Peter Knapp

4: YA contemp. A coming-of-age w/ cancer story w/o enough to distinguish it from others in this crowded space. P. #tenqueries

3: YA Paranormal. Author pitching it as YA magical realism (on my #mswl) but indeed is YA paranormal romance (not on my #mswl). #tenqueries

2: Strong MG query but again voice isn't strong. Uses dialect to create voice instead of sentence rhythm -- it isn't working. P. #tenqueries

1: YA contemp romance. Cute if familiar premise but the voice in opening is forced. Doesn't sound like a real teenager. P. #tenqueries

Q10: YA Contemp. Pass. Started sample pages & the sentence rhythm—a lot of “I [verb]…” constructions—made the voice a bit flat. #tenqueries

Q9: Pass. YA fantasy. Not best fit for me. Also your GAME OF THRONES-esque fantasy better stand out--there's been a lot recently #tenqueries

Q7: A YA (I think? Actually unclear) at 150k words. WAY too long. Pass. Also, says it's currently untitled—query with a title. #tenqueries

Q6: Pass. Another futuristic sci-fi YA that would likely be grouped in with dystopian—not able to sell it.

Q5: Pass. YA thriller. Interesting premise, but not right for me. No real sense of the characters in the query, just the plot.

Q4: Pass. Query opens with a very long rhetorical question & author keeps repeating same words within sentences. Not promising.

Q3: Pass. Futuristic sci-fi YA—even if it's great, I just can't sell this right now.

Q2: ...and, on the other end of the spectrum: this query letter is WAY too long—unfocused and unedited. Pass.

Q1: Pass. Word count under 40k for YA—way too short.

Q10: Pass. Love the premise, but the writing rushed through opening scenes so fast that it was hard to follow & feel invested. #tenqueries

Q9: Pass. An interesting premise & strong credentials but the voice is too flowery. Adjective:noun ratio is too high! #tenqueries

Q8: Pass. MG mouse book. There are so many mouse hero books & MSs, and this one’s premise just didn’t stand out enough. #tenqueries

Q6: Pass. MG historical. I’d love a literary MG historical, but the slice of history explored has to be new or have a new angle. #tenqueries

Q5: Pass. YA fantasy – I only like very accessible fantasy & this just felt too genre for my taste. Voice didn't pull me in. #tenqueries

Q4: Pass. The self-described allegorical novel & after reading the pitch I have NO idea what the story is actually about. #tenqueries

Q3: Pass. Contemp YA w/ an interesting but overly familiar premise. Needed to LOVE the voice right away & didn't. #tenqueries