Alec Shane

Q8: I read the 1st 10 pages of a MG novel featuring an LGBTQ character, and couldn't quite shake the feeling that the character was only gay as some kind of plot device to help sell copies. Authors, don't do this. #tenqueries

Q7: I need to take a long, hard look at my online profile. I apparently give off the impression that I'm a great fit for the personal journals of long-deceased relatives and I'm not quite sure why. #tenqueries

Q6: Mystery. A little too similar to a novel I already have on my list. There's plenty of room for similar books out there, but having them both on my list doesn't do either author any good. Pass. #tenqueries

Q5: This author read that I love massive, slobbering dogs, and opened with a line about one of my clients. Good for her for doing her research, and her query was well-written, as were her opening pages. Will request. #tenqueries

Q4: Pass, for absolutely no reason other than I didn't get to the end and think to myself, 'I HAVE to keep reading this." That's what I'm looking for in these first 10 pages. This is a crazy subjective business. #tenqueries

Q3: Acknowledges my terrorist fatigue, but insists that "my terrorists are different." I wish this was a rare occurrence, but it isn't. No terrorists, please. Pass. #tenqueries

Q2: MG contemporary fantasy novella. Not the best fit for fantasy -although I'm hoping to change that down the line - and it's tough to place novellas from debut authors regardless. Pass. #tenqueries

Q1: Few things say "I'm just blasting this exact same letter out to as many agents as possible" quite like "Hello!" as the only greeting. At least customize it by addressing it to the agent you're querying. Pass. #tenqueries

OK, that's my #tenqueries. No luck this time.

I have now responded to all queries through 2/5/18, not including partial full requests.

Q10: proposal for a bio of a golfer I have never heard of. I have never played a round of golf in my life (unless a 6 pack of beer and a bucket of balls at a driving range counts as a round of golf), so not the best fit. Pass. #tenqueries

Q9: What the hell am I going to do with a 187K word debut novel? Even if I absolutely love it, I'm going to need to figure out a way to cut it in half. #tenqueries

Q8: Mystery that I would usually request...but I have something somewhat similar on my list right now. There's always room in the market for similar books, but I don't want to cannibalizing my own clients' sales. #tenqueries

Q7: I mentioned in a previous #MSWL that I like creepy old asylums as settings for a novel. This author used to be a nurse at a rest home, which I guess is close enough for her to think I wanted to read her western romance novel. Pass. #tenqueries

Q6: military memoir. These are always very tough passes for me, as I'm sure this story is important and meaningful and the author had a tremendous role to play in serving his country - but in terms of mass commercial appeal, I just don't see it. #tenqueries

Q5: MG fantasy involving a young prince and a version of a grail quest. Sounds cool...but I really don't do kingdoms, realms, dragons, or anything like that in the fantasy I represent. Pass. #tenqueries

Q4: This author listed all of the things I'm hoping to see in a query, then let me know his novel featured none of those things. It's fine if you don't check off every box - no need to highlight it, though. #tenqueries

Q3: Horror, Stranger Things as a comp title. Stranger Things is a good comp title - so good, in fact, that I see it in almost half the horror queries I get. Keep using it, but find some others as well. #tenqueries

Q2: Apparently I'm listed somewhere as an agent who represents romantic suspense. News to me. I don't mind if suspense has romance, but it's a major element of the novel, I'm not the best fit. #tenqueries

Q1: Historical fiction set in a time period that doesn't overly interest me - The French Revolution,. Pass. #tenqueries

Q10: This could also be Q11, Q12, Q13, and Q14, because the author sent me 5 manuscripts in 5 separate emails. Don't do that. #tenqueries