From the blog archive: WHEN TO FOLLOW UP WITH LITERARY AGENTS WHILE QUERYING mariavicente.com/post/120013409… #querytip #amquerying

Please, please, please, please, please do not query unfinished manuscripts. Or ones that you're still revising the first draft. #querytip

#querytip If you call your book a thriller/romance/YA… make sure the blurb shows how it fits the genre.

For the love of Pete, learn the mechanics of the English language before querying a novel. Punctuation isn’t a free-form art. #querytip

Two queries this week with the deliberately misleading subject line "Requested Materials."

#QueryTip http://t.co/vugt2p8awd

Great story for any writers who are struggling. Lesson learned: keep at it. #pubtip twitter.com/hannahnpbowman…

Uh, a tip for anyone querying by mail: put the folded SASE *inside* the letter or I might accidentally letter-opener it to death. #pubtip

Not a must-do, but I'm really coming around on authors including their query letter on the first page of a requested manuscript. #querytip

My guess is half the rejections I send would be eliminated if writers did their publishing research first. #PubTip #research

#PubTip = great resource for writers researching agents & their sales is Publishers Marketplace. Example, my page = publishersmarketplace.com/members/SaraMe…

#PubTip = just a reminder that Writers Beware is an essential research tool for all writers: sfwa.org/other-resource… #important

"The title to a work of writing is like a house's front porch.... It should invite you to come on in."  - Angela Giles Klocke #pubtip

All novels should follow the trials, tribulations and triumphs of your protagonist. It's not a selling point. #querytip

Authors! If you're going to use comps in a query, be thoughtful. Don't choose popular books just because they're well-known. #querytip

DO mention if you are a part of the culture your book references/pulls from, bc I'm very interested in authentic, diverse stories #querytip

Don't quote from other rejections (??) even if they sound somewhat complimentary or nice #querytip

Also, don't use your valuable opening lines on bio, past works, etc! Hook me with your book as soon as possible #querytip

#querytip: When I'm in the middle of an inbox plunge, an opening paragraph that's basically a wall of rhetorical questions kills your query.

If an agent passes on a project, don't ask them to reconsider. Move on. It's not right for that agent but may be perfect for others. #Pubtip

Three queries in a row mentioned that their spouse loved the book. That is nice, but does not matter. #querytip