Writers, if you're sending me a query, and the email address doesn't contain the word query, you're sending to the wrong place. #querytip

Ugh, iPhone autocorrect. Don't query from your iPhone re: my last tweet. #querytip

Don't query more than 1 agent at the same agency simultaneous. They don’t want to compete with each other. #querytip

How can a manuscript be "autobiographical" when it's set in the 1600s? #querytip #scratchingmyhead

Usually not a good idea to switch publishers/agents mid-series. And we wonder why you'd want to. #querytip

A little advice for those looking for a literary agent: spell the agent's name correctly when you query them! #querytip #AgentTip...

Introducing yourself in a query is unnecessary. That's what the bio is for. Just get to the pitch and hook us! #querytip

#querytip: Don't tell us how to feel. The words should do that themselves. If you have to over-explain it then something's not working.

#querytip: If you want to evoke atmosphere do it in 1-2 lines, not 1-2 paragraphs. Setting the scene can turn your query into a short story.

#querytip: Word Choice. Think of your query like a poem. Don't repeat words, vary language, make an impact with fewer words, be concise.

When I read a query, I want to know what the book's about RIGHT AWAY. No philosophizing or justifying. Just give me the plot. #querytip

Please proofread your query letters and submissions! #querytip

Your story should be important to you but no, it is not perfect and a piece of celestial art. Feelings of grandiosity aren't good. #querytip

Alternate histories can be interesting, but writing a story about how great it would have been if the Nazis won is a bad idea. #querytip

#querytip Have a friend who hasn't read your ms read your query. Then ask them what your ms is about. If they're confused, we will be too!

If a plot point in your synopsis makes me curse, that's probably a bad sign. Implausible or just too convenient twists=worrisome. #querytip

You don't improve your chances of being picked up by telling an agent you are giving them an exclusive period they didn't ask for #querytip

For probably the 50th time: when I say I'm interested in marginalized perspectives, I mean real ones. 'Do space aliens count?' No. #querytip

Have publishing questions? Keep an eye out for an #ask4word today, answering all your #writetip, #pubtip, #querytip questions.

Whoever coined the term "fiction novel" needs to stop writing. A novel, by definition, is fiction. Know industry terms. #querytip