Naomi Davis

#writetip #querytip #amwriting
Start your story clearly. Confusion can be a strong mood to start some scenes, but in your first pages, your reader needs to anchor into a distinct sense of place& character w/ as few speed bumps as possible. Be decisive. Show through voice&opinion.

I'm sitting down to read 50 queries + Tweet some of the positive thoughts I have while reading. #amquerying is TOUGH, and I want you to know what things hit in a good way whether it leads to a request or rep or not. #querytip
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While we are talking about query trench frustration: I've been mulling over some thoughts about form v. personal response, how much feedback to give in a pass, and my own personal conflict with the idea of giving a lot of "helpful" feedback in a pass. 🧵
#amquerying #querytip

Can't sleep so here's a #writetip #querytip
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Something that often slows me down in reading is a tendency to overwrite movement, blow-by-blow. It may feel monotonous/flat in the writing itself.
Example + a potential fix (imagine a character wakes up after night out drinking):

Comp titles tell us where a book sits on a sales shelf. It doesn't have to be a similar storyline. So: "For readers who love the wild creativity in NOPHEK GLOSS and the intimate character arcs of PLANETFALL..."
#querytip #amquerying
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Tl;dr -
Intro your book. Hook me. Comp it. Get quickly, concisely, and powerfully into the story. Choose best words. Close it with genuine info about you so I'm excited to work with you. Boom!
/END #querytip thread

In case I haven't screamed it lately, #amwriting family:

• The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
• Craft In The Real World by Matthew Salesses
• Story Genius by Lisa Cron

Are all powerful writing tools for your toolkit!
#writetip #querytip #NaNoWriMo21

Quick #querytip to #amquerying authors: if you are researching an agency and there is no indication of WHO you are querying, or who works there (names/headshots), or what their history in publishing is, that is a red flag.

...I read the synopsis. If that shows me I'm excited about where it's going, I request. If I read synopsis & am still unsure, I check comp titles&author bio etc.
At ANY stage of this, I might decide it's not for me.
But by including all, at ANY stage you have a chance to hook me.

Friendly #querytip reminder when you are #amquerying that in order for me to consider your work, I *really* need your submission to have a query letter somewhere in it, preferably where my form asks for one! Don't skip this please!

A good #querytip for the #amquerying crowd - it is NOT to your benefit to query only 1 agent at a time.

If your dream agent wants it - & is a good agent - they won't be threatened by other agents offering too.

Get an offer, notify us all, & then YOU choose to accept/reject US.

Also friendly reminder that 95% of my work hours (I work full time, every week) are dedicated to my clients (contracts, submissions, edits, calls, strategy, more contract issues, etc) so all of this gets done outside that 95%. We WANT to read! We WANT you to succeed! #querytip

A friendly #querytip that when you receive an agent rejection, please remember that we often see titles on the shelves we once passed on, and kick ourselves a little bit for it. We are human. Our opinions are only ours.

Keep going. Keep revising & keep querying. Prove us wrong.

@IRLeviJacobs said I could share comp line from query. This shows me EXACTLY what to expect&made request easy. Be creative in how you word comps.

"TITLE is Science Fiction plotted like V.E. Schwab, charactered like Susan Dennard, and magicked like Brandon Sanderson."
#querytip

A quick thread of my #querystats for the end of the year! I hope this helps perspective if you feel you are getting rejects. I'm currently closed to queries and my oldest query is from November 11th. I still have some full manuscripts older than that.
#amagenting
#querytip

Semi-regular reminder that when sending a query letter, it is truly best to include... a query letter
#querytip

(In all seriousness: a query letter should say hello, introduce the book + genre, give us a tantalizing blurb, list some comp titles, and sign off with your bio)

A quick #querytip to follow my thread last night: think the words "zoom out" when writing your blurb/hook in your query. What would an advertisement show about your book? It wouldnt show much history or character insecurities. It would show who, what happens, where&how. Zoom out.

As always: just my opinions. I hope they help some of you on your #amquerying journey! #writetip #querytip

As always, just my opinion! First few chapters are often rough. It'll really give your manuscript an edge if you re-sculpt your opening in a seamless way for readers to absorb. Many,many MSs I reject are for this reason. And I don't want to reject! I want to request&fall in love.

I'm wrestling w/ this in my own WIP right now as I re-work the opening one final time making sure the information doesn't disrupt the experience. Ironing in the little bits that matter, but only WHERE they matter. Making sure emotion doesn't take a back seat to info delivery. 10/