Courtney Miller-Callihan

Here's your regular reminder that for fiction you should only be querying with finished work. Be ready to send the full that day! #querytip

Personalized rejections take me a lot of extra time, and are a sign that you are very much on the right track. #querytip

Morning appointment was serious high-level ADULTING, but quicker than expected. I'm reading queries now; some #querytip(s) may follow.

#querytip: Don't comment on agent's biography or appearance. My 1 exception: shared hometown or alma mater. See @jsinsheim's feed for more.

#querytip: Send yourself an email from yr query address to another acct, to check formatting & the name that pops up. Should be name/pseud!

#querytip: If you follow agents on Twitter, read interviews, personalize yr query, or check submission guidelines, you're ahead of the game.

#querytip: Don't offer an exclusive unless asked for one...and be skeptical of anyone who does ask. Exclusives benefit the agent, not you!

Here's your regular reminder not to deliberately misspell "query" to try to trick agent email filters. #querytip

Folks, don't let your characters write your query letters. I want to work with you, not the weirdos that live in your head. #querytip

Querying a debut? No credentials/past pubs? Don't mention it. Really. "I have no platform" is worse than saying nothing/no bio. #querytip

The wonderful @LindsayRibar made a poem out of overused query phrases. lindsayribar.tumblr.com/post/103578580… #querytip

For my sake, add a woman-authored book to your list. It makes you look better-read in the genre anyway. #querytip

#querytip: it looks weird, if you're a man writing in a mostly-female genre (YA, romance, women's fic), to only comp your work to other men.

#querytip caveat: obviously the 5,000 rounding rule does not apply to picture books. ;)

#querytip: round your word count to the nearest multiple of 5,000. 80,000 and 81,729 are exactly the same, from my perspective.

Query pet peeve: when mss is quoted in the letter. Makes writer seem precious about the prose, suggests s/he won't revise. #querytip

2/2 And for nonfiction, that lack of connections is your toughest hurdle, and thus not what you should lead with. #querytip

Another #querytip: never start your letter by lamenting your lack of connections. For a novel, I want to hear about the story. 1/2

#Querytip: change your email font back to the default before you send your query. Boring-looking but easy to read is the way to go here!

#querytip: Don't let your protagonist write the query letter. Introduce your book first, and THEN the people that live in your head.