Kortney Price

For me it’s certain topics such as glorifying suicide and graphic rape scenes, calling me dumb in your query, being otherwise mean in the query, or genres I don’t actually represent

I would just cut it off at 15 pages if it isn’t within the 1-2 pages of the 15 mark

I would consider it own voices then for sure

I feel like everything is different for fiction/nonfiction ... When I look at them, it depends on how long the excerpt is, how different the current work is from the published piece, and where/how it was published.

I think that any representation would count as diversity, but own voices refers to an author writing about their own background/culture/race/etc

Depending on the route you want to take, the best starting place is an internship. When I was looking for internships, I sent an email out to agents/houses near where I lived and asked if they needed help. There's no one single path to follow, sometimes you have to get creative

You might have professional experience that adds to your authority on the topic you're writing about, if you write for kids you could mention what experience you have working with kids, you can talk about your platform if that's relevant as well

Comps can really enhance your query. I don't think that comps necessarily need to be in the same genre. Sometimes the voice, themes, or formatting might be similar 🤷‍♀️

Oh gosh, every agent is different. My best advice is to try to focus on the next story. Keep writing and keep working on building your brand/platform. They'll get back to you as soon as they can!

Hey! You too! 😂 Biggest pet peeve has got to be "I know you don't rep this, but ..." If I don't rep something it could be for a lot of reasons (industry familiarity in the category/genre, personal tastes, etc). It's better to focus on agents who do represent your work

Not yet! Always getting closer though!... I would say plus or minus one or two pages is okay, but I wouldn't push it further than that. You don't want the agent to come to the conclusion that you don't follow directions well

I have never heard that. Seems super harsh. I know every agent has their auto reject moments. I'm pretty chill, but I did have one author call me dumb in their first sentence and that was an auto reject for me 😂

Thanks! I would include that information for sure! Anything that shines a brighter light on your story should be included

I don't think so. I know some agents look specifically for christmas books, so I'd look for that! Publishing schedules are so all over the board that I don't think there's a specific time when a Christmas book will do better or worse with agents.

I'm not picky when I am looking at queries. I say match it to the rest of the query. If you're personalizing the query to the agent (which I recommend) I would keep everything in first, but that's not a hard and fast rule

If the story is nonfiction, you can submit a proposal but don't necessarily have to have the manuscript totally written.
If the story is fiction, I HIGHLY recommend having the manuscript completed

I haven't had a ton of pushback on fantasy, however, magical realism I've had a tougher time with lately. It's not in high demand but I wouldn't let that put you off writing/subbing it. Right now I have MG fantasy on my list so it's going to be harder to get a request

I would mention it if I were you. When I'm considering a manuscript, I like to have all of the facts in front of me. 😃

Some agents are strict about saying if they didn't request one, they don't want one. I'm cool with an author asking if they're unsure, but if you talk me into an R&R, I'm going to be that much harder to convince to offer. 🤷‍♀️

I can't say what the average is, but what I'm looking for is that the author took my revisions to heart and was able to implement them. Did the overall strength of the story improve? How much more work will the manuscript need?