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 →
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 →
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! As fast as you can. It's a ninja twist on the Gingerbread Man!
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 →
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 →
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