A Query Critique Opportunity & Mid-January Agent Tweets

Would you love a query critique from the fabulous Meredith Barnes of Lowenstein Associates? The chance ends this Sunday, so see HER POST HERE, and check out the Ebooks of these L.A. authors:

Deborah Camp (A mix of contemporary and Old West Historical romances...over 40 coming in the near future, but here is a list of 10 or so available now)

Lorena Dureau (Historical Romance: American Colonial South and West. Very Sexy)

Dan Streib (thrillers with a James-Bond-meets-Anderson-Cooper main character)

~
Agent News~ Agent Emily Keyes has moved back to the L. Perkins Agency. See a post about the change HERE. Emily likes YA and is an expert on all things "Sweet Valley." You can follow her on twitter @esc_key

~

Before I list the agent tweets I've accumulated over the month of January so far, I'd like to direct you to Kate Hart's website. She does an awesome Twitter round-up each week.

Aaaaaaand, off we go:

MandyHubbard Mandy Hubbard
#pubtip: no matter how original your work may be, do not proclaim in your query that you invented a new genre. This is not a positive thing

LitAgentMarini Victoria Marini
A query IS the 1st step. There’s no "pre-query phone call." Don’t ignore guidelines and call b/c you "only query interested agents." ...

sarahlapolla Sarah LaPolla
Saying you wrote your vampire novel "before the craze" is like telling an agent "go back in time & sell it for me." Don't bother. #querytip

AgentKristin Kristin Miller
Lots and lots and lots of missing parents. Some dead, some literally missing and need to be found. Hm. #queries

EyeOnFlux Brian Farrey-Latz
It's 2012 and I *still* get manuscripts that aren't double spaced? Seriously? That's like *the* oldest rule, right?

jsinsheim Jessica Sinsheimer
"There's nothing interesting or remarkable about [my protagonist]"--no. Stop it. #BadFirstSentence #Queries #PubTip

MandyHubbard Mandy Hubbard
#pubtip: if for some reason you've already written the sequel to the book you're querying, DON'T mention it in your query.

MandyHubbard Mandy Hubbard
#pubtip (cont) multi-book deals are regularly done based on synopsis/outline for later books. Writing them all can be a rookie mistake.

sarahlapolla Sarah LaPolla
Truth: If you begin your query or book with "In the not-so-distant future," I will have the MST3K theme song in my head the rest of the day.

SarahGreenhouse Sarah Davies
If you're writing a thriller - any exciting story - here's my biggest tip: PACE, PACE, PACE. Move that story along and cut redundancies.

MarleneStringer Marlene Stringer
Not a good idea to include in your Q that you write for a hobby. I have lots of hobbies, but I don't expect to be paid for them. #pubtip

kate_mckean Kate McKean
Emails like to have text in that white box. Don't make emails sad. Don't send queries that are empty with just letters attached. #pubtip

jsinsheim Jessica Sinsheimer
"I have shortened my novel by 20,000 words. It is now 166,000...." *Headdesk* Today is bad for my head. #SinusCold #PubTip

jsinsheim Jessica Sinsheimer
"Dear Jessica, thank you for your reply. I haven't started on my proposal or sample chapters. I will get them to you..." *Headdesk* #PubTip

sarahlapolla Sarah LaPolla
Hate to say it, having "studied writing," but talent really is innate. You can improve on a technical level, but the passion needs to show.

sarahlapolla Sarah LaPolla
99% of R&Rs are about improving technique. So hard when writing is brilliant, but I have no idea what the writer is trying to say, or why.
*R&R = a request from agents for you to Revise and Resubmit

hannahnpbowman Hannah Bowman
Rereading client MSs and falling in love with them again is the best feeling.

barrygoldblatt Barry Goldblatt
You know what? No, the fact that you are a teen does not mean you are better able to write about the teen experience. #tiredofreadingthat

MarleneStringer Marlene Stringer
Just opened a Q where the writer cc'd the entire agent section of a writer's guide. Never seen one like this before. #dontdothis #pubtip

Ginger_Clark Ginger Clark
Just read some emailed queries. Authors: if you ever wonder, "hey, will this gimmicky query work?" The answer is always NO.

mraffel Maddie Raffel
Dear author, I'm happy that you love your wife and your children are doing well in school, but what does that have to do with your query? *This is my favorite from this group :)

jsinsheim Jessica Sinsheimer
More reasons to make yourself a good password: having your email hacked and spamming a ton of agents? Rather embarrassing. Happens often.

sarahlapolla Sarah LaPolla
Writers: Novels have crossover appeal when they are good enough; not because they're pitched that way. Query what your book actually is.

hroot holly rootIf the agent's query guidelines say you can include pages, DO IT. Always. Those pages are your best shot at going from a maybe to a yes.

bradfordlit Laura Bradford
This ms smells like olives. I hate olives. I don't really want to read this now. That is a problem.

johnmcusick John M Cusick @bradfordlit Maybe the author spilled his martini?