Maria Vicente

31. MG/YA Fantasy. Crossover in these categories is rare, and not something the writer should decide. Write for your audience! #100Queries

30. YA (I think). All author bio, nothing about the book. #100Queries

29. Picture Book. I’ve read a book with the exact same premise, so passing by default. #100Queries

28. MG Realistic. Again, not reading anything new. There’s no hook here to pull me in! #100Queries

27. YA Science Fiction. Just doesn’t sound like a story I’d be interested in. Nothing wrong with the query though. #100Queries

@ilanaslightly The slush pile definitely goes through lulls. #100Queries

26. Oh, now this one is the complete opposite: a literary novel at 200k words. Way too long for me. #100Queries

25. Another novella. Nope. #100Queries

In any case, I'm not reading anything that sounds new. #100Queries

24. Could be YA or Adult, doesn’t specify. It’s definitely sci-fi (I’m drawing conclusions, since this isn’t specified either). #100Queries

23. Novella. I don’t rep novellas. I can’t do anything with a novella. #100Queries

22. YA Fantasy. The author is over-confident. “There has never been a greater story!” sort of thing. I never believe it. ;) #100Queries

21. Chapter Book. The query tells me next to nothing about the plot, mainly focused on author bio. #100Queries

@hereinlies Oh, I rep literary fiction... just the topic of that specific pitch wasn't my thing. #100Queries

@h_m_roberts In fantasy, there are a lot of "portal to another land" tropes that get repetitive. #100Queries

@writerShanna Agents read query letters in seconds. It would rarely take longer than a minute. #100Queries

20. YA Historical. Doesn’t seem to be a reason for it to be historical, which is not what I look for in historical fiction. #100Queries

It's so important to focus on the unique elements of your manuscript in the pitch!! #100Queries

19. MG Fantasy. Nothing wrong with the query, but the concept is nothing new. A lot of MG pitches sound the same. #100Queries

@IndiaHillWrites College-aged is a factor, but it's really more about the content (NA is a Romance subgenre). #100Queries