Michelle Richter

FYI, I do not represent screenplays or plays and am not seeking works that are already published. #querytip

Please, writers, proofread your pages before sending. We'd rather have your work more polished than super-fast. #querytip #conferencetip

If you send a query to me, and query isn't part of the email address, you've sent it to the wrong place. #notaprilfools #QueryTip

Got a query for a novel that could have a good hook, but the letter is incoherent. Passing. A little proofreading goes a long way. #querytip

It's usually not a good idea to attach a full ms to a query. Wait for the agent to ask for it, follow their submission guidelines. #querytip

When you query, be sure you know your audience/genre. Do your research. Especially if audience is younger readers. #querytip

Have some confidence, or at least fake it, when you query. #querytip #fakeittilyoumakeit

Oh, another misspelled title in the subject line. Please proofread everything you send. For your own good. #querytip

#pubtip #querytip Double-check that you don't have typos in your subject line of your email.

I understand that writers use pseudonyms. Why not create an email account for queries that uses the same pseudonym? #querytip

An email asking me to click through and download Google docs is not a query. #querytip #protip

When my name's misspelled in a query, I won't reject for that reason alone but it doesn't help. Reread before you hit send. #querytip

Writers, PLEASE, don't send queries as exclusives. You're doing yourself a disservice. #querytip

You can name your characters ANYTHING. But why choose a celeb's name? It's distracting. #querytip #writing

I never want to see the word "trafficking" in a query. Drug or human. Just a matter of taste. #querytip

A query was sent to me as exclusive, not my idea. Please don't limit yourself this way. Esp considering it was sent to me in Oct #querytip

If your MC is married and pregnant and in her 20s, that's not YA. #querytip

When I see a query similar to idea or book I've seen before, I ask myself if it's as good or better than that one. If no, I pass. #querytip

If your comp is LeCarre, Tom Clancy, or Jack Higgins, we are not a good fit for one another. #querytip

I wouldn't reject a query *just* for a typo or grammar/spelling error, but if I'm not loving it, that doesn't help. #querytip