#tenqueries Q7 Make sure the agent actually represents what you are pitching. We don't represent screenplays.

#tenqueries Q6 Make sure genre noted in query is actually the genre you've written. Reading in your genre is critical to knowing what agents, editors and readers expect.

#tenqueries Q5 Short and sweet summary of the story including the protagonist's goal motivation and major conflict. Intriguing! Word count? Check. Genre? Check. Comparable titles. Bonus. Guidelines? First three chapters attached. Will be reading the sample chapter for sure.

#tenqueries Q3 Follow the query guidelines. If agent asks for first three chapters as an attachment, please attach. Don't paste them into email. They may not get read and that could be a lost opportunity for us both.

#tenqueries Q4 Summarize your story in one to two sentences before you launch into a long synopsis. We will be more apt to read on if you can grab us from the go.

#tenqueries Q2 If you're not sure where your story fits before you submit...how do you know it fits. If you don't know your genre, how can you know it's something the agent would want to read.

#tenqueries Q1. Start your query with a sentence or two that lets us know what your story is all about. Don't make the agent read through your life story before you even mention your story. We want to get to know you but we want you to pull us in with a good hook first.

Q75: Standard query format exists for a reason. There’s NEVER an acceptable reason to diverge from it, especially flippantly. Everyone has to follow the rules. Pass. #500queries

Q74: I really like this YA F, but it’s about a year too late to be on trend and I don’t think I could sell it. Pass. #500queries

Q73: This SF left me with more questions, but didn’t pique my interest. Pass. #500queries

Q72: I desperately want an alien book. This is not the one I mean. Pass. #500queries

Q71:Just as I can’t rep books already published, I can’t rep an unpublished sequel in a series that’s already partially been pubbed. Pass. #500queries

#tenqueries 10: YA Fantasy. The plot sounds fun if somewhat familiar, but the pages were a little too surface level. I want an immediate sense of character, but it started with a fight scene w/o investing me in character in any way. Pass.

#tenqueries 9: YA Magical Realism. There are intriguing elements to the pitch but I did not find the plot sparked with me personally -- perhaps it is too quiet for me. I think this has potential for the right agent, though. Pass but forwarded to a colleague.

#tenqueries 8: MG Contemporary. The pitch here feels very didactic – more concerned with theme than story. Theme should emerge from story in a pitch, not the other way around. Pass.

#tenqueries 7: MG Adventure. The author does not sign his or her name to this query, and only spends three sentences actually pitching the book. The bulk of the query should focus getting an agent to want to read your pages, not your plans for the future. Pass

#tenqueries 6: Adult Fiction. There are no sample pages, no real query, and the author complains that no one will read their books. Pass.

#tenqueries 5: Adult Fiction. The plot of this story seems very quirky, but the query doesn’t really convey anything about the characters – just what happens to them, which may put the MC in a passive role. Pass.

#tenqueries 4: MG Fantasy. The first pages in this query are a bit overwritten, with too much unnecessary detail. As Stephen King wrote, “Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” Pass.

#tenqueries 3: YA Fantasy. This query is mislabeled—it’s futuristic and feels like a dystopian (by both description and pages). I also wonder if it can be classified as YA given the protagonists ages (all twenties). Pass.