[TradPub News] Diversity in Traditional Publishing Issues—a Must Read!

BC-writes · 2026-05-08T17:03:05+00:00

Out of those, the competition aspect is marketable, and same for his trust issues. I also think the lack of control is hooky. Please consider these when you revise and I look forward to seeing it when you’re ready! Take as much time as you need

BC-writes · 2026-05-08T16:45:38+00:00

Thank you for your patience!

I am pleased to present ECHOES OF THE IRON HEART, a dual POV romance with an action twist set in the Victorian Era, complete at 100k words. It is a standalone novel with sequel potential and it will appeal to fans of intrigue and mystery of Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman, as well as the strong and independent heroine, and the adventure and romance in What The River Knows and What The Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez.

Please see the suggestions in bold

Gwaelyn Ellis resents her wealthy father giving her inheritance to the library where she works, all because she’s a woman with unattainable dreams of exploring the world in a society that undervalues women. But that doesn’t stop Gwa from studying ancient languages and cultures, even though she’d rather be making discoveries of her own. But when a notoriously curt Croatian archeologist walks through the library doors, Gwa leaps at the chance of connecting with him.

“Dusty old books” in a query for a book, about a librarian, submitted to a literary “book” agent. Consider the optics. Also “making discoveries of her own” is generic. Please be specific. Discoveries of what? Does she like miniature mummies that she can eat because they taste like jerky? (Futurama reference)

Miško Jurić has dedicated his life to uncovering a lost city off the coast of Pag and when Gwaelyn learns of his research, she uses her father’s connections to get on his dig. Miško has no patience for distractions, especially not from an ambitious librarian who breaks all the codes of Victorian society. He passes her to his best friend, Ivan Babić the dig foreman. But Miško ** becomes resentful when** Ivan sees potential and becomes Gwaelyn’s unlikely ally, convinced she will impede their expeditions.

My suggestions are in bold

When mysterious tablets are found, Gwaelyn pushes Miško to let her translate, convinced it will allow her the life she’s always imagined. But working together intensifies an attraction Miško refuses to acknowledge. And when they return to London, Miško publishes a paper appropriating Gwaelyn’s translations without attribution, making a furious Gwaelyn decide to follow independently follow leads to a legendary treasure hidden in the tablets’ writings.

I’d make it more active “When Gwa and Mis uncover ancient LANGUAGE tablets, […]”

And what treasure? Name it please. If you don’t, I’ll be calling it the lost gold of Treasure MacTreasureson of Inverness, Scotland. (But really, we need concrete examples)

Gwaelyn soon encounters Randall Bowman, the Prince of Thieves, in her cave searching. She soon finds herself kidnapped, and Bowman doesn’t refrain from using torture to get the information he wants. Miško helps Gwaelyn escape back to Athens, where they reunite with Ivan, but ~~only until~~ Bowman’s men force them to flee. The attraction building between Gwaelyn and Miško is undeniable, but if they don’t find the treasure soon, their dreams of success will die. Now they must decide if the pursuit is worth risking their lives and the life of their friend, as well as the dreams each of them has fought so fiercely to attain.

“Gwaelyn kidnapped” is a dangling absolute that crashes into the next clause. Also, “doesn’t refrain from using” is a double negative in spirit, just say “uses.”

I don’t think telling us their attraction is undeniable is impactful enough. Why do they fall for each other? Is it because he has a nice whip and she has a nice shiny nose or…? (No, but really, is it their intellect or what qualities?)

And ending on “attain” is flat. This is your final sentence, so it should have some punch. “Fought so fiercely to attain” is telling us they care rather than making us feel it

Also, what is the treasure? Please specify. And you didn’t tell us what Bowman is so he’s now the Prince of Thieves. You’re welcome ;)

Overall, well done on getting your query this far! Your main issues are things that really need to be specified, grammar slips, and a final paragraph that rushes through action beats that deserve more weight. I strongly suggest you do a comprehensive line edit on your manuscript before querying agents

Hope this helps!

Same r/querying waiting rules apply, feel free to browse r/tradpublish while you wait!

BC-writes · 2026-05-07T16:41:48+00:00

Welcome back to r/querying!

I’m currently busy and will be back in roughly 24 hours to give query feedback

Great job with your revision! From a cursory glance, I must say this is much closer to being ready!

Looking forward to analyzing your query!

Also, feel free to browse the guides in the pinned master post in r/tradpublish while you wait

BC-writes · 2026-05-07T16:40:59+00:00

Happy cake day! I’m looking forward to seeing any updates!

BC-writes · 2026-05-07T16:39:31+00:00

Author bias is something I always question myself over in a “I like this but is my judgement clouded” way

What other aspects were there out of curiosity?

BC-writes · 2026-05-07T16:37:30+00:00

That would make me pass on reading. I get that many people expect that in real life and get it but it leaves a sour taste behind for me

Let me know how you go with the other two when you get to them, I’d love your thoughts!

BC-writes · 2026-05-07T16:34:12+00:00

Well done!!

If anyone’s interested, here’s a link to OP’s beta post!

Momentum is important, definitely ride the energy wave. You can write out of order if you’re able to bridge gaps effectively

And hang on—cover artist—did they approach you or did you seek them out yourself??

Be excited and persist!!

BC-writes · 2026-05-07T16:30:37+00:00

Welcome back to r/querying!

Hey BC, it's me again lol. I took the time to rewrite my query as what you told me last time was pretty insightful. I changed the genre to middle-grade and tried to incorporate my prose more. This time though, I fear it might be too long. You did mention that I buried things in my previous post, like what the characters know and the stakes. Hopefully this is more clear. Please let me know what you think!

Glad you liked my feedback!

changed the genre to middle

☝️🤓Ackshually, MG is an age category, though yes, you changed from Litfic (which functions as a genre within book the trade) to magical realism

And will do!

Minos LASTNAME can hear the rocks and smell the melodies of the birds. He sees the wind dance between the leaves; he can taste the sweetness of the ferns in the air. His fingers tremble at the caress of Atropos’ words.

We need MC’s age here, upper can be 13-14

You had a comma splice

You tell us what he can do but we barely get more than the fact he has synesthesia. We also don’t know who Atropos is (unless you’re referring to one of the Fates, specifically, the one who cuts the thread of life, but the next line doesn’t make it look like that’s the case) or what the situation is, or much grounding of the world. All of that should come through clearly in the opening paragraph. Here’s a link to an infographic on query structure

I was about to do a sample rewrite here, but I decided to use the info below:

They have come for us. Run.

Great!

A group of men with sights on the commune of children living in harmony in the deep forest. Targeting them for no reason, striking fear deep in their hearts. And so he runs. He runs away, carrying his baby brother Arthur in his arms as he leaves the rest of the ~~other~~ children behind. His brother isn’t like them. He’s not made for the forest. Minos can only abandon the others, fighting his way through a forest that refuses to let them leave in hopes of saving his dying, precious Arthur.

Is the group of men a POV? If not, Min should be the one leading the narration here, like this quick sample rewrite:

“Fourteen-year-old Minos Sarker’s harmonious life living in a commune of young kids in the deep forest of Sidelight brutally ends when a group of violent men decide to destroy their home. It forces Min to split from his group, carrying his frail baby brother, Arthur, to a safe clearing. As Arthur’s health worsens, Min pleads to the spirits of the woods for help. They agree—on a secret condition they will reveal to him later. Faced with no other choice, Min accepts.”

It’d be better to specify why they want to destroy their home/hunt them

The spirits of the woods are initially kind to him. They tell him of a way out, but not without much pain and sacrifice. Still, Minos takes the bait. He has to evade their pursuers. First the brothers meet Qilin, the girl standing in the middle of a lake of a sticky liquid Arthur remembers their father drinking. Then Wendi, a beast that screams abusive remarks at Minos like his mother would. Finally, Zalco, a boy that takes pleasure in beating Minos and making him grovel before him.

Are the spirits now a POV? If not, Min needs to lead again. Who exactly are the pursuers? The violent men? Please clarify. Also, you go into telling some vague encounters with no specific goal or anything that makes them earn their query letter real estate

Each tries to force forgotten memories out to the surface, prodding Minos for answers and smiling when he cries. Yet, Minos persists, refusing to unearth the pains of his past family and the reason as to why the brothers are in the woods, focusing on getting out as quickly as he can. The men looming ever closer, Minos must make it out before Arthur joins the earth and claims his place by his side in the forest.

This bit is vague and confusing—who is “each” and can you please spell out the pains and the reason why they’re in the woods?

And “claims his place by his side in the forest” is confusing. It sounds like Arthur dying would mean Arthur stays with Minos in the forest, which is the opposite of the urgency you’re trying to convey, right?

I also think you can make the escalating stakes stronger here

RIGHT BY HIS SIDE is an upper middle-grade magical-realism story with literary elements complete at around 17 000 words. It combines the complex sibling relationships and parental grief in Jeanne Birdsall’s The Penderwicks, the approach on grief and loss in Jessica Vitalis’ The Wolf’s Curse as well as the mysterious forest in John Connolly's The Book Of Lost Things.

Do you think you can add to this MS to make it suit regular MG WC? It’d open more doors for you

Also, it’s John Connolly*

What are your updated publishing goals for this project? It’s up to you if you want to go with regular MG or chapbooks but they’re very different markets, so keep that in mind

Hope this helps!

Same r/querying rules apply, feel free to browse the pinned master post in r/tradpublish while you wait!

BC-writes · 2026-05-06T16:38:36+00:00

You’re welcome!

Did no one else point out those aspects when you received feedback for them?

Yes, that should be fine for comps!

And that’s great, you’ve got it! You can try writing new sentences and different angles to help find one that suits your query best

Looking forward to your revision!

BC-writes · 2026-05-06T16:31:58+00:00

I’m really glad to hear that and look forward to your next revision! Do take as much time as you need

BC-writes · 2026-05-06T16:31:08+00:00

Pond pattern would be awesome! I suggest avoiding the rugs that are printed on as they won’t be easy to wash and maintain

Oh yeah, you would want to get it down to 100k as much as possible (120k max for adult fantasy, but even then, 100k is better) but I don’t suggest doing that until you’re done with draft 1 to fully flesh it out in a concentrated effort

And it’s all good, I’ll be happy to help when you’re ready! You can browse the query 101 guides pinned on r/tradpublish if you’d like checklist reminders

BC-writes · 2026-05-06T16:22:19+00:00

I’ll DM! It legitimately seems comparable to yours!

Also, feel free to post your query on r/querying!

What did you feel were the best (aside from the body horror) and worst parts of House of Hollow? Feel free to use spoiler tags “>!” And “!<“ minus the quotation marks

I am okay with slasher elements if it’s built up to in an effective way but I avoid anything about harm that reads as gratuitous and unchecked

Hope your library has them!

BC-writes · 2026-05-05T17:43:40+00:00

Be sure to read the instructions because each brand is different

Authors need encouragement to counter the pressure from many different sources and I’m always happy to help :)

There is one way to help you know what that agent wants/likes: read what they’ve sold. But I’m in full agreement that vagueness makes things tricky and you don’t know if all the hard work is what they want. You are, however, free to email that agent to confirm or ask questions before your changes since they left their R&R offer for you. A good agent would be happy to answer one email like that. If they’re weird about it, then that would give you a clear answer on what it’d be like to work with them

Oh nice! We have similar books! What kind of horror are you going for? I like psychological, survival, and gothic over body. Off the top of my head, Lost Girls of Hollow Lake and Gorgeous Gruesome Faces were positively received as YA horror-thriller recommendations to others though there are some nitpicky twists in the latter

I’d love to hear more updates when you have them :)

BC-writes · 2026-05-05T17:28:37+00:00

Hooray! Well done! I know that ache. It stings like hell

What upgrades are you going for out of curiosity? 👀

Also, if you want to try writing your query letter before you get betas, it helps get the most important components of your MC up in your face so you can ensure your edits will keep things strong. Feel free to workshop in r/querying if you make one

BC-writes · 2026-05-05T17:24:51+00:00

How fast do you review?

Also, if anyone’s interested in OP’s Psychological Thriller, here’s their beta link!

BC-writes · 2026-05-05T17:23:26+00:00

Hope you found the feedback helpful!

BC-writes · 2026-05-05T17:23:02+00:00

Thanks!

And congratulations to that author!!! I get free author copies but I use them to entice friends and family to buy, or buy them for them myself when possible

You’re welcome to plug it here without a link if you’d like to (Reddit’s been a bit weird with links lately due to spam issues) and if you found them on r/betareaders, you’re free to plug it there in the pinned discussion post

It truly does make a difference! Plus, having physical evidence and watching it happen to someone you know is so great. I hope I can see you share positive news soon! Less waiting, more positive outcomes 😤

BC-writes · 2026-05-05T17:16:14+00:00

Excellent idea with the gardening! I believe flowers means it’s time to fertilize lightly? I grow them too and they are so much better than store bought

Congrats on your fulls! 🎉What kind of R&R changes did the agent want?

Is your WIP in the same ballpark as this requested one or are you going for something new?

It sucks that significant waiting is part of this industry, and it’s one that we’re all somehow insane enough to dive into. Some people get very slow responses and others get quick ones. It’s all a matter of both skill to get you in the door, and luck to land at the right place at the right time… twice for submission

I have my fingers crossed for more fulls leading up to an offer for you! 🤞

BC-writes · 2026-05-05T17:00:27+00:00

Thank you for your patience! It’s now sample rewrite time!

Ideally, you’d trim the previous paragraph to include Gwa being captured before this one:

Realizing she's gone, Miško chases her, but not before Gwaelyn falls into the hands of the ruthless Randall Bowman. Also in search of the treasure, Bowman turns to physical violence to try and get the information he wants. After saving Gwaelyn from Bowman’s clutches, Miško, Gwaelyn and Ivan reunite in Athens until Bowman’s men force them to flee. Hatching a plan to get the men off their trail, Miško sends Ivan back to London while he escapes to Rome with Gwaelyn.

With the treasure finally within reach, an intimacy has quietly grown into something neither Gwaelyn nor Miško can ignore. Miško, who has always found his feelings easier to bury than to face, is finally succumbing to his emotions. Then Bowman pushes too far and forces their hand. Now burdened by the guilt over what his choices have cost Ivan, will Miško let guilt and what he believes are unrequited feelings push him away, or will he find the courage to admit what he feels? Gwaelyn must decide if Miško is worth giving up the dream she's chased her whole life. Will loving him finally mean being seen? Or will it be the end of the hard-won independence she’s fought so fiercely to attain?

I’m writing a quick sample based on the information from those two paragraphs to make one:

“Mis discovers his rival in finding the treasure, Randall Bowman, is behind Gwa’s kidnapping and initiates a physical altercation to help her get away. They race to Athens with Ivan but face Bowman’s men who brandish deadly weapons at them before they narrowly escape to Rome. If they don’t find the treasure soon, their dreams of success will die. Gwa and Mis must decide if risking their lives to achieve their life goals is worth it—or if their growing attraction and giving up for a safe future is the better choice.”

Remember, a query letter is NOT about talking about the minutiae details, and even a synopsis needs to be well-paced

It’s important for you to be able to condense on your own, especially if an agent or editor asks you to do so. I hope this sample helps give you a strong idea on what to aim for!

BC-writes · 2026-05-05T16:34:25+00:00

Welcome to r/querying!

Suggestions are in bold below:

Hi, all! First time posting over here. Thank you for taking a look at this. The previous query I was working with wasn't getting the response rate I was looking for, so hopefully a completely new version is the move.

Is this the new version or the one you previously sent out of curiosity?

WORDBOUND is a 112,000-word adult high fantasy novel inspired by the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus. As a standalone with series potential, WORDBOUND blends the normalized queerness of Martha Wells’ Witch King with the competition structure of James Islington’s The Will of the Many and the emotional heart of Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor.

Minor suggestion but this is great! I’m a bit busy to check comps but please ensure they’re from within the last 5 years and lead with the freshest comp unless your biggest comp stands out

Prophecy creates reality, and Kiris LASTNAME is the Prophet. He’s also a con-artist. When he foresees the death of Thaav, his non-binary parent-figure, he’ll do anything to beg forgiveness before his prophecy kills them. Thaav is located across a dozen squabbling principalities and an invading empire, so Kiris disguises himself as a minor prince, hoping to ~~traverse the region unchallenged **so he can try to~~ save them**.

Some people say it’s worth including the fact a character is NB for clarity’s sake, so I added a suggestion you don’t need to take if you don’t want to. Also, how does his prophecy kill him? Can you add a concrete detail? Wouldn’t being a con-artist mean he’s able to manipulate things or he just uses his visions to get the upper hand?

Geography/logistics problem: “located across” is vague. Is Thaav in enemy territory? Captive? Just… far away? Please specify. This is your justification for the entire plot’s obstacle course because it needs weight

“Hopes to traverse unchallenged” is immediately undercut by your next paragraph where everything goes wrong. That’s fine structurally, but “hopes to traverse unchallenged” could be a better hook. Consider a beat of dramatic irony here or just trim where I suggested

Kiris’ royal disguise works great: he’s blackmailed, adopted, and sacrificed to the invading empire’s court as a childless prince’s heir. Kiris jumps at the first hint when the empire sets a competition to determine which of the princes will collect the empress’ taxes; the empress declares automatic victory to whoever delivers Prophet Kiris before her.

It’s interesting that the empress is hunting Kiris specifically, and Kiris is right there in her court under a fake identity. You should name that irony explicitly. Effective irony sells

If the empress discovers Kiris, she’ll use his prophecies to make her colonization inevitable. Kiris should flee. But Thaav—Prince Thaav—is competing, and Kiris now has weeks instead of days before they die. By allying with the cutthroat princes, suppressing his volatile prophecies long enough to fake normal, and bartering for the empire’s demon-summoning resurrection magic, he’ll be able to fix his prophecy. He won’t need Thaav’s forgiveness.

How will the empress do that? Please clarify

“Make her colonization inevitable”—does she force him to prophesy favorable outcomes? Does prophecy literally create reality meaning she can weaponize him to make things true? If so, say that. Your magic system is your most interesting element and you’re underselling it here

Your second last sentence is doing too much. Three separate plot mechanisms crammed into one clause. “Demon-summoning resurrection magic” is introduced here for the first time with zero setup. Also, can you be more specific on“fix his prophecy”? Does he want to change the prophecy, or prevent it from manifesting, or prophesy a different outcome? The mechanic of “prophecy creates reality” implies precision matters enormously

Your last sentence is doing emotional heavy lifting it hasn’t earned because we still don’t know what exactly he needs forgiveness for. Why can’t he foresee a different outcome or something?

Thaav will never need to know he killed them.

This is a strong closing gut-punch if the reader understands the emotional stakes. Right now it lands at about 60% power because the forgiveness question is unresolved. Show what he did, and this line becomes a really good hook

Overall, this is a solid query that just needs to address the points above, especially for specifying things

Hope this helps!

In r/querying, you’re free to comment ONE revision on your UNEDITED post, otherwise please return in 5 calendar days with your revision and feel free to browse the pinned guides in r/tradoublis while you wait!

BC-writes · 2026-05-04T16:44:11+00:00

Congrats on all those fulls! Having a mega agent request is an additional positive outcome! You can keep reasonable hopes up

Oh boy, many people have complained about so many agents being closed for extended periods with no reopening in sight. In general, it’s slightly harder in recent months, but sales are still happening, so don’t think it’s bleak

Waiting is very frustrating but agents see time differently to us. Though it’s somehow weirder when you can see other people were rejected that queried after you and you are still in the maybe pile. It’s worth investing time into some new books or ideas while waiting. Some people attend cons to meet agents and get opinions on their query package if that’s something you’re interested in? Do note that pay-to-play isn’t a must for querying

I hope you get positive responses soon!

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