbulent 1960s, her trust in the institutions of society erodes, launching her on a path that will eventually cross with the most notorious cult of the twentieth century. 
Told from the perspectives of three members of the Abney family, NUCLEAR FAMILY (100,000 words) is an adult literary fiction novel that combines the intergenerational saga of Jonathan Franzen’s Crossroads with the 1960s setting of Where the Girls Were by Kate Schatz. It will appeal to fans of historical fiction and complicated family dynamics. 
I am the author of two young adult novels: Here Lies Olive (Flux 2023) and Lonely Places (Flux 2024). I live in Utah with my family, where I teach high school English when I’m not writing.
Thank you for your consideration! 

Hi! I will be a first year teacher this year, teaching 11th grade English. I want to use We Have Always Lived in the Castle as the anchor text in my gothic lit unit but I'm struggling with pacing. I will only have a classroom set of books for 5 different classes, so all of the reading will have to be done in class rather than as assigned homework.

I was hoping to do a mock trial for the summative assessment at the end of the unit, but I'm worried I won't have enough time to read the full book in class, give students time to prepare, and run the full mock trial in the time I have allotted. I have 10 80-minute class periods for this unit.

I'd love any insight. How long should I plan on it taking to read each chapter in class?

Hi! I will be a first year teacher this year, teaching 11th grade English. I want to use We Have Always Lived in the Castle as the anchor text in my gothic lit unit but I'm struggling with pacing. I will only have a classroom set of books for 5 different classes, so all of the reading will have to be done in class rather than as assigned homework.

I was hoping to do a mock trial for the summative assessment at the end of the unit, but I'm worried I won't have enough time to read the full book in class, give students time to prepare, and run the full mock trial in the time I have allotted. I have 10 80-minute class periods for this unit.

I'd love any insight. How long should I plan on it taking to read each chapter in class?