Oof. I try to give feedback on a full because clearly something grabbed me and then turned me off. Sometimes a pass may come from something being too much work for agent to take on, or possibly it's great for 50 pgs and then falls apart. There are quite a few reasons #askagent

Yes, nudges to agents are acceptable, even without an offer. If an agent rejects you for nudging, you're better off without them. I would recommend you wait at least 3 months before you nudge an agent.

Without having read it, I can't say definitively, obvs. But one of the biggest selling points of YA rn is voice, so if it's unique in the 3rd omni narrative it will likely stand out. Whether that helps or hinders, I can't really say.

If an agent judges you solely based on the first query you send them, and then refuses to consider you again? They're kinda a jerk, so...it's in your favor if they reject you.
I'm in the submit, submit, submit.
I've signed clients off their 2nd query to me.

Having friends in publishing is helpful for social marketing and getting blurbs but it won't get you a book deal. And not all published books are magnificent, no.

Try and find one who does both. It's very helpful during the submissions process if they're familiar with both markets. Usually, your agent will shop your mss even if it's not their typical bag, but it serves YOU better if you find one who does both.

I hate comps. What if you wrote something wholly unique? There wouldn't BE a comp! But I know pub houses count on them, however, so they're rather important in that regard. I know it sucks but have at least 1 comp from the last 5 years. It helps.

Not really? I notice a lot of YA is in 1st too. I think 3rd omniscient is currently out of fashion, and difficult to pull off, but everything in publishing is cyclical, so wait a few years and it'll be back.

I know writers who have queried all their complete novels at once, all over the place, and I can't say whether or not it was effective or not...?
Just don't send more than one to each agent at a time and you should be fine.

Not very important if the book is magnificent.

I worked for a UK publisher as a writer and when the check got to me, it was in US dollars, so I believe - and I'm not sure it works this way for everyone - they convert and send in the writer's country of origin...? But this could depend on the press.

I tell ya, it's been rough. Time, family, stress, illness. Also, the number of queries I got in quarantine doubled, & I felt a lot of the stuff I was getting was still in the early stages of draft. As in, people throwing their 1st drafts out there to see what would happen.

Concept flaws. Like inherent racism or sexism within the premise. That's a fatal flaw. The rest can be fixed in editing if it's identifiable

Absolutely! I have 3 clients from Canada.
None from the elsewhere yet, but it's not a deal breaker.

Racism & Sexism are the two biggies. Sexual assault used as character "development."

Summer seems to be fairly quiet. I personalize about 25% of the time because when I'm open to subs there are literally thousands and I just don't have time to do each one. Grammar is fixable. I don't have a personal pet peeve there.

You have a bookish, adventurous, smart, and gorgeous woman who saves a roguish, swashbuckling, brave soldier and you add a gorgeous historical setting and a well defined and almost sympathetic enemy...? Besides the perfectly plotted script? It's the PERFECT movie, well, almost

The worst part = the near-misses. The ones where the editor loved it but for some reason or another the book didn't make it thru acquisitions.
Those burn worse than when the ed just didn't dig it.
The best part = finding a mss I love & contract negotiations which I strangely love

Less than one, it either intrigues me or not.

Only if the rights belong to the author.