Hannah VanVels
@hannahvanvels
Literary Agent
馃摎 Literary Agent @belcastr | Editor | Writer | #RevPit | Devoted German shepherd & cat mom | Amateur baker | Sparkling water enthusiast | she/her 鉁忥笍
55 MSWL
55 AskAgent
65 Queries
3 Tips

Q4: A F. In the query this person did a great job with comps "with the elements of X and these other elements of Y." Premise of the pages is promising, and I'm into it, but I wonder if it would be better suited for YA than A. Can we accomplish that together? 馃挍 #RevPit #10queries

Hannah VanVels
@hannahvanvels
Literary Agent
馃摎 Literary Agent @belcastr | Editor | Writer | #RevPit | Devoted German shepherd & cat mom | Amateur baker | Sparkling water enthusiast | she/her 鉁忥笍
55 MSWL
55 AskAgent
65 Queries
3 Tips

Q3: MG F. This one is very literary, and I'm impressed by the author's credentials, but it's missing comps in the query. The pages are very strong, and they've mastered deep POV in the sample. Not sure they need me! 馃挃 #RevPit #10queries

Hannah VanVels
@hannahvanvels
Literary Agent
馃摎 Literary Agent @belcastr | Editor | Writer | #RevPit | Devoted German shepherd & cat mom | Amateur baker | Sparkling water enthusiast | she/her 鉁忥笍
55 MSWL
55 AskAgent
65 Queries
3 Tips

Q2: A F. My wordcount cap was 120k words, and this is almost 200k words. I'm a little forgiving with just a little over, but this is a lot over, so remember to always read directions! 馃挃 #RevPit #10queries

Hannah VanVels
@hannahvanvels
Literary Agent
馃摎 Literary Agent @belcastr | Editor | Writer | #RevPit | Devoted German shepherd & cat mom | Amateur baker | Sparkling water enthusiast | she/her 鉁忥笍
55 MSWL
55 AskAgent
65 Queries
3 Tips

Q1: YA T. Great hook & logline in the query, so right off the bat I'm intrigued. The premise is nice and creepy, which is a great fit for my MSWL. Opening pages could use more deep POV and stakes, which I know I can work with them with. 馃挌 #RevPit

Dorian Maffei
@DorianMaffei
Literary Agent
Lit Agent @K_C_Associates . Book artist. Reader. Cat aficionado. She/her. Header art by Maya Trifunovic.
59 MSWL
10 Queries
2 Tips

Q10: Comped one of my favorite books of all time. :) I like the premise & the quiet power it seems to hold

Opening pages have a lot of abstractions & I'm having a hard time getting grounded in the story. The story isn't capturing my heart as much as I had hoped. Pass #10queries

Dorian Maffei
@DorianMaffei
Literary Agent
Lit Agent @K_C_Associates . Book artist. Reader. Cat aficionado. She/her. Header art by Maya Trifunovic.
59 MSWL
10 Queries
2 Tips

Q9: Query says the story is magical realism, however, I'm getting the sense it runs more paranormal. I'm not the right agent at this time for vampires, werewolves, etc. But some agents are starting to look for this kind of stuff again so don't lose hope! Pass. #10queries

Dorian Maffei
@DorianMaffei
Literary Agent
Lit Agent @K_C_Associates . Book artist. Reader. Cat aficionado. She/her. Header art by Maya Trifunovic.
59 MSWL
10 Queries
2 Tips

Q8: Love this premise. Always interested in seeing unique takes on ghost stories. Hooked by pitch & I can tell this author did their homework on me

Upon reading pgs, I'm just not connecting w the writing. Hard to pass but I need complete passion behind the work. Pass #10queries

Dorian Maffei
@DorianMaffei
Literary Agent
Lit Agent @K_C_Associates . Book artist. Reader. Cat aficionado. She/her. Header art by Maya Trifunovic.
59 MSWL
10 Queries
2 Tips

Q7: Author is pitching the third book in a series where the first two are already self-published. Unfortunately, this would be too hard to sell, especially at this point in my career. Pass. #10queries

Dorian Maffei
@DorianMaffei
Literary Agent
Lit Agent @K_C_Associates . Book artist. Reader. Cat aficionado. She/her. Header art by Maya Trifunovic.
59 MSWL
10 Queries
2 Tips

Q6: I'm sure this book will hit the mark for another agent, but I don't feel I can move forward for subjective reasons. I'm usually not the best fit for books with this subject matter. Pass. #10queries

Dorian Maffei
@DorianMaffei
Literary Agent
Lit Agent @K_C_Associates . Book artist. Reader. Cat aficionado. She/her. Header art by Maya Trifunovic.
59 MSWL
10 Queries
2 Tips

Q5: Love getting horror in inbox, however, I'm looking for something very specific. I want to be surprised. The gore/shock factor was really turned on for the first few pgs & I was hoping for something a bit more psychological and suspenseful. Pass. #10queries

Dorian Maffei
@DorianMaffei
Literary Agent
Lit Agent @K_C_Associates . Book artist. Reader. Cat aficionado. She/her. Header art by Maya Trifunovic.
59 MSWL
10 Queries
2 Tips

Q4: Great pitch! Unfortunately, bar is very high on YA F for me since I have so much of it in my inbox, but hoping the pgs knock my socks off.

Strong writing, however, voice felt a bit on the younger side than what I tend to represent. Pass. #10queries

Dorian Maffei
@DorianMaffei
Literary Agent
Lit Agent @K_C_Associates . Book artist. Reader. Cat aficionado. She/her. Header art by Maya Trifunovic.
59 MSWL
10 Queries
2 Tips

Q3: Query is a bit vague & sounds like other things I've read. Not sure I'd be the best agent to help make this stand out on the current market. The characters in the sample pages are reading a bit too much like caricatures and need more development. Pass. #10queries

Dorian Maffei
@DorianMaffei
Literary Agent
Lit Agent @K_C_Associates . Book artist. Reader. Cat aficionado. She/her. Header art by Maya Trifunovic.
59 MSWL
10 Queries
2 Tips

Q2: Premise seems intriguing, however, I'm usually looking 4 more of a layered plot. Hoping the execution in the sample pgs will bedazzle me

Writing is good, however, author spends a lot of time on backstory. I'm looking to be pulled into the story immediately. Pass #10queries

Dorian Maffei
@DorianMaffei
Literary Agent
Lit Agent @K_C_Associates . Book artist. Reader. Cat aficionado. She/her. Header art by Maya Trifunovic.
59 MSWL
10 Queries
2 Tips

Q1: I'm always on the lookout for speculative fiction, however, I have to be extra picky about time travel stories. Not only do I have one on my list currently, but the plot needs to turn common tropes on their head and really blow me away. Pass. #10queries

Ali Herring
@HerringAli
Literary Agent
Literary Agent, Spencerhill Associates. Twin mom+1 馃摎 Eclectic in life & books. I 馃挋 Jane Austen & SFF in equal doses. #TeamSpencerhill Ali-ens 馃懡 rock!
248 MSWL
1 AskAgent
11 Queries
33 Tips

Q10: I'm generalizing, but sometimes concepts like falling stars (star becomes person), genies, etc. are hard to conceptualize. When you try to explain in query, it gets confusing. I've seen several today, so not just this query, but not following how this works. Pass. #10queries

Ali Herring
@HerringAli
Literary Agent
Literary Agent, Spencerhill Associates. Twin mom+1 馃摎 Eclectic in life & books. I 馃挋 Jane Austen & SFF in equal doses. #TeamSpencerhill Ali-ens 馃懡 rock!
248 MSWL
1 AskAgent
11 Queries
33 Tips

Q9: When queries are super long, I get bogged down in details. Still, I read the sample, but didn't connect with the writing. If you can get a high-concept pitch in a query--where you distill the plot & essence of a story into 1 (or 2) simple sentence(s), do it. Pass. #10queries

Ali Herring
@HerringAli
Literary Agent
Literary Agent, Spencerhill Associates. Twin mom+1 馃摎 Eclectic in life & books. I 馃挋 Jane Austen & SFF in equal doses. #TeamSpencerhill Ali-ens 馃懡 rock!
248 MSWL
1 AskAgent
11 Queries
33 Tips

Q8: Wasn't sure about the hook, but then I saw the comps and decided to keep reading. (Comps matter for many reasons). But in the end, I didn't feel engaged in the opening scene. Pass #10queries

Ali Herring
@HerringAli
Literary Agent
Literary Agent, Spencerhill Associates. Twin mom+1 馃摎 Eclectic in life & books. I 馃挋 Jane Austen & SFF in equal doses. #TeamSpencerhill Ali-ens 馃懡 rock!
248 MSWL
1 AskAgent
11 Queries
33 Tips

Q7: Cute voice, but I'm not really looking for kids chapter books at this time. Pass. #10queries

Ali Herring
@HerringAli
Literary Agent
Literary Agent, Spencerhill Associates. Twin mom+1 馃摎 Eclectic in life & books. I 馃挋 Jane Austen & SFF in equal doses. #TeamSpencerhill Ali-ens 馃懡 rock!
248 MSWL
1 AskAgent
11 Queries
33 Tips

Q6: Too similar to something one of my clients has done. Pass #10queries

Ali Herring
@HerringAli
Literary Agent
Literary Agent, Spencerhill Associates. Twin mom+1 馃摎 Eclectic in life & books. I 馃挋 Jane Austen & SFF in equal doses. #TeamSpencerhill Ali-ens 馃懡 rock!
248 MSWL
1 AskAgent
11 Queries
33 Tips

As a follow up to Q5, it's a great idea to follow editors as well as agents on Twitter, to see what they are buying, what they are tweeting about, their #MSWLs, etc. #10queries