I’m am going to go through the next ten queries and tell you what I did and why! Kinda like the hashtag on twitter, but without the character limit.
Q1 YA contemporary – this had a cool premise that involved mental health and homelessness. But some of the language used was so derogatory that I was super uncomfortable reading it.. It also had really unrealistic comps. One was The Fault in Our Stars. Pass
Q2 YA time travel and retelling – I would love an amazing Time travel book, so I was interested, until I saw that that they were traveling back to a time to get to a retelling. It felt like a strange mix and was a retelling for something I’m not a big fan of, plus the comps were OUTLANDER + what is being retold. Pass
Q3 YA fantasy – this one felt like a very typical fantasy and didn’t show what made it stand out from all of the other fantasy books. There were also a LOT of named characters and kingdoms. It was only three short paragraphs, but I had to keep looking up to figure out who people were and what side they were on. Pass
Q4 literary? Maybe? – this claims that there have been no books about what it was really like to be a teen in the 90s. It sounds soooo stereotypical in characters and writing and situations. I can’t tell you how many queries I see each week that mention Kurt Cobain and how different it is that they are centering something on him. Pass
Q5 Paranormal adult fantasy – so this one hit the jackpot. Not a genre I represent and included pages (didn’t follow guidelines). If you don’t do these things you are so far ahead of so many. Pass
Q6 LGBTQ+ Historical Romance – this sounds like it straddles that line of genre and commercial fiction. The main character is reminiscent of Mr. Darcy,, but is gay and not as much of a jerk. If it feels too much like a romance that doesn’t fit into that commercial fiction side, I’ll pass on the partial, but this was so good that I had to read how they did it. Request
Q7 MG contemporary – this is SO damn charming even in the query. It was filled with middle grade humor, a clever twist, and humor! Here’s hoping the pages match the query! Request
Q8 YA contemporary – this sounded absolutely delightful. High-concept and fun. But it reminded me way too much of a book I just finished. If I had read this query before reading the other book, I probably would have requested it, but in this case, it is a Pass
Q9 women’s fiction – The concept was good, but the voice felt a little off. I also tried to think of a few people i know I would recommend it to and was unable to come up with anything. Pass
Q10 Adult commercial fiction – while well-written, it had a lot of references to the political climate. Everything changes so fast and publishing is so slow that this it doesn’t really work. That big scandal that we are talking about tonight might be reversed or moot by the time I am reading the full. Pass
Pub Writes 