Dear O'Abby: What does this mean?

 Dear O'Abby,

I've been querying a novel and most of the rejections I've received have been pretty generic, even from agents who requested partials or fulls.  Then yesterday, I got a rejection from an agent who had requested a full that said this:

"I love how you’re able to bring such dark, troubling subject matter to life in ways that are humorous or sad, and sometimes both. I’m really impressed by your ability to write fleshed-out, realistic characters. They feel like people rather than caricatures, from the protagonists to minor supporting characters, and your dialogue-writing skills are also spot-on!"

Which obviously had me really excited!  But then she went on to say: 

"I am afraid I will not offer representation. This was a very tough decision as I read this with great excitement, loved the writing and the voice and the story."

What does that mean?  If she loved so much about the book, why did she reject it?

Yours,

Baffled

Dear Baffled,

There are any number of reasons why she may have decided against it, even though she loved it.  Maybe she'd already representing a book with similar themes.  Or someone else in her agency is.  Maybe your book is too like other books already in the market.  Or, it's possible this agent doesn't know any editors who are looking for a book like yours. It's possible that she did like it a lot, but knew there was a lot more work needing to be done to get it ready to submit, and she doesn't have the time to put in to guide you through that.  

But you can't speculate as to why she rejected it if she didn't give you any specific reasons in her email.  You can just spend a few minutes basking in that praise of your writing and move on.  And make sure you keep a note of who this is, because if this book doesn't get you an agent, you will want to query this one with your next book!

My advice would be to keep querying.  You're obviously getting requests, and this agent clearly liked your book a lot, even if she didn't want to represent it.  Not everyone gets feedback like this on their book, so enjoy it and take some confidence from it.  And then send out another batch of queries.

Good luck!  And do let us know how you go in the query trenches.  We'd love to hear your good news when it comes.

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby: To prologue or not to prologue...

 Dear O'Abby,

I'm writing a horror novel in which an ancient curse is uncovered in the modern age and wrecks havoc on society - I know it's been done before, but I promise my story is different and very resonant in the current climate.  As I've written it, there is a fairly long prologue in which the origins of the curse are revealed, something that is relevant to the ending of the book when my heroes have to try and reverse it. 

The book really doesn't work without the prologue - it's actually almost more of a first part to the book than a prologue - but I've heard that agents hate prologues and was wondering if I need to try and re-write the book to make it work without this section.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Yours truly.

Cursed.

Dear Cursed,

I don't think agents hate prologues so much as find so many of them unnecessary or a vehicle for info-dumping up front.  If, like you say, your prologue is an essential part of the story and your book won't make sense without it, then it is fine to keep it.  Some books really need their prologues while others don't.  

The problem with prologues is that when querying, if your query outlines the main part of your story, but your first 10 pages (or however much the agent requests) are a prologue that doesn't mention any of the characters or elements you talk about in your query, an agent can get confused.  There are two ways to deal with this: either skip the prologue and send pages from the main part of the novel, or reference the prologue section with a sentence or two in your query and send those pages.

At the end of the day, you know your novel best, and if you believe the prologue is essential to understanding and enjoying the book, then keep it.  If you think the key information in your prologue can be woven into the main body of your text, then it is probably better to do this.  Having a prologue is not going to be the decider as to whether or not you get an agent or a publisher, but how you handle it will be.

Hope that helps!

X O'Abby

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Dear O'Abby: What are some useful writing resources to help me build a career?

 Dear O'Abby,

I'm fairly new to this writing gig and am looking for some resources to help me along the way.  Obviously I've found this site (which is super useful, thanks - I especially love the Pass and Pages contests although I haven't entered one yet) but am wondering what other sites you might recommend.

Can you point me toward some sites I might find useful?

Best wishes,

Resourceless

Dear Resourceless,

There are so many wonderful sites out there that cover all kinds of different aspects of the writing journey.  I'm sure you will find many of them on your own as you continue on your journey, but here are some of the sites I personally use regularly and find useful.

If you're querying, I think this site, MS Wishlist, is among the most useful.  Agents put up profiles and list what they are actually looking for and you can search for agents that are likely to want books like yours.  I also like Query Tracker although I think a lot of the best features are behind a paywall now.

If you're interested in small presses or looking for places to publish short fiction, Authors Publish is a great resource.  Sign up for their newsletter to get regular tips sent to your inbox.

If you're interested in self-publishing, get some useful how-to information at Ingram Spark and find out more about how it works at Self-Publishing School.

If you're looking for a community to write with, I have been with Writing.Com for over 10 years now and have found almost all my critique partners and beta readers there.  They also have regular contests and challenges to keep you creatively on your toes.

Hopefully those will give you a good starting point.  If you search the web, you will find thousands of other great sites that might suit you better.

Best of luck with your writing journey.

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby: How Do I Know Which Agents to Query?

 Dear O'Abby,

I'm a newb to the whole writing and publishing thing, so if this is a stupid question, just ignore me.  I've read enough to know I can't just send my book off to the publisher of my choice and expect to hear anything back.  I know I need to get an agent if I want one of these publishers to take me seriously.

My question is, how do I know which agents to query?  There seem to be so many!  Do you have any advice about which ones I should be targeting?

All the best,

Newbie

Hi Newbie,

Diving into the query trenches can be overwhelming, and without doing a bunch of research before you start, you could end up wasting a whole lot of time.

The first thing to do is to identify where your book fits.  Many agents only represent certain types of books and there's no point querying an agent who doesn't represent your genre or category.

There are a number of websites that can help you narrow down your search.  I like The Official Manuscript Wish List & #MSWL ® Website because not only can you search the agents by genre and category, they list what they are specifically looking for as well.  The information isn't always entirely up to date, so I suggest going to the website and looking at any agent you think is suitable before you send anything.  Guidelines often change and you don't want your query vanishing into limbo because you emailed instead of filing out an online form.

Another good place to start is QueryTracker | Find literary agents and publishers with our free database.  Users leave notes about how quickly agents respond and other useful tidbits here, and again, you can sort agents by genre and category.

Another really helpful tool in narrowing down a potential list of agents is to read the acknowledgements in books you feel are like yours.  Authors often thank their agents in these pages, so this is a way to find out who might be receptive to a story like yours.

Following agents on Twitter is also a good way to get to know what they are looking for and what their pet peeves might be.  You may even find you have something really unique in common you can use to personalise your query - perhaps you both have toy poodles called Toby, or both enjoy crocheting hats for balding alpacas while warbling along to Hamilton... Any way you can forge a connection is valuable.

I hope that helps as you start on your journey.  You may not get an agent with the first book you query, but you will learn a lot and begin to build a network around yourself and your work.

X 

O'Abby

#QueryFriday

 

It's time for #QueryFriday! Enter for a chance to win a query critique by yours truly! Here's how to participate:

1. Comment on this post and at least one other post from this week by SUNDAY 02/14 at 12 pm EDT.

2. Leave your email address in the comment or have it available on your Blogger profile. (If I can't find you, I can't get in touch with you!)

The winner will be chosen via random draw and will be announced in the comment section of this post on Sunday.

See this post for additional rules. Good luck!

-Amren

#QueryFriday

 

It's time for #QueryFriday! Enter for a chance to win a query critique by yours truly! Here's how to participate:

1. Comment on this post and at least one other post from this week by SUNDAY 01/31 at 12 pm EDT.

2. Leave your email address in the comment or have it available on your Blogger profile. (If I can't find you, I can't get in touch with you!)

The winner will be chosen via random draw and will be announced in the comment section of this post on Sunday.

See this post for additional rules. Good luck!

-Amren

#QueryFriday

  

It's time for #QueryFriday! Enter for a chance to win a query critique by yours truly! Here's how to participate:

1. Comment on this post and at least one other post from this week by SUNDAY 12/20 at 12 pm EDT.

2. Leave your email address in the comment or have it available on your Blogger profile. (If I can't find you, I can't get in touch with you!)

The winner will be chosen via random draw and will be announced in the comment section of this post on Sunday.

See this post for additional rules. Good luck!

-Amren

#QueryFriday

 

It's time for #QueryFriday! Enter for a chance to win a query critique by yours truly! Here's how to participate:

1. Comment on this post and at least one other post from this week by SUNDAY 12/13 at 12 pm EDT.

2. Leave your email address in the comment or have it available on your Blogger profile. (If I can't find you, I can't get in touch with you!)

The winner will be chosen via random draw and will be announced in the comment section of this post on Sunday.

See this post for additional rules. Good luck!

-Amren

#QueryFriday

 

It's time for #QueryFriday! Enter for a chance to win a query critique by yours truly! Here's how to participate:

1. Comment on this post and at least one other post from this week by SUNDAY 11/29 at 12 pm EDT.

2. Leave your email address in the comment or have it available on your Blogger profile. (If I can't find you, I can't get in touch with you!)

The winner will be chosen via random draw and will be announced in the comment section of this post on Sunday.

See this post for additional rules. Good luck!

-Amren

#QueryFriday

It's time for #QueryFriday! Enter for a chance to win a query critique by yours truly! Here's how to participate:

1. Comment on this post and at least one other post from this week by SUNDAY 11/15 at 12 pm EDT.

2. Leave your email address in the comment or have it available on your Blogger profile. (If I can't find you, I can't get in touch with you!)

The winner will be chosen via random draw and will be announced in the comment section of this post on Sunday.

See this post for additional rules. Good luck!

-Amren

#QueryFriday

It's time for #QueryFriday! Enter for a chance to win a query critique by yours truly! Here's how to participate:

1. Comment on this post and at least one other post from this week by SUNDAY 09/27 at 12 pm EST.

2. Leave your email address in the comment or have it available on your Blogger profile. (If I can't find you, I can't get in touch with you!)

The winner will be chosen via random draw and will be announced in the comment section of this post on Sunday.

See this post for additional rules. Good luck!

-Amren

Historical Stats of the Query Contest Pass or Pages #PassOrPages

Agents who have taken part in the past:

Caitie Flum
Mark Gottlieb
Lisa Abellera ⭐⭐
Dr. Uwe Stender

Whitley Abell ⭐⭐⭐
Peter Knapp
Carrie Pestritto

Moe Ferrara ⭐⭐
Emily S. Keyes ⭐⭐
Roseanne Wells

Andrea Somberg ⭐⭐
Melissa Jeglinski
Danielle Burby
Patricia Nelson

Kurestin Armada ⭐⭐
Sarah Negovetich
Renee Nyen

Clelia Gore
Rebecca Podos ⭐⭐

Lisa Abellera ⭐⭐
Hannah Fergesen
Kirsten Carleton

Whitley Abell ⭐⭐⭐
Laura Crockett
Lorin Oberweger

Tricia Skinner
Rachel Brooks
Kelly Peterson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Emily Keyes ⭐⭐
Ben Grange
Meg LaTorre-Snyder

Kurestin Armada ⭐⭐
Moe Ferrara ⭐⭐
Lindsay Mealing

Whitley Abell ⭐⭐⭐
Jess Dallow
Andrea Somberg ⭐⭐

Kelly Peterson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Saritza Hernandez
Weronika Janczuk

Katelyn Uplinger
Ann Leslie Tuttle

Kelly Peterson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cortney Radocaj

Kelly Peterson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Stephanie Winter
Amy Bishop
Samantha Fabien

Rebecca Podos ⭐⭐
Tia Rose Mele

Wow! That's 50.
🤔 Wait a second, some of these amazing agents have served more than once!
⭐⭐ Stars will indicate an agent liked the contest enough to come back for more.
Whitley Abell has taken part THREE TIMES. ⭐⭐⭐
Kelly Peterson has been a PoP agent FOUR TIMES! ⭐⭐⭐⭐
👏 Round of applause for all of these agents for donating their time.


Pass vs Pages:

Pass = 201
Pages = 34




Your chance to enter Pass or Pages is coming soon!
Please tell others in your writing community!

Origin Story of the Query Contest Pass or Pages #PassOrPages

Friday, August 27, 2010 - Operation Awesome's First Post

The Mystery Agent Contest
On September 1, 2010, Operation Awesome announced a one-sentence agent pitch contest.
Out of 50 one-line pitches, one winner was selected to submit a FULL MANUSCRIPT. Another non-contest-winner ended up landing an agent!

The 100 Followers Contest that same month offered a query critique.

The second Mystery Agent Contest was in November 2010. And a third in December.

February 2011 had the Agent Query Critique Contest.

Pass Or Pages came into existence because of the success of these, and many more OA contests, that came before it. The name Pass or Pages was announced in December 2015.

Pass or Pages Official Contest Rules and Agent Panel
January 2016 was the first time this query contest ran under this name.

Agents included:
Caitie Flum @caitief
Mark Gottlieb @Mark_Gottlieb
Lisa Abellera @lisaabellera
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD

The genre of the first Pass or Pages contest was Adult Mysteries/Thrillers.

Lisa Abellera: PAGES! 
One entry was good enough to get a request from one agent.


Your chance to enter Pass or Pages is coming soon!
Please tell others in your writing community!

#QueryFriday

It's time for #QueryFriday! Enter for a chance to win a query critique by yours truly! Here's how to participate:

1. Comment on this post and at least one other post from this week by SUNDAY 08/16 at 12 pm EST.

2. Leave your email address in the comment or have it available on your Blogger profile. (If I can't find you, I can't get in touch with you!)

The winner will be chosen via random draw and will be announced in the comment section of this post on Sunday.

See this post for additional rules. Good luck!

-Amren

#QueryFriday

It's time for #QueryFriday! Enter for a chance to win a query critique by yours truly! Here's how to participate:

1. Comment on this post and at least one other post from this week by SUNDAY 08/02 at 12 pm EST.

2. Leave your email address in the comment or have it available on your Blogger profile. (If I can't find you, I can't get in touch with you!)

The winner will be chosen via random draw and will be announced in the comment section of this post on Sunday.

See this post for additional rules. Good luck!

-Amren

#QueryFriday

It's time for #QueryFriday! Enter for a chance to win a query critique by yours truly! Here's how to participate:

1. Comment on this post and at least one other post from this week by SUNDAY 07/19 at 12 pm EST.

2. Leave your email address in the comment or have it available on your Blogger profile. (If I can't find you, I can't get in touch with you!)

The winner will be chosen via random draw and will be announced in the comment section of this post on Sunday.

See this post for additional rules. Good luck!

-Amren

#QueryFriday

#QueryFriday is back! Enter for a chance to win a query critique by yours truly! Here's how to participate:

1. Comment on this post and at least one other post from this week by SUNDAY 07/05 at 12 pm EST.

2. Leave your email address in the comment or have it available on your Blogger profile. (If I can't find you, I can't get in touch with you!)

The winner will be chosen via random draw and will be announced in the comment section of this post on Sunday.

See this post for additional rules. Good luck!

-Amren

The Query Outline

I was recently chatting with a writer friend about their query package, and lemme tell you, putting a query package together is such a bother. It's difficult - nearly impossible sometimes, even - to get good feedback on it. You certainly don't get any from the agents you query. And everywhere you look, there's conflicting advice.

So I'm going to dish out some more.

When I was querying, one of my biggest struggles was figuring out how much of the plot to include. I knew I'd be explaining it all in the synopsis, which is more of an emotionless summary of the book's events, and the query is supposed to read like the book jacket blurb. I tried reading some blurbs to generate ideas, but they all seemed too dramatic - more on the side of a lengthy Twitter pitch event tweet than a brief summary. Trying to read other people's query letters wasn't much help either. Some people wrote lengthy page-long dealios, and other people barely had ten sentences. I was tearing my hair out. I just wanted a happy medium, darnit!

I ended up settling somewhere in the middle, landing on two paragraphs of plot and two paragraphs of other query content. Here's my basic outline:

1. Summary paragraph 1: This paragraph sets up the world, the stakes, and the inciting incident. It ends around the end of Act One, when the MC makes some specific choice that defines the rest of the story.
2. Summary paragraph 2: The paragraph summarizes the consequences of the choice the MC makes at the end of Act One. It ends approximately where Act Two ends, when the MC has to give up on their previous want and adjust, or continue to struggle toward something they will never achieve. It should end on a cliffhanger. 
3. Metadata: This paragraph contains all the info about my manuscript - the title, length, genre, and relevant hashtags (#OwnVoices, #BlackGirlMagic, etc.) along with comp titles. Comp titles are in ALL CAPS, and I also like to mention why I'm using them ("the political intrigue of SHADOWCASTER meets the love triangle of LIKE A LOVE STORY"). It's also worth mentioning why I'm querying this agent in particular ("your bio mentioned an interest in books like the TV show REIGN"). 
4. Bio: All about me! My background, my education, why I'm qualified to write this, why I'm passionate about this story. 

All in all, my query was about three-quarters of a page, give or take, including my introduction and sign-off. A query should definitely not be more than a page, and I'd say limit your summary to three paragraphs. Any longer than that and you're venturing into synopsis territory, and we know how territorial they can be.

Now go forth and storm the query trenches!

Dear O'Abby: Are Contests Worth My Time?

Dear O'Abby,

There seem to be so many writing contests out there and I was wondering if it's actually worth entering any of them.  No offense meant.  I know Operation Awesome runs its own contest, but that's kind of what made me ask the question.  Does anyone ever actually get an agent or a publishing contract out of these contests?  

Yours,

Contestable

Dear Contestable,

It's really up to you whether you want to enter contests.  They're not compulsory for any writer, but they are a lot of fun, and a really good way to meet other writers who might end up becoming beta readers or critique partners.

And yes, people do sometimes get agents or publishing contracts through these contests.  I actually got both.  In the same week.  But I ended up passing on the publishing contract in favor of working with the agent in the end.  That was one crazy week, I'm telling you!

But even if you don't get picked by the agent or editor judge, entering contests is a good way to see how your work stacks up against other peoples'.  Most contests ask the judges to leave feedback, so even if you don't win, you have notes from a professional on your query and/or first page.  And you can use those notes to help polish both up, and often the rest of your MS too.

Sometimes readers of the blog are also asked to leave feedback which means you don't just get one opinion, but many.  If something about one particular piece of feedback resonates strongly, you can reach out to that person and thank them.  You may even become friends with that person or decide to work together as critique partners or beta readers.  I met several of my very favorite writing buddies this way and we are still critiquing each other more than 10 years on.

But if you're not interested in entering contests, it's not going to be the end of your writing career.  You can still query traditionally, and your chances are probably no better or worse than if you'd entered the contest.

Good luck, which ever way you decide to go!  And if you're thinking of entering our Pass or Pages, you have about a day left to do it.

X O'Abby

#QueryFriday

It's that time again, everybody! Enter here for a chance to win a query critique by yours truly! Here's how to participate:

1. Comment on this post and at least one other post from this week by *SUNDAY 7/21 at 12 pm*.

2. Leave your email address in the comment or have it available on your Blogger profile. (Or else I can't find you!)

The winner will be announced in the comment section of this post on Sunday.

See this post for additional rules. Good luck!