Reposting for the folks in the back. #querytip

#querytip Historical Fiction and Historical Fantasy are not the same thing. An agent who reps Historical Fiction may not rep Historical Fantasy and vice versa.

I know getting a form rejection (or no answer) can suck, but it doesn’t mean you’re lost. It just puts the onus on you to learn the craft of writing both a novel AND a good letter. You’re up against volume, for sure. But money won’t help you. On this particular point. #querytip

I think it’s interesting that after all these years people still don’t trust the querying process. I just got a form submission off my website the other day asking how not to get lost in the queries. You DON’T get lost in them. I read everything. #querytip

Here it is, the biggest #querytip of the year: READ 👏 IN 👏 YOUR 👏 GENRE 👏

I honestly cannot stress this enough! It's good to read outside it as well, but it is crucial to READ the types of books you want to write!!

Trying to craft your query letter? Check out @ericsmithrocks website for a whole collection of client query letters complete with commentary on why they were successful: bit.ly/35ugy9r #amquerying #querytip

Writers if you’re going to give your MC awesome superpowers make sure you show us how they’ll be used in the synopsis cause when that reads like a strict contemporary romance we’re left wondering why the superpowers at all 🤷‍♀️
#writingtip #querytip #SlushInsight

#querytip No gimmick will EVER be as successful as just telling the agent about the freaking book

- Please don’t send queries thru my email. They are automatically deleted.
- Please don’t send queries thru my social media inboxes. They are automatically deleted.
- Please don’t send queries thru my website contact form. Guess what? THEY’RE AUTOMATICALLY DELETED! #querytip

This is only my preference, but please: open your book w/a character. An omniscient/generic scene display, telling me what items are where rather than showing me thru eyes, opinion,& experience of a character sets a stage. But it doesn't invite me to come on a journey. #querytip

I’m seeing a lot of synopses that leave out key info. Leave me eager to learn more with your pitch - give me the details in your synopsis. For example, if finding a murderer is key to your plot, the synopsis better tell me whodunnit! #querytip

Picture book #QueryTip! 👇👇 instagram.com/p/B8glnS4nWwh/…

#querytip I don't like to see a ton of Fantasy Proper Nouns in a query, like full names, cities, organizations, countries, weapons. Give me the details in English. Your worldbuilding is clever, I'm sure, but let me develop a relationship with that when I read the actual book.

FYI, if you're pitching YA fantasy, be sure to include the time period (YA historical or YA contemporary). Sometimes we're looking for one but not the other, sometimes both. #querytip

Why We Don't Like Exclusives youtu.be/9_9VVATu2ZE via @YouTube #QueryTip #PubTip

I am sorry to say this, but if you are looking for an agent on your self-published novel because your sales are terrible, the odds of an agent taking it on are very small. #querytip

See also: "my book is like nothing else ever written" will not entice me, it will make me very wary #querytip

Only comping yourself to mega-bestsellers doesn't mean I will stop reading your query, but it will raise my eyebrows to the fact that you might not know the genre well enough to write effectively in it #querytip

when querying a complex novel (complicated plot; intricate world-building), work to ensure that your query doesn't get lost in the weeds & alienate the reader -- ideally, you should be able to boil that complexity down to a succinct and compelling paragraph. #querytip

Writers, this is a really great explanation of the "I just didn't fall in love" pass on submissions. A "no" doesn't mean you did something wrong or your book is bad... it just means it wasn't exactly right for that particular agent or editor. #querytip