Thursday, April 30, 2015

Query Questions with Caitie Flum

Writers have copious amounts of imagination. It's what makes their stories so fantastic. But there's a darker side to so much out of the box thinking. When a writer is in the query trenches, their worries go into overdrive. They start pulling out their hair and imagine every possible disaster.

 


Here to relieve some of that endless worrying is a new series of posts called Query Questions. I'll ask the questions which prey on every writer's mind, and hopefully take some of the pain out of querying. These are questions that I've seen tossed around on twitter and writing sites like Agent Query Connect. They are the type of questions that you need answers for the real expert--agents!

If you have your own specific query question, please leave it in the comments and it might show up in future editions of Query Questions as I plan to rotate the questions.

Please give a loud welcome to a newer agent. Caitie Flum of Liza Dawson Associates Literary Agency is answering query questions today. 

Is there a better or worse time of year to query?

Not really! I am always looking at queries. If you query right near the winter holidays, there many be a longer response time, but it won't change the response.
 
Does one typo or misplaced comma shoot down the entire query?

Not at all. A query full of them would but just one will not. It happens. There is probably a typo or misplaced comma in this interview. 
 
Do you have an assistant or intern go through your queries first or do you check all of them? 

I do not have anyone else going through my queries. It is all me.
 
Do you keep a maybe pile of queries and go back to them for a second look?

Not really. If I am at a maybe, I will reread the query, think about it and decide then. I tend to set aside certain times to read queries, so I can take my time then.
 
How important are comp titles? Is it something you want to see in a query?
 
I don't need comp titles, but it does help give a sense to what the manuscript is if it is accurate. I have requested to see pages on a maybe query because of a good comp many times. 
 
I am on social media a lot and I talk about pop culture a lot, so I get some really personalized comps that work. 

Do you prefer a little personalized chit-chat in a query letter, or would you rather hear about the manuscript?

I don't need the personalized chit-chat, but I think it helps when authors tell me why they are querying me. It can help me see their vision for their book a little more and I can think "I would be a good fit for this!". Not a requirement though.
 
Most agents have said they don’t care whether the word count/genre sentence comes first or last. But is it a red flag if one component is not included?
 
It is a red flag for me mostly because an author should know their own genre. If they do not include it, I wonder if they know what they wrote. Not knowing can be very problematic. There are so many times I request because it is a cozy mystery, but it is really a thriller, which are completely different markets. That isn't to say I wouldn't like a thriller, but it would be very different. 

I also prefer word count/genre is first so I can quickly see if it is something I represent and know what it is before reading the query. 
 
Some writers have asked about including links to their blogs or manuscript-related artwork. I’m sure it’s not appropriate to add those links in a query, but are links in an email signature offensive?

Not at all. If it is in your signature, that is fine. But know that if you include it, I will click it. So make sure your content is good! Sometimes they include an inactive blog or a website that looks like it is from the 90s.

 What bio should an author with no publishing credits include?

The bio can be very basic, but isn't always needed. I have never rejected something because they didn't have a bio. I usually would like to know their day job, especially if it is relevant to what they have written.
 
What does ‘just not right for me’ mean to you?
 
It can mean so much, so here are just some examples

-it isn't a genre I represent 
-it isn't a topic I am interested in
-the voice doesn't connect. This doesn't mean the voice is bad, it just means that the voice doesn't appeal to me

What themes are you sick of seeing?
 
Drug cartels. Drug trafficking. I am not interested in it, but get at least three or four queries a week. 

Do you consider yourself a hands-on, editorial type of agent?

Yes. I think most agents are at this point - we have to be!
 
What three things are at the top of your submission wish list?
 
Only three? That makes it hard! 

1. Historical fiction (YA or adult) told from the perspectives we normally don't see. 
2. Athlete/rockstar/actor romances. For athlete: baseball or soccer is my preference. 
3. Story about siblings/family relationships, probably women's/book club fiction.

What are some of your favorite movies or books to give us an idea of your tastes?

The problem with this question is I like ALL THE THINGS. Here are some of my favorites, but this is not a complete list. For opinions on books, you can check out my blog: http://caitieflum.wordpress.com (but I don't represent sf/f)

1. Anything by Rainbow Rowell
2. 90s/early 00s rom coms (10 Things I Hate About You, Mean Girls, etc) 
3. The Lizzie Bennett Diaries (and everything the Green brothers do)
4. Laurie Halse Anderson
5. The Cuckoo's Calling

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Caitie Flum joined Liza Dawson Associates in July 2014 as assistant and audio rights manager. She graduated from Hofstra University in 2009 with a BA in English with a concentration in publishing studies. Caitie interned at Hachette Book Group and Writers House. She was an Editorial Assistant then Coordinator for Bookspan, where she worked on several clubs including the Book-of-the-Month Club, The Good Cook, and the Children's Book-of-the-Month Club.
Caitie grew up in Ohio where she developed her love of reading everything she could get her hands on.
Caitie is looking for commercial and upmarket fiction with great characters and superb writing, especially historical fiction, mysteries/thrillers of all kinds, magical realism, and book club fiction.
Caitie is also looking for Young Adult and New Adult projects, particularly romance, historical fiction, mysteries and thrillers, and contemporary books with diverse characters.
In nonfiction, she is looking for memoirs that make people look at the world differently, narrative nonfiction that's impossible to put down, books on pop culture, theater, current events, women's issues, and humor.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Update on A Little Help From Our Friends

Just like a believable main character, I'm very good at procrastinating on any tasks that are difficult. But I did want to give a short update on the behind the scenes here with my attempt to keep the blog and contests running. As you might have seen, I have to decide whether to keep doing this blog and the contests, or lend a hand and help support my family more by finding a better paying, but also more time consuming, job.

For the next six weeks until school ends, I'm trying a compromise that will allow me to do both, without charging people to enter any contests I host. I've entered the unknown land of crowd funding. 

I want to thank everyone who has donated so far and/or has supported me as I dive into this personal subject. You might notice that I raised the total goal a bit. That was to cover the house payment (And yes Indiana has a wonderfully lower mortgages than the west or east coasts!) and my internet cost all three months of my layoff. More on that and where to donate here.

That goal is over halfway met! 

My hubs was very impressed with such an outpouring of support from the writer community. He hasn't mentioned job hunting since I embarked into this unknown territory, but we both know it still hangs over us. I'd like to imagine that my manuscript out on sub will sell and make all this unnecessary, but until that happens, I'm asking for a little help from anyone who finds this blog useful.

So if this experiment in crowd funding fails... well, I try not to think about that.

Enough doom and gloom. I'm happy to report that two writers got agents from Sun versus Snow and another two got offers from Picture Book Party! Four writers now with agents! That's the best news indeed and it happened extremely fast!

I've also had many kind notes and comments through this difficult period. It's been so gratifying to find that so many people find my blog and contests essential to their own writing journey. I just want to hug you all.

I look forward to hosting Query Kombat; my only anxiety being whether we get sixty agent requests or seventy plus!

Watch for a free pass opportunity to bypass the slush and go straight into Query Kombat coming your way on May 1st! And if you are considering entering, please consider donating. 

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Getting the Call with Lynn Doiron

Sometimes the speed of publishing is astounding. Just don't expect it to always be this way--because it's truly not. But I digress. Barely had Sun versus Snow ended when Lynn told the world about her success. What could be better than that! Contest ends--writer gets agent. May all dreams come true this speedily! Congrats, Lynn!

You can see her entry here. Lynn is being modest when she leaves out her entry got NINE requests and hits all the beautiful, sparkly notes.




Here’s how I got my agent:

Step 1: Write book
Step 2: Enter pitching contest (Sun vs. Snow)
Step 3: Get agent

Totally easy, right? Yes! And no!

First of all, I actually wrote two books, not one. By the time I felt ready to query Book 1, I had already finished two drafts of Book 2. I didn’t query Book 1 very widely. I sent it out to ten agents. A few requested the full, a few requested partials, some passed, and some never responded. The feedback was all pretty much the same: Good writing, but the MC was unlikable. (Me: What do you mean, unlikable? We would totally be BFFs!)

I had a decision to make: Continue querying Book 1, or query Book 2 (which was now on its sixth draft). I had taken Book 2 to the Big Sur Writing Workshop and received great feedback, but I was still hesitant on querying. I was about to go with Option C, write Book 3, when I saw the Sun vs. Snow contest hosted by Amy Trueblood and Michelle Hauck.

PSA: Contests are waaaay more fun than querying. Querying is a black hole of suck between you and your email. Contests are all about community and making writer friends, bonus points if you land an agent.

I entered Sun vs. Snow. Book 2 didn’t have a title, so I borrowed the title from Book 1. I spent the next week meeting lots of great writers in the Twitter party. If I had been querying, I would have spent that week eating my weight in Sour Patch Kids.

Michelle selected me for Team Snow and my mentor, Ami Allen-Vath (you can find her blogging at the Fall Fifteeners), helped me revise my query and first page. The whole experience was fantastic. Michelle and Amy worked so hard to put together a great contest, the mentors provided excellent feedback, and the agents took the time to read the entries.

I received several requests, and I was super excited about it, until I realized it meant writing a synopsis. Five of the agents did not request a synopsis, so I sent Book 2 to them on Thursday. I intended to write the synopsis over the weekend and then send it to the rest of the agents Monday. Mostly I just whined on Twitter.

And then! Monday morning I got an email from an agent saying she loved Book 2 and asking to set up a call. I was eating a Carr’s lemon and ginger cookie. I remember this clearly because I choked on it.

After we talked, I notified the four other agents that I had received an offer of representation. Two agents made offers, one passed, and one didn’t have time to read it. That was the worst, by the way—way worse than a no. It’s humbling to realize that even if you are the Next Big Thing (and you’re not, so don’t kid yourself), there’s plenty more where you came from. Even best sellers. Maybe they can’t find another J.K. Rowling, but they can find a hundred more E. L. James.

But I also learned that agents are actually pretty great people—the agent who didn’t have time to read took the time to email me a week later and was lovely and gracious and complimented my voice, so obviously she must be a fantastic person, right?

After talking to the other agents, I decided to go with the first agent, Claire Anderson-Wheeler at Regal Literary. She took the time to read Book 1 and talk about what worked and what didn’t. Most importantly, I felt like she really understood what Book 2 was all about. I’m so excited to work with her to make my book better.

And now, I should finally learn how to write a synopsis. I hear editors want those, too.


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Lynn Doiron is a mother, writer, and attorney living in Washington, D.C. When she’s not mothering, writing, or lawyering, she can be found sleeping or reading—either way, wine is probably involved. @Lynn_Doiron

Saturday, April 25, 2015

A Celebration by Breaking the Rules

These were crazy and so very funny. I think my brain is fried from reading so much achingly long and cleverly detailed descriptions done so quickly, slowly, and painfully. But for sheer number of adjectives and adverbs I have to go with @Glowolf143. @Glowolf143, you went above and beyond!  Congrats!

In honor of going over half a million pageviews, I wanted to do something fun! I can't believe It's In the Details went from some place no one visited, to a site where people return for more, all in just two years.

I love filling my blog with helpful content, and I love when writers comment how much the posts have helped them. Thank you for making It's In the Details a successful haven for writers!

To celebrate, I'm giving away a query critique or a paperback copy of KINDAR'S CURE (your choice) and asking you to break the rules to win it.

Post a short bit of flash fiction in the comments of this post. I want you to write a paragraph of the dreaded and forbidden scene--MC looking in a mirror and describing themselves! That's right! You can let your freak flag fly and do what must normally be avoided.

And to break the rules further, I want you to load it with adjectives and adverbs. Let the 'ly words fly! Always, always we're told to avoid these. Great advice under normal circumstances when you're trying to get published. But WHERE'S THE FUN IN NORMAL?

Go past normal and ooze the unthinkable, quickly, beautifully and poetically. Go honestly, inventively crazy. 

So that's a short paragraph of your main character looking in a mirror and describing themselves with lots of adjectives and adverbs. I will pick my favorite for the win.

Contest will stay open until we get at least ten entries, which will hopefully be by May 4th (cause that's when it's ending.) Please leave your twitter handle or email address so I can contact the winner.

Good luck. Have fun. And please help me spread the word. The more who enter, the more silly this will get, I think.     

Friday, April 24, 2015

Query Kombat 2015





Bloggers SC, Michael, and Michelle are back again to bring you the third annual Query Kombat tournament.

The Basics

Query Kombat will host 64 kombatants in a single-elimination, tournament style query-off. Entries will go head to head (one on one) with one another until only ONE entry remains. There will be a total of six rounds in Query Kombat. 64 entries in round one, 32 in round two, 16 in round three, 8 in round four, 4 in round five, and 2 in round six.

As we said, some things have changed. We’re doing away with tournament brackets this year. Instead, entries will be matched up based on target audience and genre. We'll continue grouping that way until it's no longer possible.

If you secure a spot in the tournament, your query and the first 250 words of your manuscript (to the end of a complete sentence) will be pitted against another query and first 250 words. Judges will read each match-up and vote 'Victory' on the best entry. Remember, this is subjective. Considering last year, votes may come down to personal tastes.

The entry with the most ‘victories’ at the end of the round will advance to the next round until only one champion remains. 

This year the agent round will be held after the first round. That mean 32 entries will make it into the agent round. 32!

Of course, there's a twist!

The agent round will be conducted in secret. And by secret, we mean TOP SECRET. Entrants won't know who requested what—or how much—until that entrant has been eliminated from the contest.
On the plus side, winners of the first round will be able to resubmit their entry prior to the agent round. So, any feedback the judges give can be implemented before the agents see your work.

Who’s invited to submit:

The Query Kombat tournament is open only to unagented writers seeking representation. Your manuscript must be complete, polished, and ready to submit. If your manuscript has already been in the agent round of another contest in the last year, you are not eligible to participate in Query Kombat. Please don’t try to sneak in. The QK team includes about fifty people and a few hundreds of spectators. Someone will notice and inform us. Submissions for Picture Books, MG, YA, NA, and Adult works will be accepted.

The submission window will open on May 22nd at 5:30 PM Eastern time and close in ONE hour. Repeat: YOU HAVE ONE HOUR TO ENTER ONLY. The window closes at 6:30PM.

We will have email confirmation. If you don't receive it within an hour of submitting your entry, contact us via twitter and let us know.  Kontestants will be revealed on May 31th, and the tournament will kick off on June 1st.

ONE ENTRY PER PERSON ONLY. No cheating and using other email addresses.

IMPORTANT: The Query Kombat team reserves the right to disqualify any entrant at any time for any reason. If an entrant is disqualified before the agent round, an alternate will take its place. If an entrant is disqualified after the agent round, the opposing entry will automatically advance to the next round. The only time we will ever disqualify an applicant is if you say or do something to blemish the spirit of query contests. Query Kombat is supposed to be fun… 

 http://mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw903_1318180342933722.gif
So none of this!

In order to enter the contest you MUST follow formatting guidelines, and submit during the contest window. All entries that follow said guidelines will be considered. 

In the event that we receive more than the available 64 spots (this is highly expected), Michelle, SC, and I will savagely attack the slush pile in attempts to build the best team. We will pick (and announce) three alternates in case a submission is disqualified.

Entries should be sent to:  QueryKombat (at) gmail (dot) com. The email address has changed from last year. Be mindful of that.

Formatting guidelines:

Font: Times New Roman (or an equivalent), 12pt font, single-spaced with spaces between each paragraph. No (I repeat: NO!) indentations.
 
Subject line of the Email: A short, unique nickname for your entry [colon] your genre (audience included). Do not skip this step or your entry will be deleted. (ex. I Fell in Love with a Ken Doll: Adult Erotica)

For the nickname, make it as unique as possible so that there are no duplicates. These will be the names used in the tournament (or an abbreviated version if it's too long) so keep it PG-13 and try to have it relate to your story in some way.

In the body of the email (with examples):

Name: Michael Anthony
Email address: myboyfriendwasbittenbyashark (at) gmail (dot) com.


Entry Nickname: I Fell in Love with a Ken Doll
Title: Eunuchs and Politics
Word count: 68K
Genre: Adult Erotica

Query: 

Your query letter here. Do not include your contact information. Do Not include your bio or comps. But include all the other paragraphs. 

I FELL IN LOVE WITH A KEN DOLL tells the harrowing story of Barbra B. Doll, a US senator who goes against country, family, and the Illumaniti to be with an amateur surfer with no genitalia. 

First 250 words:

Don't include the chapter title and please, don't stop in the middle of a sentence. DO put spaces between paragraphs.

For PB follow these directions but send only 50 words, including art instruction.

All queries submitted are FINAL. We will not edit them in any way, shape, or form. Please read, reread, and rereread your submission before you hit send. You have several weeks to polish your work. Take advantage of it. Competition will be fierce.

Because the immense amount of work ahead of us, the tournament will be hosted on three separate blogs. In order to enter the contest, you MUST following Michael's and Michelle's blogs, and have signed up for SC's monthly newsletter concerning the 'Write Inclusively' campaign.' All three blogs will host the first round and agent round. The second round will be hosted by Michael and SC. The third round will be hosted by Michelle. The fourth round will be hosted by SC. The fifth round will be hosted by Michael. The final round will be hosted by Michelle. Have no fear, each blog will have links to all rounds so you will not get lost.

Agents and judges will be revealed soon. (As of now we have 15ish 25 agents and 30 judges!)

Questions can be left in the comments and I'll answer them as quickly as possible. As always, Query Kombat announcement call for celebration.


Thursday, April 23, 2015

Getting the Call with Emily Moore

I was drawn to the unhurried voice and literary tone of Emily Moore's middle grade manuscript. Long before I knew it was based on Tom Sawyer, I knew I had to include it among my picks for my New Agent contest. I'm so glad it found a home with a great new agent!





Thanks for having me on here Michelle! I’ve read so many of these posts and am excited to finally share my story!

The call… that moment every author aspiring for traditional publishing yearns for. I’ve read many blog posts, Facebook comments in writers groups, and even tweets about all the fantasies writers have about their call and how it will go.

I strangely didn’t have any specific thoughts about it. I curb disappointment by taking each step of the process as it comes. So when Jessica emailed me on a Thursday gushing about my novel and asking when a good time to talk would be, I was shell shocked. Was this really happening? Had I read that right? I read it a few more times just to make sure I didn’t misunderstand her. Nope. After a few more email exchanges, we arranged to talk the following Wednesday, and I wondered what in the world I would do to keep myself occupied until then. I sent out nudge emails to five agents I’d recently sent the same novel to and received a request for a full and about ten days to read through it. Then I re-researched Jessica and messaged a few of the authors she’d worked with as an editor in the past. I had reservations about how new she was to the agent side of things, but I was drawn to her bubbly personality and how much the authors that worked with her endorsed her. I researched questions I should ask a potential agent and made a two page list, hoping she wouldn’t think I was interrogating her. I also reached out to a couple author mentors, you included Michelle, and asked for opinions and suggestions.

Wednesday finally came. A babysitter had my daughters occupied upstairs and I was lounging back on a pile of pillows on my bed staring at my phone. My stomach was doing flip flops, and it somersaulted when Jessica’s number jingled across the screen. As soon as she said hello, I settled into easy conversation with her.

We hit it off like old friends, getting to know each other in a relaxed but professional manner. She reiterated how much she loved the country feel but modern take on Tom Sawyer. She loved my descriptions and the voice of my novel, and gave me a few page numbers. (I looked them up after the call and was so happy to see some of her favorites were some of mine too!) She answered all my questions with the answers I hoped she would, and even when I threw her a curve ball question, she didn’t falter or seem overly flustered. When we discussed publishers she thought were a good fit, I was ecstatic to hear Scholastic and Harpercollins as the front runners. Our vision for my novel to be something a teacher could hand to a student with confidence and give them some of the same lessons as Tom Sawyer but without the drag down of historical terms and out-of-date slang had me super excited to work with her. She also asked about my other projects and encouraged me to get the rough draft done on a series she couldn’t wait to read and sell.


Even though the call went great, I asked for a week to decide and she was gracious enough to wait. It was an agonizing week of indecision. The other agent that had Dom was from a major agency, and I’d be dumb not to accept them if they offered right? Was I selling out if I did that? But I’d really connected with Jessica. I prayed a lot and felt a pull toward her. I’d all but decided to choose Jessica when I got an encouraging and kind rejection from the other agent. I immediately felt relief and that’s how I knew Jessica was the agent I wanted to work with. I tweeted and then called her, but malfunctioning technology prevented a call until later in the evening. (One of her tweets said “Don’t make any decisions until I call you! I’d hate to lose you over this!”) Her excitement when I told her I’d like to work with her confirmed that I’d made the right decision.

----------------------------------------

E. G. Moore is a poet, freelance writer, and storyteller (the first of which her mom still has recorded on a cassette tape.)   She is a long distance member of For Pete’s Sake Writers Group in Washington, active in an email writer’s response group, and a Rocky Mountain Chapter SCBWI member. She’s also a contributor and blog assistant for YAtopiaHer essay WEARING TERESA’S BOOTS is scheduled to be featured in Hope Paige’s Anthology on loss in 2015. When she’s not telling “Mommy Made stories” to her two daughters or nagging her husband to edit her latest YA or MG manuscript, she can be found off-roading in her suped-up ATV, swimming, or in a long, plot-refreshing bubble bath. She tweets, posts on facebook, and blogs at: www.emilygmoorewriter.blogspot.com         @EGMooreWriter

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

New Adult Fiction- Fad or Fact

Going along with trends in contests, I got to thinking about the New Adult age category. Is it here to stay or a fad?

I can't say I see any drive behind the search for NA manuscripts from the agents. There might be a few more entries coming through in contests this year, but I don't see agents looking for them specifically. When we asked agents to let us know their wishlists for Query Kombat, no one mention wanting more NA.

And I have seen agents on twitter mentioning that NA is still only for romance. Though we get many NA fantasy or NA science fiction, I believe agents are considering that as purely adult. They're ignoring the NA label when they request and looking at those entries as if they are to be sold as adult fiction.

Three years ago, I tried using the NA label as something new and possibly becoming the new hot fad, like dystopian had been before. It flat out didn't work. Over these three years, I haven't noticed a change except for more acceptance of NA being a real thing--for romance only. Yet, there is still no real drive to find NA or any hot demand, that I've been able to detect.

NA Romance inside a fantasy/paranormal world is selling based on my CP, Angie Sandro, sales of four books to Grand Central of her NA Romance Southern Paranormal, (That's a mouthful.) DARK PARADISE and it's sequels.

Another instance, our NA champion in last year's Query Kombat (Cozy Mystery) got a wonderful three book deal, but as an adult story. Max Wirestone's THE UNFORTUNATE DECISIONS OF DAHLIA MOSS sold to Orbit. 

I don't think the NA label has turned into a real and steady market yet...  time will tell whether this grows to include more than romance or falls flat. Keep in mind that's just my unprofessional opinion. Has anyone heard differently?  

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Query Questions with Melissa Jeglinski

Writers have copious amounts of imagination. It's what makes their stories so fantastic. But there's a darker side to so much out of the box thinking. When a writer is in the query trenches, their worries go into overdrive. They start pulling out their hair and imagine every possible disaster.

 


Here to relieve some of that endless worrying is a new series of posts called Query Questions. I'll ask the questions which prey on every writer's mind, and hopefully take some of the pain out of querying. These are questions that I've seen tossed around on twitter and writing sites like Agent Query Connect. They are the type of questions that you need answers for the real expert--agents!

If you have your own specific query question, please leave it in the comments and it might show up in future editions of Query Questions as I plan to rotate the questions.

I've been trying to get an agent from The Knight Agency for forever. I'm so pleased to bring you Melissa Jeglinski!


Is there a better or worse time of year to query?
I’m open to queries all year round.  I try to reply within two weeks, unless I’m out on holiday.

Does one typo or misplaced comma shoot down the entire query?
A small typo or misplaced comma will not make me turn down a project, but a lot of such mistakes warn me that you might not be careful with your work and that is a red flag.

Do you look at sample pages without fail or only if the query is strong?
I will look at the first paragraph without fail because honestly, I know queries are really hard to write.  Sometimes the writing is much better than I would expect from what is presented in a query so I always take at least a smidge of a look. 

Do you have an assistant or intern go through your queries first or do you check all of them?
At The Knight Agency all of our queries go to our submissions email and our submissions coordinator gives them a first look.  However, anything I’ve asked for or that may be in response to an article, contest, or interview I’ve done will be forwarded directly to me. 

Do you keep a maybe pile of queries and go back to them for a second look?
Nope.  I make a decision on queries right away.  It’s the only way to stay on top of them. However, I can sometimes waver on partials.

If the manuscript has a prologue, do you want it included with the sample pages?
Let it be known that I do not like prologues; I find them almost always unnecessary.  However, if you choose to start with one, then they are your first pages and should be included. 

How important are comp titles? Is it something you want to see in a query?
I find many queries include strange or wrong comp titles and I’d rather not see any than think I should be getting one type of read and end up with another. 

Some agencies mention querying only one agent at a time and some say query only one agent period. How often do you pass a query along to a fellow agent who might be more interested?
At The Knight Agency we prefer you query only one of our agents at a time.  We will frequently pass along queries we feel may be perfect for one of our colleagues as we are always in touch with one another about what we are looking for. 

Do you prefer a little personalized chit-chat in a query letter, or would you rather hear about the manuscript?
Feel free to include a bit of chit-chat if we have met before or if you have been referred to me by one of my clients. Otherwise, I just want to know what your manuscript is about.  You’ve got mere paragraphs to grab my attention so don’t waste any space. 

Most agents have said they don’t care whether the word count/genre sentence comes first or last. But is it a red flag if one component is not included?
I will not request a project when  either the genre or word count is not included.  I just can’t read your mind and these are usually the most important elements of a query.   

How many queries do you receive in a week? How many requests might you make out of those?
I don’t see every query I receive as our submissions coordinator does weed out ones for genres I don’t represent or perhaps are obviously just not right for me as I always update her on what I’m looking for.  But I estimate I get about fifty queries per week.  Of those I’ll request one, possibly two partials or complete manuscript. 

Many agents say they don't care if writers are active online. Could a twitter account or blog presence by a writer tip the scales in getting a request or offer? And do you require writers you sign to start one?
I never base my requested on whether the author is active on social media. But I do check to make sure if they have a presence, it’s a positive one.  Once I sign on a client I do encourage them to try their hand at some social media but it’s not a requirement. 

Some writers have asked about including links to their blogs or manuscript-related artwork. I’m sure it’s not appropriate to add those links in a query, but are links in an email signature offensive? 
I wouldn’t turn down a query if there are links in their email signature. However, if the entire query is just a link it becomes an automatic no for me. 

What does ‘just not right mean for me’ mean to you?
When I do use this wording as a response, it means that I didn’t find the project so exciting I couldn’t say no.  It could be the writing, the plot, the ultimate execution. It could also be how the writer presented themselves and maybe I just don’t want to be so detailed in my response.  I often hesitate to give detailed feedback because I think that gives a writer hope that I’ll take a look at the project again when often the issue is not something I think can be easily changed; style, plot—these are big issues.  So I find it better to pass in a more generic matter. I know that can be frustrating to a writer but my workload prevents me from being so detailed.  Also, I find some writers can be downright nasty when I give a true reason for passing and I just don’t need the negativity.  I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been cursed out by complete strangers just by telling them I don’t represent their genre.  So I tread carefully for my own sanity.   

What themes are you sick of seeing?
In Middle Grade age projects it’s the children receiving special powers on their birthday or just being so downtrodden I’m not sure how to connect with them.  For Young Adult it’s a female protagonist so obviously in love with the wrong boy you just want to snap her out of it.  In Romance it’s the simple conflicts that can be solved with a good conversation.  I like complex plots and characters.    

Do you consider yourself a hands-on, editorial type of agent?
Coming from an editorial background I am a very hands-on agent.  I work with my clients to edit their projects while we are on submission to editors.  However, once their manuscript finds a home, I do step back and let the author/editor relationship deal with issues. 

What three things are at the top of your submission wish list?
A Cozy Mystery series with a unique setting and different kind of protagonist (no paranormal.)
A Middle Grade novel featuring a ghost or something quite dark but not horrific—keeping the readership in mind.
A Romantic Suspense series featuring super sexy heroes in some dangerous profession.

What are some of your favorite movies or books to give us an idea of your tastes?
My favorite book of all time is THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND. The plot is complex and the MC’s conflicts are timeless. 
I have really enjoyed Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series and Lisa Kleypas’s Wallflower series.
Recently I have enjoyed WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart and CAROLINA MAN by Virginia Kantra.
My favorite movies include The Winter Soldier (Not usually a super hero fan but Cap is so earnest, what’s not to love), State and Main (quirky cast and plot) and Aliens (the most kick-ass heroine ever.)

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A graduate of Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in English with a writing concentration, Melissa began her career as an editor with Harlequin Enterprises. Looking to work with a variety of authors and genres, she joined The Knight Agency in 2008.  With over two decades experience in the publishing industry, Melissa has fostered her clients to National prominence including a recent Newbery Honor. She is a member of RWA and AAR. Melissa is currently seeking projects in the following areas:  Romance (contemporary, category, historical, inspirational) Young Adult, Middle Grade, Women’s Fiction and Mystery.