Jen Chen Tran
@jenchentran
Literary Agent
Literary Agent at Glass Literary Management. Former art major, publishing attorney, cheese lover, aspiring humorist. @aalitagents and @AuthorsGuild member.
21 MSWL
38 AskAgent
38 Tips

What you shouldn't do is tell me that there's a HUGE market for the book and then fail to tell me what those are. No brainier. #querytip

Jen Chen Tran
@jenchentran
Literary Agent
Literary Agent at Glass Literary Management. Former art major, publishing attorney, cheese lover, aspiring humorist. @aalitagents and @AuthorsGuild member.
21 MSWL
38 AskAgent
38 Tips

When you query it's a good idea to tell me what the intended audiences/ markets for the book are. #querytip

Lisa Hagan
@LisaHaganLit
Literary Agent
Lisa Hagan Literary and Lisa Hagan Books. Agent for over 25 years, specializing in non-fiction. Creating powerful art through words. Spiritual Activist.
20 Tips

Substance of the book, who the audience is and why you are the best person to write the book. #querytip

Sara Megibow
@SaraMegibow
Literary Agent
she/her Literary Agent at KT Literary. Reading, parenting, table top gaming, baking challah, hiking and wine tasting. Always LGBTQIA+ friendly!
17 MSWL
13 AskAgent
298 Queries
525 Tips

Brilliant post by @tiffanyreisz on @Janice_Hardy blog on beta readers, "Even Alpha Writers Need Beta Readers" blog.janicehardy.com/2013/05/even-a… #pubtip

Kate McKean
@kate_mckean
Literary Agent
Literary Agent at Morhaim Literary
79 MSWL
35 AskAgent
115 Tips

The No. 1 thing I don't want to see in the first paragraph of your novel is your character waking up. The No. 2 is a metaphor. #pubtip

Sara Megibow
@SaraMegibow
Literary Agent
she/her Literary Agent at KT Literary. Reading, parenting, table top gaming, baking challah, hiking and wine tasting. Always LGBTQIA+ friendly!
17 MSWL
13 AskAgent
298 Queries
525 Tips

A basic litmus test for beta readers = have they read 2-3 novels in your genre in the past 2 years? #pubtip #important

Sara Megibow
@SaraMegibow
Literary Agent
she/her Literary Agent at KT Literary. Reading, parenting, table top gaming, baking challah, hiking and wine tasting. Always LGBTQIA+ friendly!
17 MSWL
13 AskAgent
298 Queries
525 Tips

I see a LOT of queries that state, "my kid loved this book and wanted to read more." Sweet, but not likely the best beta reader. #pubtip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

Catch-all #querytip blog post from @Janet_Reid at @QueryShark. Don't miss this one! bit.ly/1LFr8vs

Sara Megibow
@SaraMegibow
Literary Agent
she/her Literary Agent at KT Literary. Reading, parenting, table top gaming, baking challah, hiking and wine tasting. Always LGBTQIA+ friendly!
17 MSWL
13 AskAgent
298 Queries
525 Tips

"Who should read your unpublished work?" or All Readers Are Not Created Equal. Greatpost by @RachelleGardner rachellegardner.com/who-should-rea… #pubtip

Michelle Witte
@michellewitte
Literary Agent
Children’s literary agent with Mansion Street Literary (open to queries first 15 days each month) and mental health advocate. I also write craptastic books. She/her.
185 MSWL
18 Tips

Strong verbs can make a blah query extraordinary—but don't go overboard to where it looks like a thesaurus barfed on your query. #querytip

Stacey Donaghy
@DonaghyLiterary
Literary Agent
Literary Agent and Founder at Donaghy Literary Group. Be sure to review my #MSWL . Looking forward to reading your query.
23 MSWL
52 AskAgent
96 Tips

#querytip You know how it pisses ppl off when others cut in line at the store..Sending your query direct= agent instead of query email #same

Kathleen Ortiz
@KOrtizzle
Literary Agent
Literary Agent.. Almost never on here. Check out IG for more recent updates @kortizzle
4 MSWL
31 AskAgent
3 Tips

I can't believe I have to say this but do NOT #query from a .gov .mil .edu acct. don't use work email, period. So unprofessional. #querytip

Michelle Richter
@Michrichter1
Literary Agent
@FuseLiterary Senior Agent. Murder=my fave. @PacePublishing alum. @SINCNational member. She/her. Query Manager link: QueryMe.Online/MichelleRichter
51 MSWL
9 AskAgent
1575 Queries
72 Tips

Help me see how good you are. Follow my submission guidelines and tell me about your story. The plot. Not how to feel abt it. #querytip

Michelle Richter
@Michrichter1
Literary Agent
@FuseLiterary Senior Agent. Murder=my fave. @PacePublishing alum. @SINCNational member. She/her. Query Manager link: QueryMe.Online/MichelleRichter
51 MSWL
9 AskAgent
1575 Queries
72 Tips

I just got a query that told me how to feel about the query, was super long, and included no pages. It did not grab me. #querytip

Sara Megibow
@SaraMegibow
Literary Agent
she/her Literary Agent at KT Literary. Reading, parenting, table top gaming, baking challah, hiking and wine tasting. Always LGBTQIA+ friendly!
17 MSWL
13 AskAgent
298 Queries
525 Tips

#QueryStats = to date, 89% of my clients came from a slush pile query letter. #WhyQueries #pubtip

Sara Megibow
@SaraMegibow
Literary Agent
she/her Literary Agent at KT Literary. Reading, parenting, table top gaming, baking challah, hiking and wine tasting. Always LGBTQIA+ friendly!
17 MSWL
13 AskAgent
298 Queries
525 Tips

At the end of the day queries are impersonal, frustrating, crazy, overwhelming...and they still work best for me. #WhyQueries #pubtip

Sara Megibow
@SaraMegibow
Literary Agent
she/her Literary Agent at KT Literary. Reading, parenting, table top gaming, baking challah, hiking and wine tasting. Always LGBTQIA+ friendly!
17 MSWL
13 AskAgent
298 Queries
525 Tips

For me, a slush pile query letter is still, by far, the most efficient way to find clients. Why?... #WhyQueries #pubtip

Alex Slater
@abuckslater
Literary Agent
Literary agent @GreenburgerLit @GreenburgerKids . Black Lives Matter. he/him.
132 MSWL
32 AskAgent
55 Tips

Do not query multiple books. Pick one you are most confident with/on fire for, otherwise they all appear weak. #querytip

Lane Heymont
@LaneHeymont
Literary Agent
Literary Agent. Connoisseur of horror, schadenfreude, and caffeine. Founder of @TheTobiasAgency . Opinions are my own. (he/him)
65 MSWL
2 AskAgent
477 Tips

Living in fear is spiritual death. Live your life. Write that book. Love that person. Query that agent. Celebrate that rejection. #querytip

Laura Crockett
@LECrockett
Literary Agent
Literary Agent @TriadaUS | Opinions my own | she/her
148 MSWL
24 AskAgent
322 Queries
88 Tips

"Looking for an agent" and attaching several PDFs is NOT a query. #querytip http://t.co/uBPQydGULc