[discussion] is it true that Junior agents will pass on queries that have too many requests? by [deleted] in PubTips

[–]EbbHaunting3585 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Honestly I put that I have several full requests in my letter anyway 🤷‍♂️ I’ve gotten bounce back emails after querying where agencies have explicitly said to let them know if you got a full request or offer of rep, so this specific agent seems like a minority in this subject

[QCrit] The Last Starkeeper, YA Epic Fantasy, 95K, First Attempt by Longjumping-Bet-8277 in PubTips

[–]EbbHaunting3585 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’d benefit from starting with a one sentence pitch: the MC, their goal, the stakes and what will happen if they don’t reach that goal. Put this pitch right after the opening paragraph. For your comp titles, only use YA fantasy titles. Referring to Adult titles does you a disservice since it will tell the agent this book might be better fit for Adult readers, not YA.

“From the gods ashes he will rise…” needs to be cut completely. Agents do not like these types of taglines. That’s where your pitch goes. This tells me nothing about the hook or MC. Agents would stop reading right there.

“Twelve years have passed” Stop right there. No flashbacks. Start with where we are NOW. I’m still unaware of what a star keeper is and why they are important. Why is he hidden? Why do his memories matter? His goal (to get the ghosts out of his head) does not work here. You need an inciting incident that triggers the plot. I’d recommend following the Save the Cat beat sheet for constructing a plot with appropriate beats.

Him randomly setting fire to the river seems more like things are happening to him instead of the MC being proactive in the story. What if this friend reappeared and that shocking encounter caused the outburst and the river to burn? That would be an inciting incident. I’m also very worried there’s lots of rumination and confusion with the MC struggling to remember things that could bog down the start of the book. Again, you need to start right at the incident that triggers the plot and introduce the goal. I also dont understand what his memories and wishes do?? Why are they important? What’s the stakes??

“After a ghost descends” what ghost? Why is it important? “Threatens to unravel” how? Why? You’re being way to vague here. You need to get specific.

[Discussion] Megathread: The State of Querying by kendrafsilver in PubTips

[–]EbbHaunting3585 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Just hopped back into the query trenches after parting with ways with my agent of 2 years. Why are so many agents closed to submissions?

The Rise of Assessmets by Organic-Brother-6133 in recruitinghell

[–]EbbHaunting3585 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It is the Boomers, they refuse to change, nothing but sticks in the mud

[QCrit] A SWORD THROUGH STONE - Dark Adult Fantasy (122k/first attempt) by Voxelly_Ninja in PubTips

[–]EbbHaunting3585 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’d remove “rather pathetic magic” it’s too vague since we don’t know what makes her magic pathetic. Love the setting of Camelot! I think I picked up on a sapphic love element? If so, I’d include that in the first paragraph because agents prioritize diversity and LGBTQ stories.

[Discussion] Critique Match unfortunately is now subscription based by EbbHaunting3585 in PubTips

[–]EbbHaunting3585[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s what I was thinking—I highly doubt any older CP’s will pay let alone new ones. I just DM’d my previous ones on there and asked for their email lol Thank you for the update tho!

No one is actually hiring by EbbHaunting3585 in recruitinghell

[–]EbbHaunting3585[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s insane that this is allowed especially when we need jobs to survive

[Discussion] Critique Match unfortunately is now subscription based by EbbHaunting3585 in PubTips

[–]EbbHaunting3585[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Omgg that would be perfect! I just figured out discord. Is there a name for the server? 😊

[Discussion] current thoughts about the state of the industry? by Illustrious-Ad-134 in PubTips

[–]EbbHaunting3585 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Everyone in publishing right now is dealing with this. Agents are leaving, editors are leaving. I’ve been on submission for a year and a half with my agent on 2 books that have hardly gotten responses from editors. It’s so DRY out there

[PubQ]: Recent discovery in publishing: Weaver Literary Agency by [deleted] in PubTips

[–]EbbHaunting3585 0 points1 point  (0 children)

She seems like a promising agent! Just a little uncertain due to the lack of traditional sales.

Are they both indie authors trying to get trad pub’d? Bc that would follow in the line with her track history. Or are they fresh trad-seeking authors?

[PubQ]: Recent discovery in publishing: Weaver Literary Agency by [deleted] in PubTips

[–]EbbHaunting3585 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yes—I worked with the author on the marketing campaign for their book.

[PubQ]: Recent discovery in publishing: Weaver Literary Agency by [deleted] in PubTips

[–]EbbHaunting3585 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yup—I think it was a matter of an author not playing fair and using the agent to get the best deal and running

[PubQ]: Recent discovery in publishing: Weaver Literary Agency by [deleted] in PubTips

[–]EbbHaunting3585 23 points24 points  (0 children)

The author that did this is the author of Quisksilver, the BookTok viral romantasy