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

#QueryFail = "I've written the next big New York Times bestseller and I just need your help getting Random House to pay attention to me."

#ummmmmm
#queries

Katie Shea Boutillier
@AgentShea
Literary Agent
VP/Rights Director & Lit Agent w/ DMLA, specializing in commercial adult fiction & young adult. Open to queries as of 8/15/23 Query email: ksbqueries@gmail.com
17 MSWL
62 Tips
Sandy Lu
@SandyLuBookWyrm
Literary Agent
Founder of Book Wyrm Literary Agency, mandarin speaker, musical theater lover, book hoarder, avid cook.
2 AskAgent
8 Tips

Guys, just because I love dark fiction, it doesn't mean I can get past manuscripts with "whores" or "sluts" in the title. You should be ashamed of yourselves. #queryfail

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

Huh. One email in the query slush pile is asking for an agent to...help sell their house. #oops #queryfail

Kevan Lyon
@KevanLyon
Literary Agent
Literary Agent, historical fiction fanatic, dog lover, beach walker...
2 MSWL
8 Tips

Query addressed to probably every agent in the biz in inbox today. Haven't seen that for a while. Those are an auto-delete. #queryfail

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

#QueryFail = "this is a young adult novel like WATCHERS by Dean Koontz"

ummmmm...nope. #genre #oops

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

#QueryFail ="my book has werewolves which is self explanatory" NO it's not! Every fantasy has its own twist-show me what makes yours unique!

Lisa Abellera
@LisaAbellera
Literary Agent
Literary agent w/@K_C_Associates, book designer, writer, VONA alum, Filipina/Pinay, and lover of all things books ๐Ÿ“š๐Ÿฆ„๐Ÿง™๐Ÿฝโ€โ™‚๏ธ๐Ÿฒ๐Ÿงžโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ‘พ๐Ÿค–๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ•ต๏ธโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ‘ฎ๐Ÿฝโ€โ™€๏ธโœ๐Ÿพ๐Ÿ“š
102 MSWL
42 AskAgent
44 Tips

Recvd query w/"Dear publisher, or something." If you don't know my name, much less what I do, then you really shouldn't query me. #queryfail

Mary C. Moore
@Mary_C_Moore
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
110 MSWL
42 AskAgent
222 Tips

Dear writers, I'm grateful most of you aren't like this jerk. Otherwise I would have closed submissions long ago. #agentlife #queryfail

Mary C. Moore
@Mary_C_Moore
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
110 MSWL
42 AskAgent
222 Tips

Tell me again how your work has no comparables and you're a writer not reader. #slushpile making me snarky today #dontwastemytime #queryfail

Mary C. Moore
@Mary_C_Moore
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
110 MSWL
42 AskAgent
222 Tips

I empathize with new writers stumbling on sub guidelines. But if you're such a newb, how'd you get my not-public email address? #queryfail

Mary C. Moore
@Mary_C_Moore
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
110 MSWL
42 AskAgent
222 Tips

A writer just called me spoiled for rejecting his work. Because that makes sense. #agentlife #queryfail

Jessica Faust
@BookEndsJessica
Literary Agent
President & founder of BookEnds Literary Agency, author advocate, optimist, & professional pain in the ass. Runs on coffee, wine, & kettlebells. She/Her
396 MSWL
574 AskAgent
191 Tips

I ask for a synopsis whenever I request material. So how is it I so often don't have a synopsis to refer to? #queryfail

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

#QueryFail = "I've dumbed down my reading for the younger reader." ACK! NO! *sobs* #queries

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

#QueryFail = "buy my book here then call me if you want to represent me"

Saritza Hernandez
@LitAgentSaritza
Literary Agent
๐Ÿ“š Literary Agent @AndreaBrownLit , ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿฝโ€๐Ÿ’ป#UCLAAnnex educator, โ˜•๏ธ@aalitagents member #autismparent ๐Ÿงฉ #lgbtparent #queeraf ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’œ she/her/ella ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ท#SarysPosse
132 MSWL
12 AskAgent
39 Queries
98 Tips

Donโ€™t just throw in a diverse character into your query in order to โ€œqualifyโ€ it for my list. #QueryFail #PubTip #CLAQueries

Mary C. Moore
@Mary_C_Moore
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
110 MSWL
42 AskAgent
222 Tips

An author tried to trick me into thinking I'd requested their sub. It didn't work. #queryfail
I know my #slushpile.

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
Mary C. Moore
@Mary_C_Moore
Literary Agent
Literary Agent
110 MSWL
42 AskAgent
222 Tips

Ignored my sub guidelines & that I'm closed to queries, didn't bother to remove "fwd" from the subject. #queryfail

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