Amanda Jain
@wensday95
Literary Agent
Literary Agent repping adult fiction and nonfiction @bookendslit . You can query me at QueryManager.com/AJain. Books, books, books, always books. she/her
322 MSWL
16 AskAgent
15 Tips

FYI, emailing a link to your website does not a query make. #querytip

Tamar Rydzinski
@trydzinski
Literary Agent
Literary agent, mom, boggle lover, scared of dogs
18 MSWL
15 Tips

A synopsis is not the same thing as a query letter #querytip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

I'm getting some great This Is Where I Leave You comps in the slush pile this week! More of this please! All the family drama. #querytip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

#querytip Excessively complimenting agents in your query is awkward because you don't actually know us at all. Just who we are online.

Alex Slater
@abuckslater
Literary Agent
Literary agent @GreenburgerLit @GreenburgerKids . Black Lives Matter. he/him.
132 MSWL
32 AskAgent
55 Tips

Queries that start with: "You haven't read a query like this before..."

I have. #querytip

Lane Heymont
@LaneHeymont
Literary Agent
Literary Agent. Connoisseur of horror, schadenfreude, and caffeine. Founder of @TheTobiasAgency . Opinions are my own. (he/him)
65 MSWL
2 AskAgent
477 Tips

2/2 There are no *true* consequences. The MC is already dead. Game over. The end. OR the story isn't real. NONE of it happened! #querytip

Lane Heymont
@LaneHeymont
Literary Agent
Literary Agent. Connoisseur of horror, schadenfreude, and caffeine. Founder of @TheTobiasAgency . Opinions are my own. (he/him)
65 MSWL
2 AskAgent
477 Tips

I *HATE* films and novels where the MC is already dead o the story takes place in virtual reality, dreams, or afterlife. Why, you ask? 1/2

Melissa Edwards
@MelissaLaurenE
Literary Agent
Literary Agent at @stonesongNYC . Lawyer. Lover of TV, movies, and books. Slow runner. Let Bartlet be Bartlet.
223 MSWL
10 Queries
58 Tips

Calling your book a crossover is like calling yourself beautiful: better when someone else does it #querytip

Saba Sulaiman
@agentsaba
Literary Agent
Senior agent at Talcott Notch Literary. Eternally recovering from maternity leave. Probably hiding somewhere eating cake. Closed to unsolicited queries. @pocpub
131 MSWL
7 AskAgent
2 Queries
47 Tips

Can deliberately misleading an agent into reading your query ever work? #QueryTip

Alec Shane
@alecdshane
Literary Agent
Literary Agent at Writers House, LLC. Wannabe Patriots sportswriter. ashane@writershouse.com
100 MSWL
1 AskAgent
346 Queries
122 Tips

#querytip Some version of "self-publishing didn't go the way I thought it would" isn't the best way to get an agent interested in your MS

Patricia Nelson
@patricianels
Literary Agent
Literary Agent at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, representing YA & MG fiction (all genres), women's fiction & romance. She/her.
70 MSWL
2 Queries
94 Tips

If yr query is all about how great a TV adaptation of yr book would be, I'm going to assume yr expectations are unrealistic &pass. #querytip

Lane Heymont
@LaneHeymont
Literary Agent
Literary Agent. Connoisseur of horror, schadenfreude, and caffeine. Founder of @TheTobiasAgency . Opinions are my own. (he/him)
65 MSWL
2 AskAgent
477 Tips

50,000 words is barely a novel. 250,000 words is a mind-numbing epic. Know the generally accepted word counts 4 your genre. Okay? #querytip

Lane Heymont
@LaneHeymont
Literary Agent
Literary Agent. Connoisseur of horror, schadenfreude, and caffeine. Founder of @TheTobiasAgency . Opinions are my own. (he/him)
65 MSWL
2 AskAgent
477 Tips

Don't tell us what we'll get from your book. Don't presume you understand the way we think. Or how we see your world. Or our own. #querytip

Lane Heymont
@LaneHeymont
Literary Agent
Literary Agent. Connoisseur of horror, schadenfreude, and caffeine. Founder of @TheTobiasAgency . Opinions are my own. (he/him)
65 MSWL
2 AskAgent
477 Tips

If your MC is stuck sweeping chimneys there better be a damn good reason. People don't do things they don't want to "just becuz". #querytip

Lane Heymont
@LaneHeymont
Literary Agent
Literary Agent. Connoisseur of horror, schadenfreude, and caffeine. Founder of @TheTobiasAgency . Opinions are my own. (he/him)
65 MSWL
2 AskAgent
477 Tips

"She encounters something scary..." Okay...what? A talking toaster? A debt collector? Be specific. A query shouldn't be a mystery. #querytip

Lane Heymont
@LaneHeymont
Literary Agent
Literary Agent. Connoisseur of horror, schadenfreude, and caffeine. Founder of @TheTobiasAgency . Opinions are my own. (he/him)
65 MSWL
2 AskAgent
477 Tips

Telling me your book will change the world is a big DON'T DO. At best, you're lying to yourself. At worst, you're delusional. #querytip

Lane Heymont
@LaneHeymont
Literary Agent
Literary Agent. Connoisseur of horror, schadenfreude, and caffeine. Founder of @TheTobiasAgency . Opinions are my own. (he/him)
65 MSWL
2 AskAgent
477 Tips

"Through a series of events.." has no place in a query. It tells us nothing except you cannot write an effective query. #querytip #queryfail

Rachel Brooks
@RachMBrooks
Literary Agent
Agent at BookEnds Literary Agency @bookendslit . Cat mom. She/her. Query form: QueryManager.com/RBrooks
16 MSWL
20 AskAgent
114 Tips
Lane Heymont
@LaneHeymont
Literary Agent
Literary Agent. Connoisseur of horror, schadenfreude, and caffeine. Founder of @TheTobiasAgency . Opinions are my own. (he/him)
65 MSWL
2 AskAgent
477 Tips

@KidLitKimi PLENTY of sites. @Janet_Reid's @QueryShark is probably the best! #querytip

Lane Heymont
@LaneHeymont
Literary Agent
Literary Agent. Connoisseur of horror, schadenfreude, and caffeine. Founder of @TheTobiasAgency . Opinions are my own. (he/him)
65 MSWL
2 AskAgent
477 Tips

Queriers, stop telling me what ur MC goes through. It's boring & lame. SHOW me. Be specific. Be concise. Focus on one or two MCs. #querytip