Successful Queries: Michael Bourret and “The Open Era,” by Edward Schmit
Find a query letter from Edward Schmit to his agent Michael Bourret of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret for Schmit’s debut novel, The Open Era.
Welcome back to the Successful Queries series. In this installment, find a query letter from Edward Schmit to his agent Michael Bourret of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret for Schmit's debut novel, The Open Era.
Edward Schmit is an author based in New York City. From theatre kid to graphic designer to creative director, he’s always exploring new ways to tell stories. A passionate mental health advocate, he’s worked in the nonprofit space for over seven years. The Open Era is his debut novel and combines three things close to his heart: queer love stories, mental health awareness, and the most beautiful sport in the world—tennis. Find him on Instagram @edwardschmit and at edwardschmit.com.
Here's Edward's original query:
Dear Michael,
I’m thrilled to share THE OPEN ERA, my 77,000-word contemporary YA novel with crossover appeal. In this LGBTQ+ romance, the electric sports drama of Carrie Soto is Back meets the beating heart of Red, White & Royal Blue, perfect for anyone who loves Challengers but wishes it was gayer.
18-year-old pro tennis player Austin Hardy came out years ago and it was no big deal. But everything changes when he qualifies for the US Open and becomes the first openly gay man to compete in a Grand Slam. Shortly after, an interview about his sexuality goes viral and the noise buries into his brain.
Unprepared for this new spotlight, Austin’s anxiety disorder affects his game for the first time. He has a very public anxiety attack at practice and narrowly avoids injury—right next to tennis phenom Diego Cruz. Austin’s coach wants him to drop out, but Austin refuses to let go of his dream. That night, Diego shows up to check on Austin and the two start a complicated friendship full of flirty banter, mixed signals, and brewing rivalry.
Pressure intensifies as Austin must find new ways to win while handling (and hiding) his mental health. But that might be impossible when Diego ghosts him after a late-night hookup and days before they go head-to-head in the largest tennis stadium in the world.
As a passionate mental health advocate, I’m the co-founder of IDONTMIND and the VP of Marketing at one of the leading mental health nonprofits in the US. I live in New York City and spend my weekends working on my backhand and trying to find my perfect match.
Thank you for your consideration!
Edward Schmit
Check out Edward Schmit's The Open Era here:
(WD uses affiliate links)
What Michael Bourret liked about the query:
Eddie’s query for THE OPEN ERA had me hooked from the opening paragraph. As someone who loved Challengers but was disappointed that it wasn’t actually gay, I was ready to request the full before I’d read any further.
Beyond the topline pitch, there were so many elements of the query that spoke to me. While I love a good coming out story, I was immediately excited that this story wasn’t going to be about that. I liked that it was dealing instead with the pressures of being out and in the public, something that felt less explored.
That leads to Austin having an anxiety attack, which really piqued my interest. With so much in the news about mental health, and increasingly more coverage of athletes’ mental health, I was eager to see how Eddie would handle it in the book. These people are under tremendous pressure, and while we see it come out in smashed rackets, tantrums and tears, I liked that he was depicting a more explicit expression of anxiety. I appreciated that Eddie shared his professional connection to the mental health field at the end of query, as that gave me more confidence that the issue would be handled appropriately.
Of course, this being a romance, that anxiety attack leads to a meet cute with Diego, the very swoon-worthy romantic interest, and a promise of flirty banter certainly didn’t hurt. I’m a tennis player, myself, and used to play with my husband. The idea of playing each other in a tournament sounds like torture. At that point I knew, I had to read this.
Though Eddie was pitching this as YA with crossover appeal, we wound up editing the book to place it more firmly in the adult space, and sold the book to Berkley in a pre-empt. But the book is also being published as New Adult in the UK, which speaks to its very broad appeal.
Though the fact that this book spoke to me very directly certainly helped, the query works because it effectively introduces the characters, establishes the very high stakes, and explains where it fits into the market. And it does it with a clear, distinct, appealing voice. Eddie served an ace with this one.
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Michael Bourret is a VP and partner at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. He represents a wide range of award-winning and bestselling authors across genres and age groups.
