Q7: MS is 19,000 words. That's a novella. Know your word counts and what's appropriate for the age group you're writing toward #tenqueries

Q6: Historical romance, with a mystery backdrop, trying to pass as "historical mystery." Don't try to force your MS into a genre #tenqueries

Q5: MG ghost story about a haunted house. I LOVE these - but only when the writing is there. In this case, it isn't, alas. Pass. #tenqueries

Q4: Thriller. Former CIA op tracking down the man who killed his wife. Sound familiar? It should. This book already exists x100 #tenqueries

Q3: Horror novel. Werewolves. Yawn. #tenqueries

Q2: MG Fantasy. Kingdoms, realms, and empires really aren't my wheelhouse. I like my MG fantasy to at least start out on Earth. #tenqueries

Q1: Bio about ancestor, soldier in the Revolutionary War. I get a lot of these, and very few have a large potential audience. #tenqueries

Hope the #tenqueries were helpful! Also, don't forget to make sure you're addressing your query to the right agent...

Q10: SF. Not bad but much more hard SF than is my speed. I need to have character focus, not just science/tech. Pass. #tenqueries

Q9: YA fantasy. The writing needs a lot more development. As a rule of thumb, <40k words is generally too short for YA. Pass. #tenqueries

Q8: Fantasy. Excessively wordy; please don't open with huge block paragraphs describing scenery and no action. Pass. #tenqueries

Q7: Very literary, which I don't handle. My bio says "contemporary fiction about geeky characters"--stress on the geeky! Pass. #tenqueries

Q6: YA. Pretty mainstream material (homecoming & cheerleaders), not really my thing. I'm looking for geeky contemp only. Pass. #tenqueries

Q5: YA fantasy. Prose is charming but not grabbing me. The pitch doesn't have a lot going on and is pretty generic. Pass. #tenqueries

Q4: YA SF. Not feeling the pitch: protag is bored with life but doesn't do anything about it. Protags should have agency! Pass. #tenqueries

Q3: YA SF. Fun premise but writing is choppy & hard to follow. Flip side of the last one: doesn't introduce chars at all. Pass. #tenqueries

Q2: Thriller. Spends way too long providing protag's entire backstory instead of starting the story. Pass. #tenqueries

Q1: Fantasy. 2nd-person w/ Prince of Persia time gimmick but no real plot; suited to a video game but not a novel. Pass. #tenqueries

Trying to get back into the swing of social media after my vacation and agency transition. I think it's time for some #tenqueries. :)

So that's it for this installment of #TenQueries. I hope they're helpful for folks! :^) Good luck in the query trenches, all! #querytip