Peter Knapp

#tenqueries 6: Adult historical fiction. There is so much going on in this query! But my ultimate reason for passing is that the writing just didn't capture me in the way I need to be the right agent to take it on. Pass.

#tenqueries 5: MG Sci-fi. This is a much twistier, more intense query than I've seen in MG for a while-I am coming up with way more YA comps than MG-and the voice of the pages also feels YA. Pass.

#tenqueries 4: YA Fantasy. I actually really liked this query: it presented a high stakes world and plot and intriguing characters, but then the opening pages were dense, with lots of exposition/world building but little plot. I definitely am a plot person in YA fantasy. Pass.

#tenqueries 3: MG Contemporary. The voice in these pages breaks the fourth wall quite a few times--this is clearly a purposeful choice on the author's part, but it wasn't working for me personally here, as it distracted me from the actual action. Pass

#tenqueries 2: YA Sci-fi. I wanted to know more about the plot in this pitch. What's motivating the character to rise above her struggles? We get the very initial set-up, but then what? Pass.

#tenqueries 1: MG Animal Story. I would call this a MG fantasy or perhaps MG animal fantasy. The lack of clear stakes and a cliffhanger that makes me think "what happens next?" is giving me pause. Pass.

#tenqueries 10: YA. I'm not given a genre; I'm not addressed directly ("To Whom It May Concern"); there is no word count; and while I'm told that it has factors that I will find enticing, I'm not shown that at all. Pass.

#tenqueries 9: YA Contemporary. We're just not given a deep enough glance into the characters in the pitch, so it's feeling a touch superficial or flat. I want a sense of not just what happens but why it matters, which comes back to caring about characters for me. Pass

#tenqueries 8: YA Adventure. The main plotline is clear, but as an adventure story, I feel like we're lacking high stakes and drama. We're told X, X, and X happen, but what makes each of these plot points exciting or challenging? Pass

#tenqueries 7: YA Sci-Fi. The tone in this query doesn't match the content. It's too light, almost trying to be funny or positive, while describing intense, life-altering moments for the main characters. Pass

#tenqueries 6: YA Fantasy. This is definitely more of a dystopian than a fantasy, and it doesn't feel particularly stand-out. Dystopian remains difficult at the moment, so anything in this genre has to be different in some way. Pass

#tenqueries 4: YA Fantasy. The first few pages in this manuscript are atmospheric on the setting-level, but the writing is a bit too overdone. Too many descriptors will make your language feel flowery instead of purposeful. Pass

#tenqueries 3: Contemporary. This pitch is very quiet. There's romance and secrets, but I saw hardly any tension or stakes the characters would have to overcome. I can't tell what the climax of the story would be. Pass.

#tenqueries 2: YA Fantasy. There is so much going on in this story: magical abilities, time travel, secret societies, espionage, a … I worry that there won't be one main plotline, and the story trying to be told will get lost. Pass.

#tenqueries 1: YA Contemporary. This pitch is very vague. I wanted to know more details about what makes this novel stand out from others in its genre. Pass.

#tenqueries 10: Adult Fiction: This pitch is explained to me rather than pitched. I’d much rather draw my own conclusions, instead of being told what’s happening. Think of a pitch as a form of storytelling. It must be engaging in that way. Pass

#tenqueries 9: YA Speculative: This is too long everywhere except for the pitch. Remember that the pitch is what gets the agent’s attention—not your bio, or why you’re querying that agent, etc. Pass

#tenqueries 8: YA contemp. A road trip story, which there are many of, and I'm not convinced that this one will stand out quite enough based on the pitch and what I read. This is hard, as it's good writing, but I don't feel the timing is right. Pass

#tenqueries 7: Adult Sci-Fi Thriller. There is not enough of a pitch in this query, and too many rhetorical questions. Don’t give your readers the option of answering those questions with “no” and losing interest. Pass.

#tenqueries 6: YA Fantasy. This has a classic underdog/David vs. Goliath premise, but it's pitched in a way that doesn't invest us in this underdog's success. It's hard to get any sense of the protag, and so he felt too much like a vehicle for the premise. Pass.