Hi all, Remember me? It’s been ages. You might wonder where I’ve been. Well, I’ve been off launching my debut nonfiction picture book, WOOD, WIRE, WINGS: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane (illustrated by Tracy Subisak), which came out in February from Calkins Creek. But I haven’t forgotten about Sub It Club. After all, it... Continue Reading →
Midsummer’s Mayhem – A Query Letter That Worked
Good news, Sub It Clubbers. Today I'm featuring Rajani LaRocca's delicious query for her forthcoming middle grade, Midsummer's Mayhem (Yellow Jacket, 2019), a yummy blend of A Midsummer's Night Dream and Master Chef Junior. Note: Rajani's manuscript was requested thanks to #PitchWars. That's why her query doesn't include the typical personalization paragraph. Rajani noted that when she queried prior... Continue Reading →
Wrestling with Referrals
You're finally ready to query. You know a fellow author through Facebook and think her agent would be a perfect fit. You could query through the regular process: email the query (if the agent is open to queries), obsessively hit refresh on your email, and wait weeks or months for a response. But you know... Continue Reading →
Kick! Jump! Chop! A Query Letter that Worked +Agent Sean McCarthy. Hiiiii-ya!
Kick! Jump! Chop! As fast as you can. It's a ninja twist on the Gingerbread Man!
Queries That Make You Go Hmmm…
One of my most frequently asked questions (right after "Do you really need all that ice cream?") is how far I will read through a query letter before I decide if it will be a rejection. The truth is, I will almost always read through the entire query, but I usually have a good idea... Continue Reading →
How to Write a Query Letter – A Basic Breakdown
Whether you're drafting your first-ever query letter or have written a whole bunch of them, the truth remains the same: query letters can be tough. Each manuscript is different. Heck, each query letter is a little different! Even when you're querying the same manuscript to multiple people you still need to take the time to... Continue Reading →