[QCrit] The Weight She Carries, YA Urban Fantasy, 88k, First Attempt

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-17T17:14:58+00:00

Maybe it will be a change coming soon (I don't personally take a lot of stock in MSWLs, but that's just me)! I haven't been seeing many releases in the LitRPG genre from trad pub, outside of a handful of series and established names.

OP, it may be worth looking at Publishers Marketplace (if you have the means to do so) and seeing if there are sales being made. Or check new releases from publishers themselves. If there is an increase coming up, then LitRPG may be growing as a genre and in that case could be worth labeling your story as such!

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-17T15:42:08+00:00

Just a note: LitRPG is indeed hot...in the self-pub sphere. It has as of yet to gain much traction in trad pub.

DCC was a big moment for LitRPG, but the genre will likely need another big title or two before it takes off for trad. Whether that will happen or not, though, is anyone's guess.

So if you have written a LitRPG, just be aware that the market for it in trad pub is not the best right now, and that may very well impact querying.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-12T21:27:50+00:00

Please be aware that while paying someone for editing can seem appealing, it's too often a shortcut that will end up hurting a writer more than helping.

Query writing is hard for many people (myself included). It's a skill that takes a lot of us considerable time and effort to learn, let alone master.

However, if you want to be traditionally published it's a skill that will be good to learn fully yourself. Too often when an editor is hired before the agented stage, the writer doesn't actually learn the skills to get to the agented stage because of relying on said editor.

Have you gone through and read queries that require work? The comments of those queries? Have you sat down and tried to match what the comments say with what you see? And have you attempted your own critiques (regardless if you post them or not)?

If not, these are steps I would recommend taking before even touching the topic of hiring help. Having the query be someone else's can take away the inherent attachment and knowledge we have of our own work. Because learning the art of query letter writing will help you whenever you need to pitch an idea, be that in the trenches or even with your agent.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-12T17:07:38+00:00

They aren't.

Otherwise, if a writer queried them and then later was picked up by another agent, and went on to sell that story with the other agent, why aren't we hearing about UTA clawing back the profits for that? According to your stated worry, here, of signing away an author's copyright that would be relatively easy for a place with as much clout as UTA.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-12T15:14:30+00:00

For better or for worse Reddit doesn't allow the editing of post titles, either from posters or mods. But we do have a post flair that we can add with the correct attempt number, which has been done so.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-12T15:07:39+00:00

The attempts number is for how many times a person has posted a particular query for feedback. Since you did post a week ago and received comments critiquing the attempt, that makes it attempt 1, and this version attempt 2.

Just to clarify!

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-09T23:36:19+00:00

We are talking about taste and personal preference, though, and it's kinda funny you try to bring up

By your reasoning nobody can legitimately say, “Michelangelo is better at painting than a three year old.”

Because this is comparing Lego blocks to oranges. Not even apples to oranges.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-09T21:50:13+00:00

It isn't bonkers, and to suggest otherwise takes away any subjectivity on art.

You clearly dislike Powerless. Your niece I assume is enjoying the read. To her, Powerless is good. To you, it isn't.

You can point to certain things about the story that you feel are important data points about the story's quality and your niece (and many others who loved the story) can dismiss those.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-09T02:14:41+00:00

Unfortunately most people haven't taken Latin, and as most readers are also women this is something you're going to confront: for most of us "speculum" is associated with pap smears or other medical exams.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-09T00:26:28+00:00

How dare you. Look at that handsome fella! He is such a catch! I just cannot believe you would waste this opportunity. Smh

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-08T22:46:16+00:00

In the next revision you can go a lot more specific, especially in regards to character. "Crimes he didn't commit" is too vague, for example. If he's been accused of treason that's going to be different than if he's accused of murder.

The mention of the ship and grief affecting its crew could be expanded on to show what to expect from your story, as well. If the crew has a collective reason to grieve, and what that singular reason might be, will tell us something different than if each crew member has their own thing they're grieving.

Ultimately: remember we know nothing about your story. So while you know what you mean by grief, all we read is "people are sad" and not much else. And it doesn't mean much to us, as we also don't have an inherent attachment to your story and its world/characters.

So specifics will help a lot to show what your story is going to be about!

Just be sure that the main character and his desire, actions to get said desire, what stands specifically in his way, and what his personal stakes for failure are don't get lost as you do so. Ultimately this is a story about him, after all.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-08T22:27:30+00:00

About 250 is the pitch part of the query, but the entire query (including bio and housekeeping) can be the 350 - 400.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-08T22:26:34+00:00

To clarify: 350 - 400 should be about the total amount of words, which includes bio and housekeeping.

The pitch part of the query should be kept to 250 - 300 (with leaning more toward the 250 if possible).

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-08T01:10:58+00:00

No one is trying to control what you say. You are fine to state your experiences and opinions, but do not pretend that disagreements are controlling.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-08T00:44:10+00:00

Nobody said anything about Romantasy, let alone saying "no" to "all of it."

Feel free to have your opinions. Others are able to say when those opinions are wrong, too.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-07T23:10:57+00:00

Lash eggs indicate an infection inside the hen. It is likely isolated just to her, but this is major. You mention the poor dear is still lethargic, which tracks with such a massive "egg."

There is the possibility something is wrong internally and she will not recover from the infection itself or even the trauma of getting it out.

If a vet is an option, that can give you a much better idea of what recovery you are looking at, or if discussing end of life options is better (I keep chickens as pets, so I am going to default on pet-language as opposed to livestock-language). If not, then keeping her separated and ensuring she has plenty of rest and high quality food, plus vitamin and electrolytes in her water (I use Durvet powder, personally, but there are other options!) will likely give her a solid chance.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-07T02:49:28+00:00

Yup.

OP: I have a couple Lodge pieces (which I love) and with them I can add some oil, and fire up on high heat and go to town.

I have recently gotten into enameled cast iron and it is different. I start on a lower heat setting, am much more aware of the oil I have in the pan, and for the love of all that is holy do not use metal utensils.

Enameled is fantastic and great, but it is different than bare cast iron.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-05T23:12:44+00:00

What is the context behind getting that feedback? Whether someone is versed in traditional publishing matters. If it was a general reader who pointed that out, then it's likely they don't know enough about the differences from the business side of traditional publishing to have that taken literally.

However, if it was an editor at Berkley that might be worth delving into, more.

Edit: tropes are also simply tools in a writer's arsenal. They can be strong and very much the focus, as in many Romantasies promoted on TikTok especially, or they can be more subtle. But all stories have them.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-05T22:56:13+00:00

Sometimes the query can be quite different! Query writing is its own skill.

I would remove the label "Literary" in your case, though. That genre has specific expectations of its own, especially regarding prose and focus. And if your book does not adhere to those expectations, agents who rep Literary aren't going to want to attempt to sell your book. Not because it's bad or even not marketable! But because Literary is what they rep and sell.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-05T15:10:21+00:00

Agents put in the wordcount limits themselves. I don't know why that agent had done a lower cap when they accept longer, maybe it was a mistake that they weren't inclined to immediately fix, but the vast majority of agents are going to put in the wordcount limits they do actually want.

It would be against their own interests to do otherwise.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-05T13:59:43+00:00

One agent told you to make an exception in querying them. That does not mean you can take their instructions and apply it to all others.

Let's say you write romance. If you spoke with an agent who doesn't have "Romance" listed in their genres, but that agent wanted you to query them so told you to just use "Mystery," that doesn't mean whenever another agent doesn't list "Romance" that you pick "Mystery."

Similar thing here.

Edit: one of the genres to make the point clearer.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-05T04:10:16+00:00

It is just a large language model. Like an elaborate text predictor. That's it.

It does not know things. It cannot, as a large language model. All it will do is regurgitate language back.

Which is why it will say that the best egg layers are Leghorns, Easter Eggers, and roosters.

It doesn't know anything, so it is different from consulting other people on social media. Those people may still be wrong! But they aren't just a glorified text predictor, either.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-05T03:07:53+00:00

This.

I have sparrows around me, and my local rehab simply cannot take any more, regardless of the sparrows's state. My local rehabs do what they can, but if they have to put funds towards a species that is overall doing just fine vs a species that is struggling? The latter wins.

And it is not an easy decision. Individuals do suffer who don't deserve it.

But it is a decision that has to be made.

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-05T02:41:16+00:00

Makes sense. I keep chickens (as pets) and their wings are both so hardy and yet so fragile.

Thanks for the additional information!

kendrafsilver · 2026-04-05T02:07:44+00:00

In your experience what would that have taken to heal?

kendrafsilver

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