
Literary Agent
A query should tell me who the story is about. What does he/she NEED to achieve by the end of the story? What’s keeping him/her from attaining that goal? What’s at stake if he/she doesn’t succeed? #amquerying #writetip #pubtip 5/5

Literary Agent
When querying, have a bio, but it’s essential to show what the story is about. You’re selling your story, not yourself. I won’t sign an author based on his/her bio. I need to love the story, the characters, the author’s voice, and the writing. #amquerying #writetip #pubtip 4/5

Literary Agent
A query should read like the blurb on the back cover of a book (not the one-line teasers in between the blurb). It’s NOT an info dump about the cool world you’ve built. It’s not a description of all the characters on the protagonist’s team. #amquerying #writetip #pubtip 3/5

Literary Agent
Show me what makes your story unique. How will this manuscript stand out? I need to know enough about the story to see this, but don’t give away the ending. #amquerying #writetip #pubtip 2/5

Literary Agent
In a query, it’s nice to learn about cool characters, but what’s most important is for you to tell me what the STORY is about. What’s at stake? What's the protagonist’s story goal? What’s the conflict keeping him/her from that goal? #amquerying #writetip #pubtip 1/5

Literary Agent

Editor

Literary Agent

Literary Agent
Just a reminder: I’m closed to queries starting TOMORROW. Everything sent in January will get read. Starting tomorrow, nope. I’ll reopen sometime this summer TBD. #pubtip #amagenting #querytip #mswl

Literary Agent
Replying to a rejection with a bitter comment doesn't put you in my good books. Just sayin'. It confirms I made the right decision. Come on, peeps. Keep it professional. Agents have to love the work they represent. It's as simple as that. #writetip #pubtip #amquerying

Literary Agent
The scene goal is a goal for THAT scene, but it should be tied to the story goal in some way. Many different scenes goals (in many different scenes) are like baby steps bringing the character closer and closer to attaining his/her story goal. 8/8 #writetip #pubtip #amwriting

Literary Agent
This also forces the character to be an ACTIVE participant instead of REACTING to things that happen. Torture your characters. Make them fight for what they want and sometimes fail in pursuit of it until they grow enough to attain their goal. 7/? #writetip #pubtip #amwriting

Literary Agent
When a character causes his/her own conflict, it's much stronger because he/she has to own that. He/she has to learn from it and grow from his/her mistakes. 6/? #writetip #pubtip #amwriting

Literary Agent
Basically, I want to see a character pursuing something. ALWAYS. Even if that something changes. I want to see things get in the way, but mostly because of a character flaw (internal or external issue). 5/? #writetip #pubtip #amwriting

Literary Agent
Scene conflict can be internal, external, or both. But, you need conflict. The best kind of conflict? Something that the POV character causes because of something he/she said or didn't say, did or didn't do. 4/? #writetip #pubtip #amwriting

Literary Agent
But, it doesn't stop there. If you have a story goal without conflict to interfere with or disrupt the pursuit of that goal, life becomes too easy for the character. Easy character life = boring. 3/? #writetip #pubtip #amwriting

Literary Agent
Lynnette Novak @Lynnette_Novak
One reason I reject a MS? Lack of scene goals. Most manuscripts I read have a story goal (although, that sometimes gets lost or forgotten--but that's another post...). 1/? #writetip #pubtip #amwritingWithout a scene goal, the story can lose focus, and we can go through several scenes where nothing is happening. This kills the pacing, and prevents the story from moving forward. 2/? #writetip #pubtip #amwriting

Literary Agent

Literary Agent

Literary Agent
Reminder to querying folks: If you don't spell my name correctly in my email address, I won't get it. Two Ns in Lynnette. Sanks! #amquerying #amagenting #pubtip