Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

Be sure to send your query to yourself first to note any formatting or font mistakes! Saves us headaches #CLAqueries #amquerying #querytip

Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

Sample pages should start on your 1st page, not a random middle spot. Same w/ synopsis: start in 1st scene #CLAqueries #querytip #amquerying

Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

Your query is not a bio. Don't pack it w/ life details and then give 2 sentences of book info #CLAqueries #querytip #amquerying

Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

We see you brown-nosing. Don't make our fave books your comps and then have your book be NOTHING like them #CLAqueries #querytip #amquerying

Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

Your first line should never be "My name is ___". NO. Establish your character without them having to tell the reader #CLAqueries #querytip

Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

Try not to let dialogue dominate your first pages. Giving setting/character/action is SO important #CLAqueries #querytip #amquerying

Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

Your query is not a letter from your MC telling me all about his life. Please do not do this #querytip #CLAqueries #amquerying

Chris Kepner
@chriskepner
Literary Agent
Husband, dad, literary agent. Music lover. Downhill skier. @Cover1 contributor. he/him
14 MSWL
1 Tips

The Hugos define a novel as 40,000 words or more...I find that publishers want at least 80,000 words. #querytip Anyone back me up on this?

Jennie Goloboy
@JennieGoloboy
Literary Agent
Literary Agent, DMLA. Charleston and the Emergence of Middle-Class Culture in the Revolutionary Era @ugapress '16, Obviously, Aliens @qospress '21. #vp20
87 MSWL
42 Tips

Related: if all the women in your novel are sex slaves, I'm probably not the agent for you. #querytip

Jennie Goloboy
@JennieGoloboy
Literary Agent
Literary Agent, DMLA. Charleston and the Emergence of Middle-Class Culture in the Revolutionary Era @ugapress '16, Obviously, Aliens @qospress '21. #vp20
87 MSWL
42 Tips

They Made Me Have Sex With An Alien: not a genre I enjoy #querytip

Jacquie Flynn
@BookJacquie
Literary Agent
Book Doula-Editor-Mom-Slayer of dragons. BLUE candidate 4 re-election w/ @mom2han8 to Maywood NJ council-Query guidelines delbourgo.com
1 MSWL
113 Tips
Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

#querytip Always try to include MC age in the query. And none of this "twenty-something-year-old" nonsense. You know their age or you don't

Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

Rant over. Sorry, Twitter world. But, UGH. Too much hate in the world today. Don't send it to my query box #querytip #amquerying

Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

News flash you're NOT more important. Not allowed to treat people as beneath you. Don't waste time/sub to me if you think that way #querytip

Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

I'm furious seeing someone yell at another for doing NOTHING wrong. You f'd up. You felt too important to give correct materials #querytip

Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

Also "Chance to make lots of $". Not why I'm in this industry. You're the sort I don't want to see in publishing #querytip #amquerying

Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

Made yourself look unprofessional, rude, ignorant, and difficult to work with. All very easy reasons to say no. (3/?) #querytip #amquerying

Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

Don't care about your fancy creds/past success. If I see you cussing out my intern, NO ONE at the agency will work w/ you (2/?) #querytip

Kaitlyn Johnson
@RedPenKaitlyn
Literary Agent
Agent @belcastr . insta: kjbelcastro. Freelance Editor. Serial comma for life. She/her. Query at QueryManager.com/1147
279 MSWL
345 AskAgent
55 Queries
385 Tips

DO NOT tell people to go F themselves when they simply ask you to send in ALL materials in our guidelines! (1/?) #querytip #amquerying

Bibi Lewis
@Bibi_Lewis
Literary Agent
Agent at the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency. Lifelong New Yorker and forever bookworm. she/her
82 MSWL
10 Tips