Total Queries Answered: 41
***
Form Rejected: 38
The Reasonings....
Just not for me: 11
This isn't a genre I represent: 7
The premise sounds interesting, but I'm not grabbed by the voice in the pages: 5
Themes/Premise too similar to one of my clients' projects: 4
Word count is way too high or too low: 3
I have an angel/demon book already: 3
I'm not sure what the book is about: 2
Query is full of grammatical and spelling errors to the point that it's hard to understand: 1
Writer referred to themselves as the next JK Rowling/Dan Brown/Stephenie Meyer: 1
I'm not sure this is really a query (what's happening?): 1
***
Requested Full: 3
11 comments:
The longer I work at getting an agent, the more rejections - or requests for fulls or partials that end in rejections - I rack up, the more amusing, strangely enough, it is to hear what sorts of queries agents get.
I mean, I wail and pull my hair and assume that I'm doomed (in very high drama) when I'm told that my query was 'too general' because I think of those agents I've already sent to and thusly burned.
But compared to some of the things you guys get... well, reading this makes me laugh AND it shows me that I can fix bland... relatively easily in fact...
I wonder about the voice that agents speak about they are looking for. In YA, do you want the voice to be that of a teenager? In my YA, it's a third person omnicient, so I wonder if that's wrong or if it shouldn't be YA at all and just Urban Fantasy.
Christi--I don't know how Suzie feels about this, but I personally think that omniscient is near impossible to do well in YA...but you said third person, so which is it? And even books told in third person have a voice, no? When I'm looking for voice, I'm looking for the voice of the story, which is often the character narrating it. But if it's omniscient, then the query should be in the same tone and voice as the story is--but I can tell you, omniscient definitely turns me right off.
Great post, Suzie! And umm....seriously. When do you sleep?
Christi- Keep pursuing 3rd person. 1st person is so overdone in the YA genre right now I can't even bring myself to purchase another book that is written in 1st person. If a book is well written it shouldn't matter if you have written it from 1st or 3rd.
LOL!!!! You don't NEED a publicist...everyone already knows about you and your fabulousnesnesness...few extra "esses" for emphasis? :)
It was a great contest but I might just think that because Joanna requested a partial from me. :) I love reading query stats so thanks for this Suzie!
Yes, you do already have a angel/demon book. ;) That's still a pretty high request rate. You work too hard.
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing, and may the Time Goblins be good to you next week. ;)
I must read this series now IF ONLY for the great plot twists that have been promised! I love not being able to guess where something is going. I am easily bored.
Rachel Heston Davis
Up and Writing
www.rachelhestondavis.wordpress.com
wow - how many of those 3 do you usually take on?
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