QK Round 3: MY MONSTER TWIN IS ROTTING versus THE QUEEN OF DRONES

Entry Nickname: My Monster Twin is Rotting
Title: A Savage Miscreation
Word count: 86,000
Genre: YA Gothic Horror

Query: 

When Talmage True was born, people said it was a mercy that his mother died, for the child’s razor-sharp teeth would have torn her apart.  He was born with a full set.  

Now fifteen, Talmage hides his misshapen face from those who condemn him for being unnatural.  But a chance meeting with his estranged uncle, a curiosity peddler hawking the medically grotesque, brings Talmage a spark of hope.  For the first time, Talmage feels a kinship with the bizarre creatures on display--the eight-legged taxidermied kitten and the dog whose body ends in a shell.  After all, Talmage, too, is an aberration. 

Talmage is drawn into his uncle’s dark world and together they create a clockwork boy, covered in the flesh of stolen corpses.  Late one night, the figure comes to life and Talmage--who has never had a friend before--welcomes it as a brother.  But the world is no place for a clockwork boy, especially when its body starts to rust and rot.  Desperate to stay alive, it turns to murder to harvest fresh body parts.  When it sets its sights on Alice, a girl scarred by fire who sees beyond Talmage’s monstrous appearance, Talmage must decide: dismantle his clockwork brother or watch it kill the only person who has ever shown him kindness.

First 250 words: 

I always supposed it would be difficult to kill someone you love.  More than difficult.  It would be impossible, a gut-wrenching, mind-numbing horror that, if achieved, would haunt your soul forever. 

It has haunted me every single waking moment of my wretched life. 

You see, I did.

But if I had the opportunity, I would do it again.  I would tear his body limb from limb, extracting bone from delicate socket and shattering them into a thousand pieces.  From those shards, I would grind what was left of him into powder and then bury it miles apart so that there would be no chance his body could ever come together again.

If only I had. 

That night within a ruined clock tower, his chest weighed against the curve of my back, his breath rasping into my ear.  I dragged him down the rickety stairs, his bare feet knocking against the planks.  Outside, amorphous shadows clawed at the edges of the cobblestone street--only the moon would be witness to my heinous act tonight--and so, without looking back, we slipped into the trees. 

He was not awake and yet his lips began to murmur.  I must move quickly but how to do it?  A swift stone to the temple?  His skull was too thick.  Saw his head off his shoulders?  The spinal column too wiry.  A blade, then, through the center of his heart?

“But he has no heart,” I whispered into the night. 

A fire then, the thought dawned.  Yes, a fire would do.

VERSUS

Entry Nickname: Queen of Drones 

Title: The Chimera’s Snare

Word count: 85K

Genre: YA Sci-fi Postapocalyptic

Query:

June was only a child when a failed scientific experiment spawned an incurable chimaera-virus, dissipating humanity. Now, at sixteen, she lives confined to a bunker at Alpha, one of the twenty-four armored settlements scattered in the ruins of North America. Unlike the other settlers, June is never allowed above ground. Her only link to the outside world is the streaming feed on her holographic monitor; her only companion is her stoic, infuriatingly secretive guard Kyle.

When ravenous, flesh-eating chimaeras destroy Alpha, June’s isolation is shattered. Together with Kyle, she treks across a mutant-infested bayou to the neighboring Omega, where they encounter three other Alpha survivors. But, each person remembers the attack differently and June must race to piece together the truth behind their conflicting memories before the survivors turn on each other and before the monsters strike again. Alpha’s subterranean database could hold the key to reconciling their stories and finding a way to defeat the chimaeras, but with four other settlements already fallen, time is quickly running out.

June and Kyle return to Alpha to search for clues, instead they unravel a past that ties them directly to the horror of chimaeras. June discovers she is a clone, engineered to turn the world into a beehive of zombie-like drones, and Kyle is an assassin sent to stop her. An assassin, whose wiped memories are beginning to resurface. If June isn’t strong enough to override the monstrous program in her DNA, she must persuade Kyle to follow his orders and kill her.

First 250 words:

June felt the vibration in her bones seconds before the emergency siren shrilled to life. The wave of sound passed through the thick layer of earth, slamming against the bunker’s titanium bearings. The walls and ceiling shuddered and the silver chess figurines on the table knocked against each other, June’s careful strategy scrambled into chaos.

In the space of a heartbeat she was up, her ear pressed to the concrete, straining to catch familiar sounds beyond the blaring wail.

The main generator was silent.

We can’t stop the apocalypse, but we can survive it. June scowled at the enclave’s oh-so-optimistic motto flickering on the holographic monitor above her bed. Clinging to a false hope wasn't surviving.

She climbed on the mattress, licked her fingers and reached towards the air-conditioning ducts. Nothing, other than a faint scent of mildew. And apples. In the settlement, apples were a luxury. Wondering which chemical compound could've produced the odor, she didn’t notice when the siren cut out.

For several long moments the walls trapped its echo, fainter with each iteration. But the air conditioner, the generator, and the intercom system didn’t come back online.

“Kyle?” June’s voice pitched high, amplified by her room’s armored carapace. In response, something groaned and from above issued a long, plaintive screeching.

“Kyle, where are you?”

Not in the bunker. Otherwise, he would’ve already responded. Her stomach went weightless; in the last two years, Kyle rarely left her side.

She jumped off the bed and rubbed her bare foot against her calf. The floor was rapidly cooling and this too was wrong.

“Kyle!”

QK Round 3: LIFE SUCK, I'M STUCK IN PODUNK versus FORGET YOU, STALIN, WE:RE OUTTA HERE

Entry Nickname: Life Sucks—I’m Stuck in Podunk

Title: Middle of Knowhere

Word count: 70K

Genre: YA Contemporary

Query:

Truck-driving, tobacco-chewing rednecks. That’s what seventeen-year-old Hailey Nelson pictures when her dad decides to up and relocate their family from vibrant Chicago to the middle of God-Knows-Where. She plans to hate this small, rural three-stoplight town. But what she doesn’t anticipate is falling in love with a Pepto-Bismol colored antiques store and the quirky woman who runs it. A woman who shows her more love and affection than Hailey's always absent, TV journalist mother.

Misery does love company, and when Hailey finds out her parents are getting divorced, anti-social Ryker Evans—a local teen outcast and bearer of hideous posture—is surprisingly supportive and understanding. Probably because his family is even more messed up than hers. When Hailey gets a glimpse of what Ryker could look like with a little TLC, Project Ryker is on. Only she doesn’t expect Ryker to be hot with a capital “H.” Or sweet and fun, writing her songs and taking her dumpster diving for donuts. Now she has more to worry about than her parents’ divorce and her mother’s abandonment. She has her own stupid feelings for Ryker to work through too.

But falling for Ryker could present a whole new set of problems. Because ever since his mother took her own life, Ryker has blamed himself. And if Hailey tries to find out the truth of what happened that day, she could lose him forever.

First 250:

This is what hell looks like.

I stare out the window of Dad’s Ford Explorer. Along the curvy road, dilapidated double-wide trailers that look like they belong in some independent film version of a horror flick, litter the sparse lawns. An old couch, unused tires, and even a rust-stained toilet lay strewn next to one particularly neglected trailer.

“Please tell me no one lives there,” I mutter.

Dad glances in my direction, his mouth set in a firm, disapproving line. “Now, Hailey, try to remember that these people aren’t as fortunate as you and I.” His eyes grind into me, like a pestle trying to turn me into bits of shame. “They do the best they can.”

I sigh and turn back to the window as another trailer comes into view, this one even more unkempt. Amazingly enough, one of the occupants is sitting on the sagging porch steps blowing a cloud of smoke into the humid summer air. The man is grease personified. Like if someone wrung him out, they’d have an entire vat of frying oil. I wrinkle my nose and look down when I make eye contact with him. Suddenly, my nails are desperate for attention.

“How long until Mom joins us?” I ask, digging at one particularly bothersome cuticle.

Mom’s been gone for weeks now. As a broadcast journalist, she jet sets around the world while Dad acts as homemaker extraordinaire. Not that I’m knocking my dad’s skills. He can make a mean BLT.

VERSUS

Entry Nickname: Forget You, Stalin, We're Outta Here

Title: Night Witch

Word Count: 115,000

Genre: Adult Historical Fiction

Query:

While the summer sun shines down in 1941, the Nazi war machine quickly swallows up vast areas of the Soviet Union, and millions of her men. Nadya Vasiltseva’s brother is one of them. Nadya refuses to cave to grief, and instead joins the elite “Night Witches”, an air regiment made up almost entirely of women, as a navigator. For the next four years, coping with the devastating losses of her comrades, two things keep her alive: her skills in the air, and her love for Nikolai, factory worker turned front-line soldier.

Nadya is married – but her husband is Peter, a functionary in Stalin’s Communist Party. Deemed “too important” by the government to risk at the front line, he spends the war years far away from any danger. As Nadya, Nikolai and countless others throw their lives into driving the Nazis back to the Rhine, Peter is anonymously – falsely – denouncing his fellow Soviets to the secret police, sending an untold number to the firing squads.

When Nadya finds out, it is clear what Peter would do to Nikolai, and to her, in retaliation for their affair. Their service to the Motherland offers no protection. In fact, now they’re targets of Stalin’s twisted paranoia: that the evil capitalist West has brainwashed all veterans who fought in Germany. Having escaped Peter for good, Nadya and her new husband Nikolai now battle terror, oppression and famine. If they stay in the Soviet Union, they’ll starve. But if they try to leave, they too could face the firing squad…along with their two children.    

First 250 Words:  

         

Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. September 1940

"I’m terribly sorry, Comrade. I seem to have two left feet today.”

I looked into the face of a tall man wearing a beige overcoat, who was trying to jostle his way to a place near a pole on the metro. The expression on his face was wide-eyed contrition. Very different from the usual response in this sort of situation, which was “Get out of my way, you clumsy oaf,” with ear-burning cursing that only Russians are immune to.

I tucked my feet under my seat so that he could move past without stepping on me again, and smiled at him as he stuffed himself between two men. Both of their doughy faces (Party men, surely, to be that well-fed) melted into looks of bitter resentment aimed at him. The smell of unwashed body contrasted sharply with the elegant station platform I saw out the window, lit with sparkling chandeliers. It was a sight I saw every afternoon on my way home from the flight navigation school where I took classes. It barely registered amidst my floating thoughts about the day’s occurrences, the loveless marriage I was stuck in, and which of my fellow metro riders were listening to conversations, compiling denunciations for the secret police while pretending to read Pravda.

I caught the eye of the tall man again. He was quite handsome, in his clean and pressed coat and tie; I couldn’t reconcile the body-odour stink with him. When he returned my smile, I noticed his eyes. 

QK Round 3: A THOUSAND MILES ASTRAY versus IF YOU GIVE A GIRL A REDO

Entry Nickname: A Thousand Miles Astray

Title: PERMANENTLY UNDECLARED

Word Count: 60,000

Genre: NA Contemporary

Query:

Eighteen-year-old Lotus Adams has no interest in college. The classes are boring, the frat boys are slobbery, and the beer is downright nasty. She’d rather be on the open road in her dad’s vintage RV, Flora, but without some costly repairs, Flora is unlivable. Her mom doesn’t want her to go traipsing around the country like her long-gone dad, so she makes Lotus a deal. Finish her first year of college with a 3.5 GPA, and mom will pay for all Flora’s repairs.

For eighteen-year-old Aaron Kim, the anonymity of college is a relief. After finding his girlfriend in bed with a friend, he threw himself into homework, work, and working out. Aside from his family and his best friend, he’s cut himself off from everyone. But after meeting free-spirited Lotus, he wonders if he was wrong to drop out of life. Already committed to his education, he decides to give love another chance.

Only Lotus knows their time together is limited. When she finishes the year and gets Flora, she’s never going back to college, never going back to live with her workaholic, absent mom. Instead of school, she’ll tour the country, and Aaron will stay at college. With freshman year ticking to a close, Aaron has to stop Lotus from dropping out of school and their relationship. If he fails, they’ll lose each other forever.

First 250:

The grassy quad stretched out in front of me, an endless sea of students adorned in Crandall State’s colors. I was too busy sweating my ass off to look for my new roommate, so I plopped down on the edge of the lawn.

“Like sheep,” I muttered. This was too much. I needed space and the open road. I needed to know where dad was, not waste another year at school.

“What’s that?” asked the guy next to me.

“We’re sheep. What’s the point of all this, anyway? Some form of torture?”

“I think they call it ‘freshman orientation,’ actually.” He sounded amused and I sneaked a peek at him, wondering why he was wasting his breath. He stared at me from under black Ray-Bans, his white hat turned backwards. Dumb. “I take it you aren’t a fan of higher learning?”

“It was my mom’s idea. You know, if that hat was on the right way, you wouldn’t need the sunglasses.”

He smiled broadly, his shiny perfect teeth flashing at me. “I always need the sunglasses. This way, the hat stays out of my way.”

Ridiculous. “Then why wear the hat at all?”

“Bad hair day.” Everything in me said turn away, kill this conversation now.

“What, out of mousse before the first day?”

Dammit.

“Maybe I misplaced my flat iron.” He yanked off the hat and pulled his hand through glossy black hair. It fell into place immediately.

Not a bad hair day.

VERSUS

Entry Nickname: If You Give a Girl a Redo

Title: The Art of Almost

Word count: 104,000

Genre: Upmarket Women’s Fiction

Query:

32-year-old Anna Marin already carries too many regrets. She’s still pining for the one who got away and can’t forgive herself for the fallout from her mother’s stroke. On a flight home to marry the wrong man, Anna realizes she must take control of her life and stop living in the past.

But when she wakes as her 20-year-old self en route to her semester abroad in Australia, it seems fate has a different idea: a second chance with Charlie Beckham, the older man she was drawn to but never pursued. This time Anna falls hard, and being with Charlie is even better than what she’s imagined.

Yet if Anna’s history plays out as it once did, in a few months her mother will suffer a debilitating stroke. And Anna’s baby sister will begin a downward spiral from which she never recovers. When Anna’s efforts to change the future from across the Pacific fail, she must make an impossible decision: walk away from the love of her life—again—or stay with Charlie and abandon her family.

Adding to Anna’s distress, her on-and-off college boyfriend (and future fiancé) flies to Australia to win her back. Seeing him as the boy she fell in love with, Anna finally realizes she also played a part in their relationship’s unraveling. As he shows a side Anna’s never seen, and it becomes clear Charlie cannot leave Australia, Anna wonders whether part of her mission is rewriting her first love story.

First 250 words:

I tried to steady my breathing as Nick lowered down on one knee. A cool spring breeze blew petal confetti toward us, so gently that bits of white and pink remained suspended in midair before fluttering to the ground. Shushing spread through the people surrounding us; suddenly it made sense why our family and friends all happened to show up at the same benefit. Even the river, humming low and deep like a bass line just beyond the hotel courtyard, slowed to a crawl.

And yet I couldn’t hit pause, take a second to reflect on how I’d let it get so far.

“Anna Jane, you are my past and my future. You’re all of my best memories and the center of every great moment to come. And so to you Ipresent—” here he paused to allow sufficient time to appreciate his pun—“this ring. It’s time we made it official!”

The choreography was perfect.

I tried to speak, to tell him it felt like I was disappearing. That putting a ring on my finger would sever the last threads tying me to the earth. But the words went sliding down some shadowy passage, piling on top of all the other things I never said.

Nick’s speech kept going, though not a word registered. I searched the gowns and tuxedoes for a flash of crimson and looked up. My eyes met my sister Claire’s and I immediately regretted it. Hers held a question; mine, a plea.

I had to look away or I’d cry. Or scream. 

QK Round 3: GUILT BY ASSOCIATION versus A GIRL AND HER SERIAL KILLER

Entry Nickname: Guilt by Association

Title: Skeleton Key

Word Count: 80,000

Genre: Adult Mystery

Query:

As the daughter of a safecracker and burglar, Foley Munion is used to police scrutiny, but this time she’s their prime suspect. For the second time, robbers have hit a bank where Foley helped install the security system. During the first bank heist, Foley’s business partner was taken hostage, her charred remains found months later.

With her locksmith shop already on the brink of failure, this police investigation could be the blow that closes her doors, ruining the company she’s spent years establishing. To make matters worse, her felon father has broken out of prison. Though he claims he’s escaped to find out who’s framing her for the bank jobs, Foley suspects he’s really after one last score.

While the authorities focus on linking her to the robberies and her partner’s death, Foley hunts for the real perpetrator. The more she digs, the more she questions what she’s being told by the police, FBI, and her father. By the time Foley uncovers who’s setting her up, her father’s been trapped by the killer. Foley’s lock-picking skills come in handy during her rescue attempt but, once freed, her father refuses to abandon his quest for the stolen money. If Foley helps him, she becomes the thief some already assume she is, putting both her career and life at risk. If she doesn’t, her father may end up dead.

  

First 250:

Foley Munion glared at the name on the window: Manley and Munion Lock and Key. The last time she had the plate glass replaced, she should’ve told the painter to leave off Allison’s name. Even if it still brought in the occasional customer. Foley opened the door and sighed. The way business was going, the point could be moot by the end of the month.

The small lobby was colder than the parking lot. Foley nudged up the thermostat then lifted the walk-through section of counter. Metal shavings from the key grinder sparkled on the worn linoleum. Inside the back room, she froze, the nape of her neck prickling. 

The heater whooshed on. Foley flinched, then took a slow turn. The bins of wire and alarm components sat undisturbed. But something was off. Hurrying to the safe, she crouched and spun the dial. When the lock clicked, she yanked the handle and pawed through the contents. Money untouched. Schematics secure. She leaned forward to sniff the locking mechanism. No tell-tale odor of oil or graphite. So why the heebie-jeebies?Standing, she closed her eyes and breathed deep.

Oh no. That smell. Soft, but with a slight edge. Partagas.

Her dad’s favorite cigar. A faint scuff came from the left. Her eyes popped open. Unlit cigar in hand, he stepped from the storeroom.

“Dad.” Foley’s right eyelid twitched while she did parole math. Even with good behavior, he shouldn’t be out yet. “Tell me you didn’t escape again.”

VERSUS

Entry Nickname: A Girl and Her Serial Killer

Title: The Confidant

Word count: 62k

Genre: NA Thriller

Query:

18-year-old Stella Stokes has a secret: Gideon, a dashing English serial killer in the novels she writes, actually talks to her. He’s been by her side, offering somewhat twisted peanut gallery commentary, advice, and affection for every pathetic turn in her adolescent life. Sure, some of his darker suggestions scare her, she’s never been worried about his presence. After all, she’s the only one who can interact with him; he can’t really kill anyone.

The summer following high school graduation, Stella and her best friend, supernatural-obsessed, trans-man Quinn, decide to take a few weeks to explore California. However, their first stop at an idyllic beach town isn’t quite as calming as they would’ve hoped: a local’s prank gone horribly wrong leaves Quinn and Stella standing dumbstruck over four dead bodies. As they clean up the mess and flee town, Stella can’t help but notice Gideon’s signature all over the murders.

Now, Stella has no choice but figure out what Gideon is: ghost, demon, byproduct of mental illness, or something else entirely. Because if Gideon is more than an imaginary friend, not only could he really begin a murder spree, but maybe he really could force her to kill with him. As bodies stack up around them, Stella has to keep one step ahead of the authorities, keep Quinn safe, and most importantly, prove that the writer is more powerful than the creation.

First 250 words:

"You're barmy if you don't think a paid professional screwing up your haircut is enough reason to kill them.”

I open my drawer and snatch the first two pieces of water-friendly fabric I see. The unsolicited advice comes from Gideon, who lies on my bed tossing a dragon figurine from hand to hand. We’ve been talking for five minutes, and I’m so done.

“No, Gideon, you’re…whatever you just said if you think I'm going to murder someone because she cut my hair too short,” I say. “Besides, you’re English. Your people would rather suffer in silence than complain about a subpar haircut. Turn around.”

Gideon rolls his eyes and turns his back to me. I slip into my bikini.

“This figurine is a good density. An ideal bludgeoning weapon—”

“Don’t change the subject.”

I reach for my cover-up, but stop as Gideon wraps his arms around my waist.

“C’mon, poppet. Have I steered you wrong before?”

I resist a smile as he presses his lips to my throat. The moment almost lasts, but a thunk from inside my bathroom brings me back to reality: my best friend Quinn is changing in there, and when he comes out, he won’t be able to see Gideon. 

After all, I'm the only person who can interact with him. 

I pull away and return my figurine to the shelf, hoping Gideon gets the message. His words roll around my mind, and my eyes linger on the golden dragon.

It is dense.

Query Kombat Round Three Matchups

By this time, all entries that were knocked out should have all their requests unlocked. If you've been knocked out and you're requests aren't unlocked, please contact the blog host.

Below you will find Round 3 match-ups. Trust me when I say this is going to be a tough round to vote. Just matching these entries was tough. Best of luck judges. You have your work cut out of you.

Round three will be hosted here on my blog. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please leave a comment or tweet me @Michelle4Laughs.

Please return revised entries to the Query Kombat email by Friday at 8:00 pm Eastern. This will be the last chance to revise.

Round 3 Match-ups

Give a Girl a Redo v. A Thousand Miles

Paper Girl/Yesterday v. Librarians/Curses/Mysteries

Middle Grade Leverage v. Eavesdropping Monkies

Fake Heirs v. Elephant Never Forget

Guinness v. Best(iary)

Guilt by Association v. A Girl and her Serial Killer

Life Sucks-I'm Stuck in Podunk v. Forget You Stalin

My Monster is Rotting Twin v. Queen of Drones

Good Luck Kombatants!

Query Questions with Eric Smith

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.

There's a break in the action as Query Kombat is over on the guys' blog this week, so I can squeeze in a Query Questions! Eric Smith is newly joined PS Literary as an associate agent. Here are his answers to questions about query slush!

Does one typo or misplaced comma shoot down the entire query? Eh, not for me. We're all human, you know? I've abused many commas and ellipses in my day. What I would avoid, are the followup apology emails once you've realized you sent a query over with a small, insignificant typo. Missed a quotation mark? Tiny grammar mistake? Don't worry about it. 

Agents get a lot of email. A lot. And if it's going to the general query box, all the agents are going to see it. So we're getting emails directed at every agent, not just us. So those apologetic emails really aren't necessary. Your work will certainly stand on its own, with or without that comma. 

 

Do you look at sample pages without fail or only if the query is strong?  If the query is strong, I'll generally request a partial or a full manuscript right away. I'm a fast reader, and get cranky if I'm reading something that's amazing and can't finish it because I asked for the first 50 pages. I'm not overly concerned with a query that's written poorly. I'm more interested in the synopsis and the work. Query writing is hard! I get it. 

 

Do you have an assistant or intern go through your queries first or do you check all of them? I go through all my queries personally. If you're spending that much time writing a carefully written pitch email, you better believe I'm going to give you the attention you deserve. 

 

Do you keep a maybe pile of queries and go back to them for a second look? I do! I keep a handful in a special folder in the ol' Gmail. Sometimes something will strike me immediately and I need to have it. Other times, I have to think about the project. Have I seen something like it before? Am I the right person to work on that particular book? If not, do I know someone? 

 

If the manuscript has a prologue, do you want it included with the sample pages? Sure! 

 

How important are comp titles? Is it something you want to see in a query? I like to see a few. I'm one of those people who fall for marketing lines like "this book meets that book!" or "this movie mashed with this television show!" I've purchased more books than I care to admit based solely on clever marketing blips. Get me hooked with one.

 

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? I've done it a handful of times since I've started. Sometimes an author has an amazing platform and book idea, but I'm just not the right person. Or it's a genre I'm not passionate about. Better to pass it off, than to take on something I wouldn't give the amount of love it deserves, you know?

 

Do you prefer a little personalized chit-chat in a query letter, or would you rather hear about the manuscript? I like personalized. Let's just be real people. Be nice, be friendly, tell me about your book. Although please don't send an email that says "Dear Agent" or something like that. 

 

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? Not really. It doesn't take much for me to open up a manuscript, and let Word tell me how many words are in the manuscript. It's a good thing to include though. I definitely want to know how long the book is and what genre its in, so I know whether or not it's for me.

 

Should writers sweat the title of their book (and character names) or is that something that is often changed by publishers? I wouldn't fret over it. The publisher might change it, the agent might have some ideas. 

 

How many queries do you receive in a week? How many requests might you make out of those? Hm. The agency gets a ton, but since I'm a new agent, I'll get a couple of dozen a week. Sometimes I'll request one or two full reads. 

 

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? You know, I think it depends, really. If the author is sending a book over that suggests they're an expert in a particular field that they are writing about, then yes, I do want to see some kind of online platform and evidence of their following. If you say you have a popular social-media-blog-to-book type idea, I'm going to want to see numbers and proof that there is a following and a desire for that book.

But when it's fiction... I think that matters less. The work is what's important. I'd ask my author to work on an online presence if they didn't have one though.

 

If a writer makes changes to their manuscript due to feedback should they resend the query or only if material was requested? If the changes are significant, I'd take a second look. I've already done that. 

 

What bio should an author with no publishing credits include? Just a bit about yourself. What do you do? Why do you write? Some authors are teachers, booksellers, librarians. That's all interesting. Some work in the fields that have inspired their fiction. Little details like that are important. 

 

What does ‘just not right mean for me’ mean to you? That it's a book the agent just isn't right for. I love YA, sci-fi, fantasy... but if someone sends me a non-fiction book proposal about a topic I don't know much about, even if the book is fantastic, I might have to pass. It's important for your agent to be as passionate about your idea as you are. 

 

Do you consider yourself a hands-on, editorial type of agent? Sure am. I sent three edits letters today. I also have an awesome intern at the agency that helps me look through our manuscripts. 

 

What’s the strangest/funniest thing you’ve seen in a query? People who pitch saying they're fans of my Philadelphia-based blog... when they aren't from Philadelphia. Anywhere near it. Don't pad an email with faux compliments, you guys. 

 

What three things are at the top of your submission wish list? Diverse authors writing YA, anything sci-fi and fantasy, and I'd LOVE some more historic YA. I love that stuff. Your book should make me have to Google stuff while reading it. 

 

What are some of your favorite movies or books to give us an idea of your tastes? Hm. Movies: Almost Famous, High Fidelity, When Harry Met Sally. I like rom-coms that make me laugh and cry. Books... that's tough. Anything steampunk. Classics like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. A wide breadth of YA. It it makes me cry, I love it.

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Eric Smith is an associate literary agent at P.S. Literary, with a love for young adult books, sci-fi, fantasy, and literary fiction. He began his publishing career at Quirk Books in Philadelphia, working social media and marketing on numerous books he absolutely adored. Eric completed his BA in English at Kean University, and his MA in English at Arcadia University. A frequent blogger, his ramblings about books appear on BookRiot, The Huffington Post, and more. A published author with Quirk Books and Bloomsbury, he seeks to give his authors the same amount of love his writing has received. Which is a lot. If you would like to send a query to Eric, please click or tap here to review our Submission Guidelines.

The Word on Self-Publishing and Querying Agents

A friend asked my opinion about the large number of writers who seem to self-publishing while looking for an agent. I've seen many agents mention this trend, and not in a good way. My advice is to think long and hard about what you want from publishing and don't jump into it. But I think, the word needs to come from the voice of someone more experienced. I asked my agent, Sarah Negovetich, to give the agent side of this topic.

Thanks for having me, Michelle.

I want to talk for a minute about self-publishing. And while we’re getting started, I want to put it out there on the table that I happen to love self-publishing. It’s great that authors have so many options for how to get their work to readers. It’s great that people who want to have control over the process have a way to do it. It’s perfect that niche topics and genres that aren’t a great match for the traditional publishing model can still be read by the people who love them. And, I myself self-published my debut novel. So let there not be any confusion as to how I feel about self-publishing.

There, now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about the huge self-publishing conundrum that this opportunity has created. If you follow the news in the literary world it’s hard not to see the amazing stories of authors who first decided to self-publish and then found themselves on the fast track to super stardom with a traditional deal in their pocket. Hugh Howey, Amanda Hocking, Cora Carmack. All authors who self-published and are now hitting best sellers lists left and right.

It’s tempting for authors who may be striking out in the query trenches (or just terrified of jumping in) to self-publish first and then hope the big deal shows up. But the people listed above are the exception. An anomaly in the vast world of publishing. For the vast majority of self-published authors that never happens. And that’s when I end up with their query in my inbox telling me about this amazing book they put on Amazon that they think could be huge if only a big publisher was willing to get behind them.

Sadly, now it’s too late. You see, what isn’t spoken about is that in order for those big names to become a blip on the radar, they were already selling massive amounts of books on their own. And they didn’t pitch to the big publishers; the big publishers came to them.

If you are only selling a handful of books a month, you’ve already created a case study for a big publisher that says your book isn’t what readers want. And that may or may not be true, but why would an editor risk sinking money into a project that has already shown a low reader interest? And even if your book is doing fairly well, most editors aren’t going to be interested. They have to believe that they can help your book reach an audience it isn’t already finding. Decent book sales alone are not enough to land you that deal.

In fact, as a general rule I would say that if you haven’t sold at least six thousand books in the past year, you’re chances of getting the attention of a publisher or agent are slim to none. Yep, that’s a lot of books. Nope, very few people sell that many. Again, self-publishers landing traditional deals is the exception.

Here is my plea to all the authors out there considering self-publishing. Understand that you can’t plan to be the exception. Self-publishing is not a short cut to getting an editor or agent’s attention. If you make your book available for sale on a retailer’s website, it is published, and there is no undoing that. So think very carefully before you self-publish that manuscript. Decide if that’s what you really want to do and if you can be satisfied with that route. Self-publishing is not a means to an end with a big fat traditional deal sitting at the bottom of the rainbow. It’s a publishing decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly. 

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Sarah Negovetich knows you don't know how to pronounce her name and she's okay with that.

Her first love is Young Adult novels, because at seventeen the world is your oyster. Only oysters are slimy and more than a little salty; it's accurate if not exactly motivational. We should come up with a better cliché.

Sarah divides her time between writing YA books that her husband won’t read and working with amazing authors as an agent at Corvisiero Literary Agency. Her life’s goal is to be only a mildly embarrassing mom when her kids hit their teens.

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RITE OF REJECTION

Before You Stands the Future

Straight-laced, sixteen-year-old Rebecca can’t wait for her Acceptance. A fancy ball, eligible bachelors, and her debut as an official member of society. Instead, the Machine rejects Rebecca. Labeled as a future criminal, she’s shipped off to a life sentence in a lawless penal colony.

A life behind barbed wire fences with the world’s most dangerous people terrifies Rebecca. She reluctantly joins a band of misfit teens in a risky escape plan, complete with an accidental fiancé she’s almost certain she can learn to love. 

But freedom comes with a price. To escape a doomed future and prove her innocence, Rebecca must embrace the criminal within. Amazon

Query Kombat Round 2

Here we go! Round 2!

Hop on over to SC's and Mike's blog to see the match-ups and entries! This round lasts until June 17th at 8 pm.

On Wednesday the hosts will call out for extra judges to come and break ties, or in case of extra close votes to try and get a more decisive margin. 

The entry with the most votes for Victory moves forward to the third round on June 21st! Winners may send in a revised entry to the Query Kombat email by Friday, June 19 at 8:00 pm. Use the same format. Kombatants will not have any more chances to revise for the rest of the contest.

Please read this post to remind yourselves of the rules and guidelines of commenting and judging if you have forgotten. Below I've reposted the main ideas:


Reminders for the Entrants:

No commenting on your own entries!!!!!! Not until the last day of the round, so Wednesday. If there is a problem with your entry, shout out to us on twitter as soon as you can. If you don't have a Twitter, you may comment on your entry telling me the mistake.

Also, we tried our hardest to make the match-ups as fair as possible and against as similar stories as possible. But, obviously, this is impossible to do perfectly and some match-ups may seen very random. We apologize for this but it's an evil of the system.

Kombatants should comment on 6 other match-ups to help share the love around!

Reminders for the Judges:

Wait until after one of us hosts comments on each entry first and reply to that comment to cast your votes. Try making your votes objective instead of subjective (but if you really love an entry subjectively, don't even feel bad about saying it was a subjective vote - subjectivity rules!).

Make sure to post under your nicknames!


Reminders for Everyone:


Try not to comment until after one of us hosts have made the first comment!