Alec Shane

Q6: MG adventure. Sounds really cool, but a bit similar to something I'm already working on right now. Plenty of room for both books, but it might get tricky having them both on my list. Tough pass. #tenqueries

Q5: Self-published, 250K words. Absolutely nothing I can do with this one. Pass. #tenqueries

Q4: Middle Eastern espionage thriller, terrorist plot. I'm exhausted by these novels, and it's just too saturated a market. Pass. #tenqueries

Q3: Opened with an "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" reference, which is a great way to get my attention - personalized queries go a long way. Writing isn't there, though. Pass. #tenqueries

Q2: Psychological thriller, 1st person present. This has become a very popular POV as of late, and it's great if done right, but it doesn't quite work here. Pass. #tenqueries

Q1: Military NF. Every military story is important and meaningful, but not all of them are salable in a very crowded market. That's the case here. Pass. #tenqueries

Q10: This author has won a ton of awards and I haven't heard of a single one of them. This author also apparently emailed every agent in publishing at once, because there must be at least 100 email addresses in the recipients bar, including several of my WH colleagues #tenqueries

Q9: DAMMIT! Was really, really excited about this premise (MG suspense/survival thriller), but the writing and delivery didn't work. These are the worst. #tenqueries

Q8: Very obscure sports biography. Sports books are a hard enough sell as it is, and I don't think enough people will care about this particular figure to take a flyer on it. Pass. #tenqueries

Q7: MG where the narrator is addressing the reader directly, complete with dialogue between narrator and reader in which we only know what the narrator is saying. I've never been a fan of this motif personally. Pass. #tenqueries

Q6: Horror about an ancient demon. Been there, done that. Pass. #tenqueries

Q5: WWII memoir proposal, submitted by grandchild about his grandfather. I get these a lot as well. 2 million men served in Europe during WWII. I'm sure each story is amazing, but they aren't all meant to be books. Pass. #tenqueries

Q4: Novella. I've been getting a ton of novella submissions lately. Did I miss a meeting? Are major publishers looking for novellas now? I enjoy reading them, but have never had luck selling them. #tenqueries

Q3: First paragraph is just a series of questions, questions that I'm guessing the book will answer. Struggled to establish, then maintain, tension, and thus lost my interest. Pass. #tenqueries

Q2: 90K MG novel. That's about twice as long as a debut MG should be. Would be a very hard sell. Pass. #tenqueries

Q1: The font is really, really small. Not a dealbreaker unto itself (writing not up to par on this one), but be careful of your formatting. Agents shouldn't have to do extra work to read what you wrote. #tenqueries

Q10: Thriller. Main character is a journalist. Good, but not spectacular, which it would need to be to find a place on the shelf next to all the other thrillers with journalist protags. Pass. #tenqueries

Q9: I am looking to dip into fantasy, so I appreciate this author taking a shot here...but it's a little too much into the fantasy realm, if that makes sense. Tons of magic and this totally new world right away...I'm still easing into it. Pass. #tenqueries

Q8: MG. Opening scene is a playground, five kids playing tag: one white, one black, one Asian, one Native American, and one gay. I hate it when TV commercials do this, and it isn't working here. Diversity is great, but there are better ways to convey backgrounds. Pass #tenqueries

Q7: True Crime. These are tough; I feel like the case needs to either be really unique or have garnered national appeal yo work, Don't get that vibe from this one. Pass. #tenqueries