Sara Megibow

#10 = fantasy romance. Writing isn't strong enough. Also, nice intro to heroine but no info on the hero. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#9 = young adult fantasy. Query is very long and wordy (I assume, then, manuscript is long and wordy). PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#8 = contemporary romance. Instead of a pitch, query says, "here just read the pages." *sigh* PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#7 = science fiction. Writer doesn't follow submit guidelines. Not auto-rejection but it's also not well written. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#6 = middle grade science fiction. Query is heavy on backstory and world details rather than character or plot. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#5 = urban fantasy. Interesting heroine but writing isn't strong enough to convince me. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#4 = contemporary young adult. Main protagonist/ hero is in his 30s = not correct age for young adult novel. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#3 = contemporary middle grade. Narrative voice feels like an adult speaking to a child. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#2 = young adult fantasy. World building feels generic/ magic system not unique enough to grab me. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#1 = memoir. I don't represent memoir so this is an auto no thank you. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#10queriesIn10tweets is an anonymous, high-level response to my queries. ACCEPT means I'll ask for 50 pages/ PASS means a no thank you.

Here are two successful query letters that got book deals (just to take away a bit of the PASS sting): #10queriesIn10tweets ...

#10 = urban fantasy. Not strong enough sense of story or world. Lots of details on hero but not on his story. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#9 = fantasy. I don't buy the inciting incident...I don't believe heroine would pursue this kind of action. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#8 = science fiction. Weak writing. Incomplete sentences, poor grammar and no sense of story. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#7 = YA fantasy. Lots of interesting elements but writing is run-on sentences + rambling. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#6 = fantasy. Confusing pitch that doesn't explain conflict, character or world clearly. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#5 = lists fantasy, science fiction and young adult. In reading query, is probably adult SF but a short one. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#4 = fantasy romance. Heroine is teenager which is really off-trope for romance. Also, weak writing. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#3 = dystopian young adult. Short descriptions of protagonists and world but not enough about plot. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets