Kelly Peterson

You can always continue a series because you’re the one who writes it! But I wouldn’t pitch any book in a series but the first one. It’s up to you what you do with the response, though. ❤️

They could mention that it’s been professionally edited their bio, but it’s not necessary. Sometimes it can help though!

Most don’t respond to queries at all, but there are a few that still do respond to all. Their responses vary depending on their work schedule, life interruptions, and free time.

3 months is usually industry standard for nudging. :)

We want it the best it can be before hitting our desks, and if it’s the best it can be through beta readers and CPs and your editing, then that’s fine! If you want to utilize an editor, just make sure you get a well recommended and professional editor.

If it’s a major revision, I think it might be alright as long as you state that it’s a resubmission and has been through major edits.

I think that would be fine, as long as you state you’re requesting in the hopes that you’ve revised enough and followed their advice and wanted to see if they’re interested at all.

They can, but sometimes they’ll decline purely on its current commercial viability too. It all depends on the agent and what they’re looking for.

Hmmm...spread out your dream agents, I think, and query others at the same time as one or two dream agents. Wait for feedback if you can, but most times you might not get much. :( Got with your gut instincts! And that’s about all I’ve got for advice on that unfortunately. :((

Voice, story structure, and strengths. :)

Of course! We don’t mind multiple manuscripts from an author, as long as they’re not necessarily at the same time unless otherwise requested. :)

That’s SUPER tough, because I know there’s a very large divide in dystopians/futuristic anything right now. Fantasy is also having a tough go of it recently in general which could be why. But my best advice is to just keep on plugging away. You’ll find them eventually!

It could be any factor such as timing and commercial appeal, and may not be your voice. Or maybe it’s your opening pages, or it’s just not connecting with the right agents. The only person who’s able to conclude something like that is you. You know what’s best for your work.

Not necessarily, but it should reflect that feel or tone.

Stick with saying contemporary fantasy and it will probably help. :) UF has been our for a while, and CF is kind of the new term. Fantasy right now is a bit difficult, but it will swing back eventually.

Yes, most agencies I know of accept queries and submissions from writers all over the world.

Meeting a reader half way. The voice can be the snark or the emotions or the descriptions, but mostly the voice is the specific style in which you use all of this to expand on your character and draw your reader in.

It’s hard to describe, but each author should have their own slant to it, and each character should be different in feel and description and tone. It takes a while to develop, and it should be less descriptive in a query and more focused on drawing in a reader, rather than

VOICE. 😂❤️

Be kind, not cry, and be able to have a conversation! Keep your pitch to only a minute or two long, sticking to the main story arc and stakes. Allow time for the agent to ask questions, and allow time for general conversation should it happen, too!