Looking For a Literary Agent

I have sent twenty queries to publishers, some of which say they will get back to you within a couple of days, and I have received zero responses - not even rejection. One publisher, History Publishing, stated on their website if you have not heard from them within five days, send an email to let them know. I sent the query a month ago and received nothing, so like they said, I sent them an email to remind them - that was a week ago.

I have read to expect rejections, but ignoring someone is rude! Here is my query - let me know what you think.

World War 1 - An Unkept Promise 

Genre: Non-fiction – Military History

Word Count: 50,000

World War 1 – An Unkept Promise brings realism to war seldom obtainable in other literary works. My story begins with a letter my grandfather wrote in 1945 regarding a dream he had. He was visited by three of his old chums who died in the early months of the war. It goes on to tell of a promise the four made before their first battle, the Battle of Mons. Of the four only my grandfather survived and he failed to keep his commitment.

The book opens with two chapters dedicated to developing a basic understanding of the countries involved in the war and background information about the Royal Field Artillery. Following chapters parallel my grandfather’s WWI journal according to the battles he fought in. The story then transitions to my efforts of trying to locate a living relative of each chum in order to fulfill the century old promise.

The story was written to be different than other WWI books. This was accomplished by offering the reader just enough history to understand how the journal entries relate to the battle they describe. The key importance of the book is the journal. The Imperial War Museum in London stated that the “journal is of historical importance because it describes in detail the early battles of the war.” My grandfather composed his journal entries in vivid detailed, which transfers the reader into the frontlines where they gain an understanding of what it was like fighting to survive. The book would benefit both war historians and WWI buffs by presenting new information, as well as shedding light on controversial events which occurred during the early years of the war.

Historical non-fiction requires attention to detail, which my years of technical writing experience provided. I spent four years researching the early years of the war, coupled with my grandfather’s historical documents and journal; they supplied the material necessary for me to write his story. I have given several presentations telling the story behind the book; the most recent of which was to the London branch of the Western Front Association. To add credence to the story, the book’s foreword was written by Michael Paris; Emeritus Professor of Modern History at Central Lancashire and a Fellow of the RHS and British Commission for Military History. David Thompson of the Northumberland (England) Branch of the Western Front Association examined the historical accuracy of the book.

If you are interested, I would love to send you a copy of the Prologue, as well as a selected chapter. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Frederick L Coxen