Q5: MG historical: Really want to find a literary MG hist, but this isn't it: too much of concept crammed into beginning with awk dialogue.

Q4: YA historical. YA historical coming-of-age without a compelling hook is a difficult sell. Just wasn't grabbed.

Q3: YA Realistic. Coming-of-age story with no clear central premise, so needs strong voice, but the beginning is all telling.

Q2: YA Contemp. Cute if familiar premise, but beginning is weighted down with too much directionless interiority. The story fails to begin.

Q1: Historical YA. The pitch isn't gripping, with too much narrative framing ("In the 2nd half...") & back-story. No concise or clear hook.

Q10: NF about dogs of the military. There are already a TON of military dog books out there, but I'll request the full. #tenqueries

Q9: Just because I'm looking for historical fiction doesn't mean I'll overlook the fact that this is a romance. Just not for me #tenqueries

Q8: Unbelievable dialogue to open the story, had a lot of trouble getting into it. Effective dialogue is very hard to do well #tenqueries

Q7: YA about a high-stakes tournament where kids are forced to enter. I feel like I maybe read this somewhere else before... #tenqueries

Q6: YA, word count is 37,000 words. That's even short for a middle grade. #tenqueries

Q5: Adult noir thriller; nothing that really intrigued me. It's good, but in a saturated genre, your ms has to be GREAT #tenqueries

Q4: Boy MG adventure, opened with protagonist getting woken up by mom - the MG equivalent of "it was a dark and stormy night" #tenqueries

Q3: YA paranormal thriller about demons. If your MS is about demons, consider finding another word for "demon." Its a red flag #tenqueries

Q2: Picture book. I don't do picture books. Make sure you do your research before submitting. #tenqueries

Q1: YA about a young Hollywood starlet who gets caught up in a scandal. Writing isn't bad, but I'm seeing a lot of these

Of those 20,000-ish queries in 2014, close to half are wrong-genre, so you're not really competing with all that! #10queriesIn10tweets

So far in 2014 I've read just shy of 20,000 queries (up from 2013) and 256 partials. #10queriesIn10tweets

I've not signed any new clients in 2014 (yet!) but I am actively acquiring! #10queriesIn10tweets

#10 = YA fantasy. Darn! I wanted one accept this week. Sadly no - the story and world feel too generic. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets

#9 = contemporary New Adult. Interesting setup but the writing isn't quite strong enough to convince me. PASS #10queriesIn10tweets