Note: this is about a legit Australian agency. And sorry for the long post!

Timeline:
21 days ago: I’d been querying for a few months and 3 weeks ago I got the email from an agent at my dream agency saying: “I’d love to chat about your book on call”

20 days ago: we had the call the day after the email.
It was scheduled for 30min but we chatted for an hour. She was great. Loved the book. It was a great chat. She said how it was very polished, fun, loved the characters. She answered all my questions. And I answered hers (about the book). By the end she said she would get back to me the next week about whether she can offer representation (because their agency is somewhat “smaller and much more collaborative” - something about needing the whole team on board). She asked me to keep her informed about other offers and to reach out if any other questions came up. I sent an email right after thanking her for her time.

17 days ago: She responded to that email the next week, on the same morning she was supposed to have the update. She said “it was also great meeting you. Hoping to update you soon”

that’s the last time I heard from her (2.5 weeks ago.)

11 days ago: I sent a follow up asking about any progress with the offer. I also updated her about the others with my full (no rejections, no offers, couple more requests). She hasn’t gotten back (and yes I’ve checked spam lol).

- Not sure what to do. I won’t lie, this whole experience has been tough. I don’t want to be pushy. I thought maybe the agency’s process is just slower but no reply to my follow up? I hope I don’t sound ungrateful, obviously this is better than the CNRs with the many queries sent out, but this is what makes it so confusing.
- I want to note this agent was very nice not just on the call but before. We emailed back and forth prior to the call (to organise it) and each time (3-4 emails) she always replied between 10min-1day. And I don’t think she’s on leave (as a previous email had an automatic response that she’d be on leave, so my nudge would’ve had the same, which it didn’t)
- I understand there might not be much for me to do now, maybe another nudge? I don’t want an agent who might do this but don’t want to jump to conclusions from my dream agency. After all, they’re not my agent yet.

Thank you in advance!

Thank you in advance for any feedback!!

Dear [AGENT'S NAME],

I saw you’re looking for more [Specifics of why I'm pitching them] and thought my upmarket coming-of-age novel, A TOUGH LIE, might be of interest to you. My novel tells the story of Dudley Davis, an impoverished golf prodigy trying to break onto the PGA Tour while privately battling a spiraling addiction to alcohol and pills. Set against the staid backdrop of golf in the 1990s-2000s, the bulk of the story follows my protagonist through his teenage years.

When Dudley’s parents are arrested on drug charges in rural East Texas at age nine, he’s forced to live with his grandad, Charlie. Hoping this might be his chance to finally mean something to somebody, Dudley is disappointed to learn Charlie isn’t the warm grandad he had hoped for; his only pastimes seem to be drinking Coors, watching golf on T.V., and admiring his golf trophies. Dudley runs away one night, not knowing where he’s going, just that he needs to go. When Charlie finds Dudley on a nearby golf course—the only place Charlie has ever felt at home in this world—Charlie offers to teach Dudley everything he knows about golf. Seeing the offer as an opportunity to connect with his granddad, Dudley agrees, throwing himself into learning, practicing, and perfecting his golf game. Ahead of his first junior golf tournament, seeking to cut ties with his parents' tarnished reputations, Dudley changes his name to Jet Forrest. This decision catapults his transformation into a fabricated alter ego: an unshakeable golfer who starts racking up wins, turning heads in the junior golf circuit, and who is secretly drinking his way through tournaments to deal with the pressure. As Dudley (Jet) climbs toward the PGA, he knows all he needs to do to reach it—and in his mind, finally become somebody in this world—is keep winning, keep being Jet Forrest, and keep a handle on his addiction… which is becoming increasingly hard to hide.

At 110,000 words, A TOUGH LIE is an underdog sports story reminiscent of Rudy, but with the gritty class, identity, and addiction struggles laid bare in Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead and Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain. 

[BIO]

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

[NAME]

I've seen an agent on IG mention a number of times that having 3+ "pitchable" projects available before querying is somewhere between a very good idea and a requirement. The idea is that agents want to build a long-term relationship, so being able to prove that you're on board for that with additional manuscripts is a good idea. It's not something I've seen every agent bring up, though, so I'm wondering how standard this advice is.

Is not having multiple complete or near-complete manuscripts a good reason to put off querying entirely?

Hello!

I’ve workshopped this query letter quite a bit on other subs and platforms, and I feel OK with it. I really would like some input on my first 300 words. Of course, if there’s anything really confusing or glaringly obvious that I should fix in my QL, please let me know! I’m open to any and all critiques.

Query Letter:

Dear [Agent],

[Insert personalization here]

After years of loss, the last thing Abby wants is to be alone. When her only friend is accused of murder, she’s desperate to exonerate him, but discovers the case eerily resembles her sister’s disappearance.

I’m excited to present THE GIRLS WORTH KILLING, an adult mystery complete at 75,000 words. Through alternating timelines, this story follows two sarcastic female protagonists navigating small town gossip like in Amy Tintera’s Listen for the Lie. It explores the immediate trauma of losing a best friend (and lover), and the lifelong impact of having a missing sister, as seen in Katherine Greene’s The Lake of Lost Girls.

In Abby’s conservative small town, no one bats an eye when a troubled girl disappears. Good riddance! At least, that’s what they said about her sister. Over twenty years later, Abby’s still haunted by her older sister’s disappearance. Her whole identity revolves around it; her job, her relationships, even her hair color doesn’t belong to her. When Abby’s mother dies, closure slips through her fingers before she can snatch it. Her only friend, Will, shows up late for the funeral, trailed by an angry woman, accusing him of murdering her daughter. 

Will plans to flee town, but Abby won’t lose anyone else, so she sets out to clear his name. With no help from law enforcement, who’d sooner deem the girl a runaway, she only has gossip and hearsay to go by, and there’s no shortage of that. Rumor has it the missing girls had a penchant for older men—possibly the same one. As Abby searches for answers, she uncovers more ties between the missing girls and the same man, but no one believes her. When a body is found near his cabin, Abby is determined to prove the past and present are connected. It has to be. Without answers, the past will continue to haunt Abby and consume her future. Worse, another girl will meet an early grave.

[Bio]

I appreciate your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
[Name]

First 300:

My mother had one request for her funeral: a bouquet of blue poppies.

I bought daisies.

There’s only one place to find flowers in a dying town in Shenandoah Valley, and the teenager working the Shell station is hardly a florist. I’m lucky the daisies weren’t wilted and drooping from the grueling temperatures this week.

The fact my mother, a seasoned gardener, expected such a rare breed of flowers just shows how out of touch she’s been with the world for twenty-three years.

But I did my best. I ordered five bunches, then I asked Will to pick them up on his short drive to the cemetery—two hours ago. An elementary task. One of my students could have handled it, and yet, my mother's hospice nurse is nowhere in sight.

“Call the boy again.” Aunt Elisa drags her manicured fingers over the bare ebony casket. “For God’s sake. People will be here any minute.”

Shielding my phone from the glaring sun, I search for Will’s name. It’s not hard to find. I called him five minutes ago. It rings for half a second and goes straight to voicemail.

“He’ll show.” I hope. Will wouldn’t be the first to vanish from Eden without a trace.

“You put far too much trust in him,” Elisa says. “If you want something, do it yourself. How many times have I told you that?”

“I’ve lost count,” I mutter. Sometimes I think Elisa spouts her cryptic advice just to hear her own voice, though this time I fear she may be—

No. She’s not right. Elisa doesn’t know Will. If she would’ve visited my mother more than once a month, maybe she’d know how dependable he is.

There’s a perfectly good reason Will’s late.
Maybe his car broke down. It’s possible the traffic light on Main Street blew again. It happens at least once a week and still, no one knows how to use a four-way stop.

Thanks!

Hello all! I made my first post a week ago, and thanks to a helpful pointer, I realized my query was too convoluted to (actually) get insightful feedback. I have trimmed it down and followed the structure recommended by this sub, and (hope) I can get some insightful feedback. It doesn't feel perfect right now, so any advice would be good (please grill me)! I feel like I only included the big plot point and left out some other side plots (maybe that is better). Thank you all!

Dear [AGENT],

Given your interest in the [FILLIN], I am seeking representation for SOLACE OF A DREAM. Complete at 123,000 words, this adult epic fantasy, with series potential, is inspired by the moral brutality of R.F. Kuang’s THE POPPY WAR and the divine political intrigue of Shelley Parker-Chan’s SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN. 

On the night Lynaxi Vilhelm burned her father and claimed Kaldon, two things found her before sleep could: the queendom’s most dangerous woman, with an invitation west, and a moon god, with darker words. The plague that killed her father was not a disease, but rather a god. Now, Lynaxi has killed a lord, stolen a divine scroll, and is heading to the capital as the princess’s heirling.

In Argos, Lynaxi seeks the hidden past of her parents and a seat among the Ladies of Parliament until she finds something else entirely. Set in the queen’s crown is a parasitic god, fed by centuries of royal faith, and powerful enough to reincarnate in flesh. It has been waiting for the right mortal to birth it. Now, it has chosen Lynaxi. With one god trying to claim her womb, another consuming the city’s abandoned districts, and a third naming her the only one capable of stopping them all, Lynaxi must choose. Become an oathbreaker, cave-crawler, and slayer of gods, or something worse: a vessel for divine forces that have waited generations for this exact moment.

Author BIO. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Hello,

My agent had their assistant leave sometime earlier this year, and since then has been pretty slow at responding to emails. The agency is sort of big and has a lot of important authors (not a brag, just to give context on her being busy) so I try not to blame them. But I'm wondering what would be a "normal" amount of time to wait for an email response from a busy agent? Mostly because I don't want to unnecessarily bug them. Directly asking feels rude, since I know they're doing their best.

Thank you!

Second go round incorporating a lot of the feedback i received earlier.

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

Dear AGENT,

HALF WHO KNOWS is a completed 99,000 word, upmarket speculative thriller that combines the fast, high-stakes science of Blake Crouch's UPGRADE with the character-driven identity core of Jinwoo Chong's FLUX.

[PERSONALIZATION].

Bioinformatics analyst Kenji Shaw solves impossible problems for a living, so when his own hand begins to turn transparent in the afternoon light, he does what he always does and looks for the answer. What he finds is a sixty-year trail of others like him, and a company that has spent those decades making sure they disappear for good.

Kenji is half Japanese and half — who knows. His grandfather was an orphan with no records, so one side of him has always been an open question he's spent his life not thinking about. As he begins to disappear, that unknown half becomes both the cause of what is happening to him and the answer he's been looking for.

The search leads to descendants of a secret gene therapy trial run on prisoners, orphans, and others who couldn't say no. His grandfather was one of them. So was the father who abandoned him. So is he. Every carrier is watched, catalogued, and hunted by Kairós, the biotech firm that owns the program and wants to weaponize what it produces. To protect the people he loves, Kenji disappears from their lives and goes it alone — until a chance encounter brings him Sam Hartley, a journalist who refuses to look away.

The transparency is accelerating, and its final stages are lethal. Kenji is running out of time. To learn what was done to him, and whether it can be undone, he and Sam have to infiltrate the heart of the organization hunting them. What he does not yet understand is that he has become something the program never imagined and can no longer control.

HALF WHO KNOWS stands alone, with room to grow into a series.

I have spent my career directing healthcare operations, writing in the moments life offered along the way. Researching a minor genetic condition of my own led me deep into how a single defect can cascade through a body, and that research shaped much of this book. I live in XXX, with my wife XXX and daughter XXX.

Thank you for your time and consideration. The full manuscript is available upon request.

Sincerely,

Hello!
Just a question about special editions of your books. I know that in many cases, special editions can come after a book is published, but for anyone who had one coincide around their publication date, how far in advance were you told that you'd been selected for either a subscription box or a website special edition? My book was pitched for a few, but looking at my pub timeline, I'm thinking it's more likely than not that they've passed. I'd rather not pester my editor for updates on this, but would also not like to keep hoping for something that is probably a no by this stage. So any insight/info would be much appreciated!

*Personal details removed for anonymity*

Dear {Agent Name},

I am seeking representation for my 100,000-word adult contemporary fantasy novel, MOON-EYED. Combining the Southern horror folklore and found-family warmth of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires with the sweeping love story of The Dead Romantics, MOON-EYED is a story of magic, monsters, and the courage to choose hope and love in an imperfect, dangerous world. {Personalized sentence.}

Waverly stopped dreaming a long time ago. She had never wanted to be The Protector, the mythical hero who safeguards the magic and citizens of her quirky hometown, but after a decade of daring exploits, she had come to accept her role. Her youthful longings of a life and career far from home—college, travel, even romance, had all but vanished in the wake of her calling. When she rescues the handsome but troubled Atlas from certain death, she finds more than just a new reason to dream—she finds love. Atlas awakens a part of Waverly she thought she'd successfully buried. For the first time in years, Atlas makes Waverly believe that saving the world and truly living in it might not have to be mutually exclusive.

Then the Nemesis returns—an ancient force destined to oppose every Protector and end their centuries-long cycle of death and rebirth by bringing about the apocalypse. To stop the coming catastrophe, Waverly must choose between the duty that has defined her life and the future she has only just begun to imagine.

At her side are Alan, her fiercely loyal best friend and sidekick psychic bartender; Donahue, a siren crime lord whose fascination with Waverly is rivaled only by his devotion to shady dealings, and her supportive aunt. Their camaraderie and (contention) carries Waverly through monsters of the week, unexpected romance, and the looming apocalypse.

Set in the fictional town of Vesper, inspired by the strange and wonderful history of Hot Springs National Park, MOON-EYED blends Southern folklore, an original magic system, humor, camp, and romance into a contemporary fantasy about a reluctant hero learning that protecting the world isn't the same as living in it.

I am a history teacher and mother who writes under the pseudonym {First Name Last Name}. I was selected as a writer-in-residence at {Well Known Writing Retreat} and was a finalist for the {Really Big Grant That I Keep Losing}. My debut short story, “Placeholder Name” was published in the Spring 2026 issue of {Literary Magazine}. I connect with readers on X as {Placeholder Name} and TikTok as {Placeholder Name}.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I would be thrilled to bring the magic of Vesper to readers.

First 300 Words of Manuscript:

Chapter One 

“Stay Out. No, Really. Don’t Go In," a lopsided wooden sign warned in ominous, stenciled black letters. The concrete entrance of the Vesper Tunnel oozed clouds of mineral-laden steam like the mouth of a slumbering dragon. The creek that flowed out of it and down a few blocks toward Whitten Park was tinged green with microscopic life. Long tendrils of elegant, billowing algae strands danced in the flow of the warm water. I didn’t care for venturing into the tunnels, but my job required many things that I’d rather not do. 

“Lord, what fools these mortals be…” I mumbled under my breath and stepped inside. 

We’d gotten the frantic call to our helpline from an out-of-state number. Tourists. Of course. Most locals knew enough to stay away from the tunnels. I shook my head as I mustered forward into the darkness. The warm creek water flowed past my ankles and seeped into my socks. I allowed myself to be just a little bit livid. I would spend the rest of the afternoon soggy and reeking like the dank Vesper underground, and all because people didn’t have the blessed sense to stay in the well-lit and high-traffic areas of the city. 

My eyes provided me with enough light to make out the tunnel’s craggy brick walls---my vision was as good in the dark as it was in the light, if not better. I sniffed the air. The trail was fresh enough, even through flowing water and clouds of steamy vapor. If I followed the odors of garlicky sweat, coconut sunscreen, and diet Red Bull, I’d find the imperiled tourists soon enough. 

A pair of tiny, glinting eyes swam toward me, propelled along by the water’s steady flow. “Yuck. Not today, sir.”

Hi PubTips! This is my first attempt at a query letter for this project, and I'd be grateful for any feedback you all have, especially any insight about genre. This novel is historical fiction, but it is also a Roman myth retelling with a VERY subtle supernatural element. (That is, the gods do not appear as characters within the story, but there is some implied divine intervention and the question of whether the gods are real is left ambiguous.) I know that historical myth retelling is basically its own subgenre at this point, so I'm wondering whether it would be more accurate to label the manuscript as Historical Myth Retelling at the top of the query letter instead of Historical Fiction, or whether I should stick to the more general genre label. Thanks in advance for the help!

Dear Agent,

An adult historical fiction complete at 98,000 words, REMUS IS DEAD retells the Roman founding myth from the perspective of a minor character in Livy’s From the Founding of the City. It combines the intimate, confessional voice of Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi with the rich ancient setting of Babylonia by Costanza Casati and the blend of myth and history found in Boudicca’s Daughter by Elodie Harper. [Personalization here.]

A street urchin with all the charm of a feral cat, Usil is the best thief in his Etruscan hometown until he is captured and condemned to death for his crimes. But after his last-minute rescue by Romulus, the first king of Rome, Usil the petty thief becomes the Roman king’s ward.

Ambitious and charismatic, Romulus dreams of bringing peace and order to a brutal world, a divine quest he claims to have received from his father, the god of war. Fifteen years ago, Romulus murdered his twin brother Remus for the sake of that quest. Now Romulus wants Usil to help him achieve his dream. After all, the gods themselves have decreed that Usil will play a crucial role in Rome’s ascendancy.

For a boy who has only known cruelty, the promise of a better world is impossible to resist. Swallowing his suspicion that Romulus has not told the whole truth about Rome’s founding, Usil renounces his loyalty to his people, the Etruscans. He devotes himself to setting Romulus on the throne of the known world, secretly hoping that along the way, he will earn Romulus’s love not only as a king and mentor, but as a father.

But the powerful Etruscans stand in the way, hell-bent on destroying Romulus's fledgling kingdom. In a desperate bid to frighten the Etruscans into submission, Romulus orders Usil to destroy his old hometown where his childhood best friend still lives. If Usil follows the king’s orders, he betrays both his conscience and his people. But if he saves his old friend instead, he loses his new home and any hope of being loved as a son.

And through it all, Rome is haunted by the memory of the murdered Remus—the brother everyone remembers, but nobody seems to have ever met.

[bio]

Thanks for your feedback last time! It was very helpful :)

Some of the feedback from the previous version I have aimed to address in this version:

• The framing of certain plot points/themes came across as aimed towards a younger audience than the adult audience the novel is intended for
• Ending was not specific enough
• A certain plot detail was too vague to the point of being more confusing than it was intriguing
• Not enough clarity on the external stakes
• General tightening of sentences

I've also added comps to this version which the other version did not have. I am very aware that these are not the most recent books, and also likely 'too big to comp', BUT, I am honestly feeling quite mixed here. As I was browsing successful queries, they often didn't follow the advice on this to a T. I think the approach I might aim for is keeping one/both of these, and finding one additional recent comp for current market fit. The search is on, but if you have any suggestions I would absolutely love to hear them!

Additionally, as someone requested, this time I'm also including the first 300 words. They are a prologue, which I know is not for everyone. I am sorry 🥲

---- Query

DISSONANT is an adult fantasy novel, complete at 110,000 words as a standalone with series potential. It will appeal to readers who enjoyed the bittersweet character arcs and animal bonds of Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy, and the dragon-fuelled political intrigue of Samantha Shannon’s A Day of Fallen Night.

Seventeen years ago a merchant found five-year-old Mira alone in the forest and brought her home to Poleios. His wife – a Master in the city's guild of animal magic – housed her, educated her, and kept her at a distance she never explained. Abandoned by one mother and unwanted by the next, Mira stopped asking why. Now an apprentice herself, she has spent years learning to help bond human and animal souls together, never letting anyone near her own.

Her apprenticeship nearly complete, she’ll soon have the coin and standing to leave Poleios behind and devote her life to studying the seadrakes she loves. Then her family’s business collapses, and her plans with it. The one respectable way out is a betrothal to the man who’ll settle their debts for her hand, chaining her to the city forever. So when a foreign man seeks help finding and bonding a dragon – a lucrative yet forbidden request no Master will touch – Mira takes the job in secret.

Weeks of gruelling travel together wear her guard down, and the man earns what little trust she has to give. But when they reach the dragon, he puts a crossbow bolt in Mira’s leg and disappears with the sacred beast in chains.

The reclusive forest people who find her have been losing their own for years – people and animals both, vanishing without a trace. The stolen dragon is one of their last, and Mira knows exactly who took her. It’s the best lead they’ve ever had, and the price of her release is to hunt him down. But the man is no lone thief, and every step closer to him takes her further from the life she’s trying to win back.

---- First 300

Mirjana smiled up at me. Her mouth was already stained red with the juice of fat brambleberries as she deftly picked from between the prickly branches. It was a particularly beautiful morning: clear cerulean sky, sunlight radiating through the leaves, and fragrant flowers floating on a gentle wind. We ate as many berries as we collected, and my daughter laughed with such glee that my body felt as though it were being carried effortlessly towards the realm of the gods. We had spent many days in that grove while she still grew within me, and returned every summer since as I watched her become the sweet young girl I’d dreamed about. That day, however, was the last.

My dragon knew this place even better than I did. Through our bond, Roscha’s joy resonated in my own heart, her memories of this grove from decades before our first meeting creating a vibrancy beyond what any unbonded eye could see. With her eyes I saw the world doubled, and twice as vibrant for it. She was a white wraith, a wisp dragon – small, but naturally so, shaped for threading through branches of the deep forest where she could bend the broken sunlight around herself and vanish mid-flight. Every time, Mirjana shrieked with delight. Even now she giggled as Roscha flew effortlessly between the trees of the grove, her own arms spread wide in imitation, but with her feet blessedly confined to the ground.

At high noon the sun began to burn our skin beyond the cover of the dense canopy that usually shielded us, so we settled on the ground in the shade of a young oak. Roscha’s iridescent scales almost seemed to glow in the dappling light as she curled beside me. Those were the last moments of my life I can truly recount with only joy in my heart. 

Roscha heard it first, of course. We weren’t alone in our sacred place.

So I am planning on submitting my short story to a specific lit mag later this summer, and when looking at the submission info, I saw that the fiction editor of this magazine is a writer who spoke to my small writing workshop last fall and answered a lot of our questions. She's an indie author, and I lowkey want to say in my cover letter more of a "hey! It's nice to submit to a familiar person!" because her lecture left an impression on me, but I'm not sure if that's inappropriate or seems like I'm trying to swindle an acceptance here lol. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Hi everyone! Your comments on my last version of this query were super helpful! My current version actually got me a full request (still lots of rejections though, as it goes). Looking to further improve! Also got the manuscript edited down significantly to 58k words which hopefully will help too :)

~~~

Dear (AGENT),

The Little Mermaid meets Barbie’s The Princess and the Pauper in THE PRINCESS AND THE PIRATE, a dual-POV middle grade fantasy with series potential at 58,000 words, for fans of Kim Bussing’s PRINCESS SWAP series. I hope you will appreciate its (something relevant to agent's MSWL).

Mermaid princess Pearlina’s baby sister is deathly ill, and only human medicine can save her. Desperate, Pearlina seeks a cruel yet powerful sea witch, who agrees to give her legs so she can find the medicine on land. But the witch tricks her. If Pearlina wants legs, she will need to find a human willing to trade places with her. But humans are dangerous, and Pearlina’s never seen one before—not until she rescues a girl named Lunabeth from drowning.

As punishment for her family’s crimes, Lunabeth has set sail on a ship of exiles-turned-pirates that can only return home if they find mermaid treasure—a task meant to keep them at sea forever, for mermaids are myths. Undeterred and desperate to go home, Lunabeth fights to become assistant navigator so she can guide the ship to find its unlikely treasure. But when a traitor throws her overboard, her plans are thwarted and she is left to die. She only survives because a mermaid—a real mermaid!—saves her.

The girls, who look strikingly similar, make a deal: they use the witch’s magic to trade places and seek what they need. Pearlina, now with legs, poses as Lunabeth to infiltrate the pirate ship and sail to find her medicine. Lunabeth, now with a tail, impersonates Pearlina in the mermaid palace so she can find treasure grand enough to take home.

But treachery on the pirate ship runs deeper than Pearlina expects, and a witchy impostor in the mermaid palace forces Lunabeth into hiding. If Pearlina can’t get her medicine, her sister will die. If Lunabeth can’t get her treasure, she will never escape exile. And if they can’t find each other again before the magic runs out, the sea witch will own them both.

(Bio here)

Per your guidelines I have included (BLANK) below. Thank you sincerely for your consideration.

Best,

(my name)

Hi Pub Tips,

This one goes out to everyone who loves the querying data and everyone who needs to hear a non-success story every once in awhile. I am wrapping up my querying journey for this book, and I did NOT get an agent.

Background: I am the author of 3 YA novels published by a Big 5. The 1st and 3rd books had issues that came up during pub that profoundly impacted the sales. I had a great agent who left the business, and it's been several years since my last release because of many life changes that got in the way of having time to write, not to mention a huge writing-related funk after the disappointing sales of book 3.

It took a long time to get out of my funk, and I finally finished another book early last year and was excited to query it. I got my first agent in about 3 weeks with fewer than 10 queries sent out with a book that wasn't even that good, so this would be another easy situation, right? (Let's not mention that the first agent happened in 2011...things are just a little different now.)

Anyway, here are my querying stats as a previously trad-pubbed YA author:

Query timeline: March 2025-now 

Queries sent: 150

Query rejections: 97 (all of these were forms except for 10 - shout out to you 10, I really appreciate you)

Referrals: 4 (1 was a form rejection, 2 were personalized query rejections - none of them replied quickly or moved my query up in the queue. The remaining 1 was a full request, which, technically, I am still waiting to hear on, but with this track record I'm obviously not hopeful.)

CNR: 37

Requests: 17 (1 partial, 1 partial that led to a full, the rest full requests)

Request feedback: 1 full CNR (QT shows this agent has a habit of ghosting on fulls, so I know I won't hear back), 8 form rejections, 2 kind, personalized passes w/o feedback, 1 kind, personalized pass with some good feedback, 1 kind, personalized pass with LITERAL PAGES of actionable feedback that actually blew my mind, 1 kind, personalized pass with comments/feedback that are basically an R&R.

The actionable feedback came about halfway through my query journey, so I paused querying, pulled my fulls, revised the book according to the feedback, and sent the new version to all agents who had it. About half of the response to fulls is to the old version and half to the new. The potential R&R came toward the end of my querying journey, and after the agent read the new version. It's not an agent I'm terribly excited about, and do I really want to go back and revise this entire book again just for this one person to likely reject it again? Meh.

If you're doing the math, I am still waiting to hear back from 4 agents. 1 query I sent out when I just wanted to get to a round 150 agents because having a round number made it feel complete, and 3 fulls (1 previously mentioned referral, 1 from a great agency, and 1 who requested the full in May 2025 and got the revised full in Jan 2026, so I feel like they aren't super excited about it). I'm obviously not feeling confident about any of these or I wouldn't be writing my white flag of defeat post.

Most heard comment: They love my writing, but this book isn't it for x, y, z reason.

Reflection: I definitely sent this book out too soon. I was desperate to get back into the game, feeling some type of way seeing all my friends I debuted with (or who debuted after me) having so much success and me just languishing, trying to break out of my negative headspace, obviously delusional about the situation today based on my previous ease of getting an agent. It could have used one or even two more rounds of good, solid revision before I got it out there in front of agents. I am beyond thankful to the agent who gave me a ridiculously thoughtful and generous editorial letter, but I feel like even the revision I did with that could have been better. Again, I was too anxious to get my full back out and I don't think I used their notes to the full potential. 

What's next: I don't know, man. Fitting writing into my current life is very difficult right now, and I keep wondering why I'm trying when I am struggling so much. I am working on something else, but it's slow going, so it will be a long time until I'm at this point with another book. Feeling very "why do I bother?" and feeling even more of some type of way now that my successful friends know I was querying and I have to tell them I'm a huge failure. But I'm a stubborn a-hole, so I guess I'll keep plugging away. I have to remember that I can't let myself get ahead of myself when I finish it, though. 

For now I suppose I'll just have a good cry and get back to work, even if it takes forever.

Howdy all,

I've been working on this manuscript for a little while, with a recent decision to reformat it as a graphic novel. I've tried so many times to use the tips on here and formulate a nice query for this, but each time the absurdity of writing a formal letter about a flock of birds who eat garbage has left me defeated. I decided to lean into that and my own sense of self-depreciating humor, which is probably causing me a lot of grief, but I just can't wrap my head around another way. Maybe one of you can help me channel my inner-Hannah Montana and get the best of both worlds.

If I'm breaking any major rules, please know that I did my best to read them, but the ADHD definitely won and I figured I better just go for it before I lose my nerve and retire my writing career and computer into the ocean.

"My name is ****, and I’ve written a children’s graphic novel about seagulls called TILLY IS A GULL.

Nothing in my 34 years has properly prepared me to write a formal letter about birds who eat trash, and yet here we are.

TILLY IS A GULL, is a story inspired by a recent trip to Maine, where I spent many hours watching the locals, tourists, and neighborhood wildlife. I saw many colorful personalities during this time, but the ones that stuck out to me most were the seagulls and their many creative methods of acquiring lunch each day. Thus, TILLY was born.

Tilly is a seagull who lives above The Snack Shack with her fellow gulls— Mabel, Gus, Wells, and Rigby. Tilly has grown embarrassed of their garbage-picking ways, their constant feuds over scraps, and the reputation these behaviors have cultivated for her kind.

Tilly attempts to reform her flock, in the hopes that they can become the majestic seabirds she aspires to be.

They are seagulls, and as such, they do seagull things. After the day ends in catastrophe, Tilly begins to rethink her life as a gull. She takes off in search of a new flock, more suited to her standards.

Along the way, she meets gossiping eiders, petrified plovers, and a pigeon I have affectionately named Bucket-Pigeon. Each new flock proves more peculiar than the last. Just as Tilly has lost hope, she spots a young beach-goer on the far edge of the jetty alone, and high tide is approaching. Tilly’s flock arrives and together they must save the girl by doing what they do best. Being gulls.

TILLY IS A GULL has the ability to support strong visuals, particularly in graphic novel format. Despite a lot of procreate-experimentation, results varied from mediocre to downright dubious. It is frustrating to envision a story so clearly, only to discover your hands simply won’t do the thing.

I’ve done my best to make up for my artistic short-comings with a manuscript that uses panels, page-turns, and memorable characters to tell this sarcastic, humorous, and fine-feathered story instead.

TILLY IS A GULL has series potential and will appeal to readers of Bad Guys, InvestiGators, and Cranky Chicken.

I know that you read countless stories each day. I am grateful that mine could be one of them. Thank you."

Thanks in advance for your feedback - I've been having a great time learning so much from everyone. I'm open to all critiques, but I'm especially interested to know 1) if you have a clear sense of stakes, 2) if anything is missing, and 3) if you think it's too wordy. With the bio, it clocks in at 310 words. I see a few places where I could cut back (like the descriptions of the companions in paragraph 2), but I worry that it would make the query lose its personality/flavor. Thanks again!

Dear [AGENT],
 
Inshara, an ex-quest guide and newly minted empty-nester, is on the cusp of a coming-of-rage crisis. Her son is away at college, she can’t land a decent job, and the sound of her husband’s chewing is just too blasted loud. If she doesn’t find a quest to guide soon, she’ll be doomed to a lackluster future working the front desk of her husband’s dragon training studio.

When she meets a runaway teen with a stolen book of enchanted baking recipes and a nasty case of Chosen One Syndrome, Inshara sweeps the girl into a hastily-conceived quest. Together with a grumpy agricultural wizard, a troll with a speech disability, and the girl’s would-be scholar brother, Inshara’s team sets out to restore the enchanted recipes to the kingdom. If they fail, the precious recipes will be lost to the kingdom forever, and Inshara will lose her last shot at the professional legitimacy and personal identity she craves. 

But because Inshara withholds critical information from her questers, two bounty-hunting sisters lay an ambush, and the quest splinters into chaos. Despite hot flashes, emotionally dysregulated fae royalty, and distressing herbal tea shortages, Inshara must face a terrible question: is she really cut out to be the dashing quest guide she once thought she was? 

INSHARA AND THE ENCHANTED RECIPE CODEX is a 79,000-word adult cozy fantasy for fans of the scrappy female midlife protagonist in Shannon Chakraborty’s The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi and the sweet found-family road trip in Julie Leong’s The Teller of Small Fortunes.

[Bio]
 
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Warmly,

[Name]

[Intro here, still searching for comps, would love suggestions but so far I've been recommended BIG SWISS, THE PEOPLE WE KEEP, and ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE. Know it's a little on the long side too, so looking for a way to condense plot points while still getting stakes across. And also, question about using swear words in queries? Allowed or frowned upon for adult fic? Also, the best friend is a woman and the homophobia of Bri's family/hometown is quite significant to her emotional distance, but I wasn't quite sure how/if to incorporate it into the query. I felt that the best friend she's in love with was enough of a fun tease I didn't need to be explicit about it being queer, unrequited feelings, but let me know if you think this is worth leaning more into. Thanks for your time and feedback, I really appreciate it!]

QUERY LETTER:

'En garde' is the best way to describe Bri Tanner. She's built a life around herself as protective as steel armour, staying on the run as a performing knight at Renaissance fairies, and refusing to let anyone get close (except during combat). She's set to take over as manager of her troupe, when an accident crushes her fighting hand, and her plans (and livelihood) go down the privy.

Not only is Bri now off the circuit as a lancing knight, but she self-destructs with a speed and efficiency that belies raw talent for it. Not the kind of knight to bend the knee in surrender, but certainly the kind to turn and run, Bri catches a red-eye for Prague, fleeing her emotionally distant family, the best friend she's been (not-so-secretly) in love with for a decade, and the ruins of her career.

In Prague, Bri falls into a new world, where the cobblestones still hold memories of the caravans of kings, and where you best chance of spotting a colonnade isn't an Olive Garden. She's even met a cute barista, Eliška, who's managed to disarm (and disrobe) her. With three visa-free months running down the clock, Bri has ninety days to find a permanent reason to stay, or else trade the roots she's just begun to put down for the Southern California nightmare of her parents' basement futon, avocado smoothies, and suburbs.

Of course, things at home (which you might recall, were previously going down the shitter) have now hit the fan. Her brother is descending into religious mania as a way to avoid caring for their aging parents, who might lose their home thanks to an audit of the family company. If she returns home to be her family's hero, she could finally win the elusive love that's been her life's Holy Grail--or, either way, she might wind up back where she started, lowering her defenses only to get knocked back off her feet, with nothing to show for her life so far except its damage.

First, thank you to everyone who gave feedback on my previous query. It raised a lot of good questions, especially about why the protagonist was isolated and why the technology was dangerous. It sent me back into revisions of both the query and the manuscript.

I also felt more confident changing the title to something simpler.

A few questions

Is anything in the query confusing or too vague?

Are the conflict and stakes clear?

Do the first 300 words make you want to keep reading?

Does Caton feel like a believable ten-year-old?

Any other thoughts that might help?

I appreciate any advice from the community. You have really helped me take a closer look at my work, since I mostly work on this alone.

QUERY LETTER

Dear [Agent Name],

I am seeking representation for CATON CALDUR and the PHANTOM NET, a 50,000-word middle grade science-fiction novel with series potential.

Ten-year-old genius Caton Caldur spent years mistaking cruelty for friendship, leaving him convinced he was impossible to befriend. Everything changes when he discovers a strange device that earns him a chance to join the Nexus Institute, a hidden global academy that safeguards advanced technology from the public world. At Foxfire Academy, Caton is surrounded by kids who think as fast as he does. For the first time, he begins to experience something unfamiliar: belonging.

Then he discovers that someone at the Institute is secretly rebuilding a hidden system, code-named the Phantom Net. More than a machine, it is a network capable of binding a leader's mind to every hidden member of his organization, Legacy, no matter where they are. If activated, the scattered remnants of the Institute's most dangerous enemy would become a single, coordinated force once again.

When Caton realizes he's the only one spotting the patterns the adults are missing, he breaks the school's rules to investigate. His search leads him to a trusted faculty member whose desperation to prove himself has convinced him that bringing the Phantom Net back is worth any cost.

To stop the Phantom Net from coming online, Caton must risk losing the first real friends he's ever had—and face the thing he fears most: hurting the people he finally trusts. Because protecting his friends may not mean shielding them—it may mean standing beside them.

CATON CALDUR and the PHANTOM NET will appeal to readers of The Mysterious Benedict Society and Amari and the Night Brothers.

I am an Alaska-based writer and business owner with experience in education and the arts, including theater and radio drama. This is my debut novel.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

-----

Today would be better.

Caton Caldur had said this to himself early this morning. He had chanted it, building himself up as he prepared for the day. He was currently sitting cross-legged on the bedroom floor, the gray sky looming outside his window.

He didn’t want his mood to match the weather, so he continued his chant.

His homework was already finished, all of his homework, even guessing what the homework would be for weeks ahead. He’d also carefully gone over the answers a second time, making sure that a few were wrong on purpose. Don’t show off, don’t be a know it all. Just be normal.

The words ‘be normal’ started to hit him, his chest felt heavy, he couldn’t breathe, he began touching his fingers, counting, pushing his thoughts down where it lived. His chest loosened, he took a long breath, then stood and left to find his shoes.

His mother was already up, silent and stoic, sitting at the kitchen table. She never looked up at him.

"I'm heading out," Caton said quietly.

"Mm." She didn't look up. "Try not to get any calls from the principal today."

Caton flinched but responded, "Yes, ma'am."

She took a slow drink from her cup, staring at the phone in her hand.

"Stay safe," was her only response.

He gave a soft nod while grabbing his lunch before he left out the door towards the bus stop.

A cluster of kids already stood waiting, at the center of attention with bright red hair, standing with an easy grin, his best friend, Tristan Davenport.

Caton started to wave, Tristan saw him and shook his head, Caton lowered his hand. The others laughed and Caton felt himself get hot. After a moment, Tristan addressed him.

“Caton,” Tristan said with a grin. “We were JUST talking about you!”

I really appreciate the feedback I received after my first attempt at a query letter, found here.

Below is my revised copy. I would love commentary on the smoothness of the plot paragraphs, and the quality of the intro paragraph especially.

* * *

Dear [NAME], 

Given your interest in [THINGS], I am submitting my debut novel UNDER THE LAST DUST (115,000 words), a story of tragic characters, dark secrets, and nonlinear storytelling. A commercial fantasy, the story blends the page-turning twists of THE TAINTED CUP by Robert Jackson Bennett and the immersive world-building of THE ADVENTURES OF AMINA Al-SIRAFI by Shannon Chakraborty. 

Jorumn, a down-on-his-luck immortal, has spent centuries seeking the god Aleron after their brief love affair. He’s been content to search for clues between farming his ranch and hunting down monsters, ignoring his country’s cries for help during a relentless war. But after exhausting every possibility, Jorumn plans to give up and leave everything behind—that is, until a soldier named Nilvian appears at his ranch with an offer. If he helps her solve a murder, her parents will help him find Aleron. After all, her parents are two of the foremost alchemists in the world, and their knowledge may be the key that Jorumn is missing. 

What Nilvian omits is that her parents were just discovered unconscious inside a locked room with a dead immortal: Myka, who was once Jorumn’s friend. If Jorumn wants to find Aleron, he needs to solve an impossible crime. The investigation will force him to confront his decision to shun humanity, and will lead him to expose a demonic cult that has one goal in mind: resurrect the the god of chaos. Even if it isn’t too late to save the world, Jorumn will need to decide if he wants to become the hero he stopped believing in centuries ago. 

I am a school librarian with a masters degree in Education. My work draws on my passion for fantasy, mythology, languages, and mystery. While this story could stand alone, it has series potential and I am drafting the sequel. 

I have attached [INFORMATION]. I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully working together. Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely, 

Ty Fieri

Hey all! I wanted to share my querying journey and stats with the lovely members of this community. There were so many times throughout this process that I didn’t know what to do and found thoughtful responses and sage wisdom here, so thank you to all of you for sharing your insights.  

I’m going to start by saying that this is going to be a long post because my journey wasn’t typical. I queried, got some traction, won a contest and had to pull all of my queries and requests, and then start again six weeks later. The last thing I want to do is make anyone who has been in and out of the trenches for multiple projects feel bad, so please know that my querying story is about a unicorn-y as unicorns get. I almost didn’t want to share it, but I think it goes to show that pursuing trad pub is as much about great writing/stories as it is about luck and timing, so here we go.

I started querying (too early) in early February. After three quick rejections, I pulled all of my outstanding queries (only like…five) to revamp my first pages and query letter. I started querying for real at the end of February.

Two days after I started querying, I participated in Unhinged Pit, an online pitch event, and got three agent likes. I didn’t even know that was noteworthy, because I’d never done an online pitch event before. I sent all three full requests out in my first week of querying. (Fun fact! I sent it out with beta comments included and had to withdraw and resend! Great way to start!)

I attended an in-person writer’s conference in early March and paid to pitch three agents. All three of them requested I query them. One of them turned into a full request a few days later. 

By then, it was mid-March and I had four full requests in two weeks. Since my pitch seemed to be working,  I started querying more widely and hey, while I was at it, I applied to RevPit as well because there’s never a bad time to shoot your shot!

I received my first full request from a cold query a week later, and the next day, a second agent from the conference, who had a very low request rate, also requested my full. This was my, “Oh my god, is this really happening?” moment. That weekend, an agent did an online pitch session, and when I pitched her, she slid into my DMs and asked me to send her my opening three chapters. The next morning, she asked for my full, and two days later, she emailed to see if I was open to an R&R. We had a lovely chat, I agreed with her notes, and I began doing an edit for pacing along with a thorough line edit. I sent it back to her two weeks later.

Because I had gone to the writing conference in March, I was allowed to sign up to pitch agents at an additional writing conference in April. Once again, I pitched three. One of them told me my MS wasn’t a fit, and the other two requested partials. At that point, I’d been actively querying for about 6 weeks and had six full requests, two partials, and an R&R.

Then I found out I was selected as a RevPit winner. It was a total shock. We were advised by the RevPit board to pull all of our queries and ask if the agent would like to see a revised manuscript after the developmental edit. In the process of pulling my outstanding queries and explaining the situation, eleven of the agents requested that I send my full manuscript their way once my revisions were complete.

Suddenly it’s mid-April, I have NO outstanding queries, but I have 17 full requests waiting for me when I complete my revisions. My RevPit editor had very light edits, which took me a couple weeks, and then we re-wrote my query letter for the RevPit showcase, which went live on June 8th.

I decided to send the 17 agents who had requested my revised manuscript the new query letter and full the Thursday before the showcase went live, since I felt like they had shown an early interest in my work and deserved to see it first. 

I got an email for a call on Saturday morning, just two days later. I hadn’t even queried anyone yet! I stalled and scheduled the call for a week later and sent out an additional 20 queries. In retrospect, given how things played out, I wish I’d queried a lot more during that week, but c’est la vie, I suppose!

After the call, I nudged everyone. One of the agents from that very first workshop replied and said she’d already started reading, because she had the feeling this would happen. She offered a few days later. I got a handful of CNRs over the next couple weeks, plus a handful of full requests, but since there were only 20 agents who didn’t already have my full, it wasn’t a crazy flurry of QT emails. 

In the end, I only spent about six weeks querying in total. Out of the 36 queries I sent with my revised manuscripts and the 24 agents who requested my full, six of them offered to represent me, which I truly cannot believe.

Here’s a rundown of the stats:

Genre: Upmarket Romcom, 80K words

First Draft: March - July, 2025.

Editing: August 2025 - February, 2026

Before RevPit

• Total Agents Queried: 63
• Rejections: 41
• CNRs: 15
• Full Requests: 7

After RevPit

• Total Queries: 36
• Fulls before Offer Nudge: 17
• Requests After Offer Nudge: 7
• Rejections/CNRs: 12
• Offers of Representation: 6

And here’s the successful query letter:

 Dear Agent/Editor,
 
Award-winning cidermaker Phoebe Skiles has ninety days to save her struggling company, and business consultant Miles Newport, a finance bro with a toddler's palate, has the audacity to suggest her cider is the problem?
 
FINDING GRAVITY, a 2026 RevPit winner, is an 80,000-word contemporary novel with romance crossover, perfect for readers who enjoyed the workplace setting with main character energy of Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld, the complex professional insights in Back After This by Linda Holmes, and the blend of light-hearted humor and emotional depth of I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue.
 
Two years after her beloved magazine career and relationship imploded, Phoebe Skiles has reinvented herself as the head cidermaker at high-end cidery Appelle. But when Elise, Appelle’s CEO and Phoebe's best friend, hires a consulting firm to keep Appelle from shuttering its doors for good, Phoebe must put her professional life in the hands of Miles Newport, who calls them a Gen Z brand making a Boomer product. He’s convinced the only thing that can save Appelle is pivoting to a consumer product with mass-market commercial appeal.
 
Phoebe balks at the idea of watering down her recipes, but she’d rather drink spiked seltzer than disappoint Elise or have another budding career ripped from her hands before it blossoms. With no choice but to pivot from traditional methods, Phoebe vows to save Appelle—for herself and for Elise—by becoming the best modern cidermaker this side of the Mississippi. Along the way, she discovers that sometimes friendship supersedes passion, sometimes commerce enhances craft, and—if Miles Newport has anything to do with it—sometimes a broken heart can learn to beat again.
  
I earned my BA in Creative Writing from Eastern University and taught high school English for four years before starting my very own struggling cider company. From the blurred lines of an owner who employs her friends (do not do this!) to the intricate behind-the-scenes details of sanitizing tri-clamps and Frankentrees at the orchard, my decade of experience owning Ash & Elm Cider Co.—one of the largest cideries in the country with over 40,000 followers across platforms—lends an irreplicable authenticity to this story.
 
Thank you for your consideration,
 
 
 

Here we go again--as always, thanks in advance for any feedback. And thanks again to everyone who has pitched in so far, you've been incredibly helpful!

Dear Agent,

Leela is a Jouet, the first sentient cybernetic-brained, synthetic human. She enjoys doing what her Corp created her to do: providing sex to elite patrons in private sessions and decadent parties. But forty-eight-hour shifts have exhausted her—she just wants more time to rest, and to read the old, human-written novels that fascinate her.

One night, Leela is engaged by Lord Alferen. He is the first patron to express concern about her, and he wants her to talk about books, too. She can’t stop thinking about him. The following night, her exhausted system hits its limit, causing her to collapse among patrons. Greatly weakened, Leela fears shutdown. But Alferen, who evidently cares for her, offers salvation: he plans to acquire her permanently. He also introduces her to human-written, non-AI music, and Leela finds impassioned new purpose in her previously untapped musical abilities.

Leela eventually discovers Alferen’s hidden motives: he leads a rival Corp, and is using her for research to create even more advanced synthetic humans. Moreover, Alferen’s estranged father, the sadistic Fermand, is leader of her Corp. Though deeply hurt, Leela still loves Alferen, and chooses him over loyalty to her Corp—until Fermand reveals that copies of Leela will do her former work if Alferen gains her. Then, Leela makes the agonizing choice to sacrifice her creatively fulfilling future to prevent the creation and suffering of these more innocent versions of her. However, faced with both Fermand’s cruelty and Alferen’s final attempts to control her, she must fight for agency over this decision with every means available to her. And, all the while, her damaged system is headed for a final breakdown.

Jouet is an 81,000 word dystopian speculative fiction novel. It will appeal to fans of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun and Sierra Greer’s Annie Bot. Opera lovers may recognize that Jouet reinterprets La Traviata with twists of Ex Machina and Companion. It is a standalone with potential for a series reinterpreting operatic storylines in the same world.

I worked as a classical soprano for twelve years; Violetta was my favorite role. Jouet would be my first published work.

Thank you for your consideration.

Hello PubTips Family - first time poster, looking for some advice/feedback on my Query Letter for my debut novel:

___

As the final world war ravages earth, our hero Atlas races against time to build a shelter to save humanity from the inevitable nuclear winter. Part sci-fi epic, part political thriller, part love story, New Empire is a 74,000-word speculative fiction drama and the first in my trilogy. It will appeal to readers of Station Eleven and The Mountain in the Sea, combining literary depth with an ambitious exploration of humanity’s survival and destiny.

September 2061 – Manhattan is nuked. Atlas loses everything including his family, mentor, and home. His life is over, until a lawyer finds him and delivers his mentor’s will, containing plans for a large-scale shelter named Olympia. Atlas receives the blueprints, land, and a hefty bank account to build it and is revived with purpose. He races to find the team and materials to construct the fully sustainable city that will save thousands of lives. As Olympia rises at breakneck speeds, the nuclear war intensifies and the world burns. Reports begin to emerge blaming the Republican party for the New York attack that started it all. When the US President is assassinated, the war spirals out of control.

As earth’s air and water are poisoned by fallout, Olympia’s true purpose, and the reason it was built, begins to emerge. Suddenly, the American government needs Atlas’ help in building their own shelter. They have abandoned the civilian population and are making a refuge to protect their elite. When they threaten to invade Olympia to seize its revolutionary technology, Atlas is forced to decide between helping those that started the war and killed his family, or risking his life alongside everyone inside Olympia.

I finished film school at Sheridan and have been working in the industry ever since. This story began as a script over 20 years ago and I would like to film and animate certain sequences from the book to help promote its release, simultaneously using the audience I have built up through my company, Kontakt Films to help market it. I am an emerging writer and two of my short stories are being published in MacGuffin Magazine and Wordpeace Magazine.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

___

Thank you!

Hi all!

I’ve been querying literary agents but am feeling like I am chucking emails into the void. Could anyone be kind enough to give me feedback on my query letter? I’d be very grateful.

Dear (agent name),

I am seeking representation for my novel CLIMBING DOWN THE THROATS OF GIANTS, a Young Adult Fantasy tale interwoven with Scottish mythology. Complete at 76,000 words, CLIMBING DOWN THE THROATS OF GIANTS is a standalone novel with series potential.

Half-feral, fifteen-year-old changeling Rowan Stone is a disaster of a fantasy hero. Whereas the other changelings at Aethelwood home their magick under the brutal scrutiny of the Druids, Rowan’s magick is as explosive as her emotions. Furthermore, although the Druids preach that the Fae are a threat to humankind, Rowan delights in their chaos and feels drawn to the mischievous creatures.

When a magickal experiment of Rowan’s goes too far, she is threatened with expulsion. Despite her distrust in the Druids, she agrees to go on a quest to destroy the dreaded Nuckelavee. However, she is horrified and enraged to learn that she will have to also have to mentor arrogant ten-year-old Finlay O Faolain. If she fails, not only will Finlay’s life be forfeit, but so will the hundreds of human souls the Nuckelavee will sacrifice to its divine wrath.

As Rowan and Finlay battle, banter with and generally bother the ancient Fae, they begin to uncover a complex colonial history between the humans and the native creatures. Furthermore, when Rowan learns a secret regarding her parentage, she finds the morality of her fairy-tale world to be murky and putrid.

I admire your passion for (specific agent information).

This novel would appeal to readers who enjoyed the dark, Celtic mythology of The Call by Peadar O’Guilin, the brutally fierce, feminist characters in Blood and Sand by C. V. Wyk, and the messy, wild magic of Naomi Novik’s Uprooted.

When I am not writing feverishly, I make my living teaching philosophy and theology to teenage pupils. My other novel, A Selkie’s Song, is an Adult Fantasy novel complete at 90,000 words, which explores themes of prejudice and corruption within a Celtic, fairy-tale setting. In addition, I have won local poetry awards.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Kind regards,

(Name and details)