Laura Crockett

Q5: YA SFF. Epic world, neat concept. Writing sample was clunky, with short, abrupt sentences. Pass. #tenqueries

Q4: A Urban Fantasy. Vampire falls in love with human. Pass. #tenqueries

Q3: Unsure of market, even while pitching the STORY part of the query. Know your book. See if you can nail down a genre. Pass. #tenqueries

Q2: A Horror. One email submitted to 50 agents. Be respectful and submit to us individually, not en masse. Pass. #tenqueries

Q1: YA Contemp. The MC is a major Mean Girl targeting outsiders. I can't support that. Personal preference. Pass. #tenqueries

Q10: A Fantasy. Sample jumped too early into the conflict. Not enough exposition. Let me get a taste of your world/MC 1st. Pass. #tenqueries

Q9: Nonfiction. Don't represent. Pass. #tenqueries

Q8: WF. Great idea! But the writing sample (all dialogue) was stilted. Read your work out loud -- does it sound natural? Pass. #tenqueries

Q7: YA Contemp. MC in query sounds friendly/pleasing, but the MC's voice in sample sounds ungrateful/mocking. Match! Pass. #tenqueries

Q6: YA Fantasy. Unique, compelling concept. Sample was deeply poetic, to the point where I didn't know what was going on. Pass. #tenqueries

Q5: YA? WF? Self-published. Pass. #tenqueries

Q3: YA Contemporary. Family/friendship/love/national drama -- where's the one bit of hope for the MC? Graphics in sample. Pass. #tenqueries

Q2: YA Contemporary. Diverse for the sake of being diverse. Too much "my book is about this" language. Pass. #tenqueries

Q1: A Contemporary. While the concept was neat, the writer demanded money for representation. Nope! Pass. #tenqueries

Q10: YA fantasy, though the query sounds more like adult paranormal romance. Stilted dialogue in sample. Pass. #tenqueries

Q9: YA fantasy. Query implies all characters are pet animals. Know your audience! Pass. #tenqueries

Q8: Picture book. Don't rep. Pass. #tenqueries

Q7: One of those "Have you ever imagined...?" "What would you do if...?" queries. Like essays, don't pitch with questions. Pass. #tenqueries

Q6: WF. Half the query was about why this manuscript may never get published. Be bold, confident (not cocky) when pitching! Pass #tenqueries

Q4: YA fantasy, response to a MSWL. High concept, but language was so lofty, not sure what I read in sample (major bummer). Pass #tenqueries