3/4
↬ Opening Paragraphs: Make them strong! When it comes to thrillers/fantasy, I love being quickly plunged into some sort of action/danger. Whatever the conflict, tease the reader w/ a snippet to hook them! You don't have to give too much away. #amquerying #WritingCommunity

2/4
↬ Dialogue: Rather than open the novel w/ dialogue, opt for details about setting + situation. Unless written quite well, I feel jarred reading an opening scene w/o context of where I am or some details about who's speaking.
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#writetip

I'd keep it between 80k and 120k if possible! But ultimately it's whatever is right for that specific book, and rules can be bent. More adult leaning NA can work well at the upper end of this range, while YA leaning NA may want to keep closer to the lower end

Depends on the book! Absolutely doesn't need to be in the first 5 pages unless that's where you feel it should be. When I review the first 5 pages I am not looking for plot, I am looking at writing style to see if I like it.

mostly, yes! So long as you're trying to sell in the market that the agency represents. Eg., US agencies primarily aim to sell in the US (and UK). UK agencies aim to sell in both as well. Doesn't matter where you're personally based, usually.

3/4 when you have only 2 POVs, you can get away with mentioning both in the pitch itself eg.,

Character 1 has always wanted [x thing], but [y thing] is in their way. In a world where [idk], they will have to do [z thing] to succeed.

Enter Character 2, who complicates this plan—

Superb question, I'm going to answer it in 2-3 parts:
I tend to think all multi-POV novels have a touchstone character—who do you open with? Or, who do you follow most? When writing a query, it's usually easiest to write it from the touchstone's POV, esp if there are > 2 POVs

I tend to offer R&Rs when I feel my desired revisions are a condition of going on sub bcz they are so substantial

I sign books that I have vision for but if the author didn't do a single edit I'd still feel ok going on sub (I'd like to revise, but I feel ok)

This prob varies a bit agent to agent, but for me I'm entirely neutral on it. My focus is your writing now, so it doesn't really help your chances to include that stuff, but it also doesn't hurt them. I'm most interested in bios that explain an author's connection to the book

my answer kinda sucks: none of these options will make or break a query, so it's rlly up to you. I might try to avoid "dystopian" as best I can bcz (for better or worse) there are a lot of strong & kinda dated connotations. But if dystopian is the most truthful, go for it.

I would be, yes! I think many agents would be open to it as well.

Not usually b4 considering a query, but I may scroll through b4 requesting more, & I'll def check it out if I'm upgrading from a partial to a full. It is truly just a vibe check and typically kind of hard to fail unless I see you're actively bullying ppl on the timeline

I'm pretty forgiving on queries! A great query will set you apart for me, but a more confusing one isn't a negative so long as I still understand the plot. I would say an active turnoff is when the query bashes on the genre/field

I'd personally recommend you submit pages for the one that comes first—that's how a reader will naturally enter your story so that's what I as an agent want to see

Hi! Nope, you don't need to do anything—it's in my inbox and I'm considering it! If I decide to read the full you will get a message with an update on timelines. Otherwise, assume query response times of 1-2 weeks ☺️

It was kind of a natural progression for me—I've been working as a UP editor for a little while now & adore working with authors, but wanted to get a bit more involved with SFF. Agenting gives me the flexibility to focus on author care/advocacy in a new space :)

Yes, please do! The dream projects aren't the only things I'm open to, they're just concepts I'm likely to get extra excited about

Inbox Update || A huge thanks to everyone for their patience as I've been considering! My inbox was lit 🔥 last month. I'll be answering all Jan. emails by Feb. 20! Expect to hear from me soon ✨
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The job's what you make of it—agenting, itself, is quite independent. If there's an undiscovered writer that you want to rep, send an outreach letter. Don't wait for the perfect author to land in your inbox (although it does happen!) 4/4 #askagent #WritingCommunity #amquerying

The best way to learn is to DO—there are no rules for becoming an agent. My journey was not straight. I got an MFAW from @saic_news + landed an internship at Folio + ran a bookstore + became an editor, all before @CindyBirchLit took a chance on me. 3/4
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