Ella Kennen

Q10: Urban fantasy YA. Not fresh enough. Common problem with urban fantasy (& fairy tale retellings) these days. #tenqueries #querytip

Q9: YA Historical/Literary. Unusual premise, great writing -- a "didn't know I wanted it until I saw it" mss. More plz. #tenqueries

Q8: Contemporary NA. Hurray for unusual characters, but stiff all-dialog beginning --> pass. #tenqueries #writingtips

Q7: PB. Another cute premise w/ no plot arc. Seems to be winking at parents instead of geared towards kids. Pass. #tenqueries #querytip

Q6: PB. Cute premise, but no conflict and no plot arc. Oops! Pass. Common pb problem! #tenqueries #writingtips

Q5: NA urban fantasy. Don't get enough NA, but this one opened w/ extraneous details. Suck me in, don't bore me! Pass. #tenqueries #querytip

Q4: Adult literary - not what I'm looking for. Don't sub to the wrong person! But too much navel-gazing anyway. Pass. #tenqueries #querytip

Q3: NF PB. Cute, heart-warming story, choppily told. Pass #tenqueries #pubtip

Q2: YA Thriller. Premise not shabby, but beginning disorienting and the plot arcs too slowly. Pass. #tenqueries #pubtip

Q1: Memoir (always tough sells). Too many generalities, vague prose. Paint me a pic; show me why I should care. #tenqueries #querytip

Q10: Rhyming PB. Zombies - yeah! (For PBs, not above) Gruesomeness - excessive. Stiff grammar to keep meter -- yup. Alas, pass. #tenqueries.

Q9: PB. Spends WAY too many words on description (hello, illustrations!) and MCs don't get to solve their own problem. #tenqueries #pubtip

Q8: Another PB ms that doesn't adhere to word count and has weak stakes and poor arc. Sigh. Pass. #tenqueries #querytip

Q7: Great #WeNeedDiverseBooks topic, but the voice didn't stand out *quite* enough and the story arc felt wobbly. Pass. Sniff. #tenqueries

Q6: 1000+ word PB; writing not tight enough. Pass. Know your genre/age group conventions! #tenqueries #writingtips

Q5: Scifi/fantasy mashup. Fun premise, but the voice and pacing need some work. Pass. #tenqueries #amwriting #querytip

Q4: Kidlit that doesn't meet the word count conventions of what publishers are looking for. Pass. #tenqueries #pubtip

Q3: Great writing, great characterization, concept doesn't stand out enough. 'Nuther sad pass. Keep writing! #tenqueries #querytip

Q2: Love, love, love the concept -- very unusual. Plot seems promising. But characterization didn't stand out enough. Sad pass. #tenqueries

Q1: Rhyming pirate PB. Rhymes -> hard sell. Pirates --> common theme. Stakes not high enough. Pass. #tenqueries #TeamCorvisiero