So I'm not done. I have 200 queries left--I've done over 250. The rest of you will have to wait until later.
(This goes to show the time difference that writing 1-2 lines takes)
In the mean time, I have lost count of what I've requested. There was at least one YA, one MG, and one adult.
Strangely enough I've seen a lot of New Adult, which is not a genre. It's an age group, and even then it's not really a thing. For the record, I don't believe in New Adult, because I can't go into a bookstore and ask a bookseller what a great New Adult book is. Or I could but they would have no idea what to recommend. Also, I can't call editors and say I have a New Adult book because most will say "a what?"
You're better off giving the genre--ie where will it be on a shelf in a store--and then say it has crossover potential.
I also got a lot of queries with male protagonists for YA. If you're writing this, know that you have to be able to write a relatively realistic guy and he has to be swoonworthy. Teen girls and Adult women who wish they were still teens reading this books need to love him. (And yest I include myself in the latter category, sort of).
That's all I have for now. You'll get another update later.
Friday, September 14, 2012
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Five Random Things About Suzie
21 comments:
Update appreciated. I'm in that latter women-still-reading-teen-books category, too. :)
I'm one of the people you gave feedback to, and I just wanted to thank you very much for taking the time! I figured your email box was cluttered enough and that a comment here would be better :)
Thank you for your feedback :) I really appreciate it and will definitely implement your suggestions. Thank you :)
Just wanted to hop on the feedback appreciation train! Thanks!
I'm sorry it's taking you so much time and trouble to give feedback to your queriers. But I'm sure your comments mean the world to the writers who've worked months (and years) on their manuscripts. Hopefully, karma will reward you with an amazing book/new client soon! :-)
I like your approach to New Adult to say it has crossover potential.
Thank you for taking the time to do this.
It will be great to get the feedback!
But also, it is a nice way of showing writers that agents just do not have the time to give feedback like this on every single query letter.
I completely understand why you can't give feedback on queries, but I received mine yesterday and it was incredibly helpful. Thank you very much for taking the time this week to give even a one sentence explanation. It was greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for this! Your feedback made my day!
Christi Corbett
Thanks for the info. :) I am not someone who queried this week, but I have a question about writing from a male POV in YA, if that's okay. :) What if your writing for a male audience?
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond for queries! I will take time to think about the revisions you requested and resubmit in the next couple of weeks.
@ Rachel: My understanding is that it's better not to write for a male audience because the YA market is primarily female. Whatever book you write should appeal to females (although it may also appeal to men.) Otherwise, it will be difficult to sell. Still, I'd love to hear Suzie's thoughts on the issue if she responds.
Thanks Suzie. You're awesome for doing this!
Thank you so much for giving us the chance to get some personal feedback. Your comments made my day. Thanks again and again!
Thanks Kayley. :) (I was kinda' worried that would be the answer.)
Thank you for taking the time to give feedback, Suzie! You made my week! I really appreciated your comments. :-)
Your feedback was extremely helpful. I'm committed to my writing, and I hope to one day send you a manuscript so gripping you forget what train to take home. =]
Thank you so much for the feedback. It was truly helpful (as it was the last time you did this).
Thank you very much for the feedback. Even those two sentences were helpful and gave me a great sense of direction to improve. I understand why you can't do that all the time, but I appreciate that I had the opportunity to receive that feedback.
@Rachel, okay so this is tough. I don't want to say that their aren't YA books for a male audience out there. YOU by Chuck Benoit is a great example of an awesome book that is perfect for a male audience.
But did you see that PW article about who's reading YA? (http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/53937-new-study-55-of-ya-books-bought-by-adults.html) This means a YA book written for a male audience is going to have a harder road.
Thanks Suzie! I will check out that article. :)
I truly want to thank Suzie! The clarification she provided for my query was helpful ten-fold! Wow, it's really making a difference.
Thanks so much!
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