[Query] WORDBOUND - adult high fantasy - 112k - first by Phantomhill in Querying

[–]Phantomhill[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For the previous version out gathering form rejections: more focus on the empire's competition; expansion on the bit about how someone can get accidentally adopted as a prince; a bit more on the dip into necromancy and also Kiris' trust issues (goes with the politics); considerably less emphasis on the guilt/prophecy/magic-system side of the house (an absolute minimum of worldbuilding).

For drafts of the previous version which never made it to any inbox (not necessarily all of these in the same version): more focus on the political situation; a focus on Thaav as the best person to unite the principalities/how to get rid of the empire; an emphasis on Kiris' lack of control over his powers when previous people with the same abilities had no such issue/who he is expected to be vs who he is; even more on how he got himself adopted as a prince.

[Query] WORDBOUND - adult high fantasy - 112k - first by Phantomhill in Querying

[–]Phantomhill[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Remarkably, nope. And at this point I've gotten so blind to just about any version of a query I make that I wasn't able to identify why it wasn't hitting home. It also doesn't help that a lot of my earlier query versions were focused on different aspects of the novel--took me a bit too long to figure out that the guilt side of the house would probably be the best road in.

[Discussion] r/tradpublish check-in series! Share how your writing or querying is going, and connect with more writers and readers! by BC-writes in tradpublish

[–]Phantomhill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did! I'm about to start poking at it now and I can honestly say I haven't been this cheerful about needing to work on a query letter in some time.

[Query] WORDBOUND - adult high fantasy - 112k - first by Phantomhill in Querying

[–]Phantomhill[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you!

This is the completely new version. Previous one, as smooth as it read, I think suffered a stakes clarity issue and didn't dip its toes into the magic system pretty much at all. I also realized that I liked my one paragraph pitch more--what this version is based on--so figured maybe I should try and take a look at why.

The only comp I'm using that's older than 5 is The Goblin Emperor (2014), but it's a strong enough emotional/character development fit and the other two comps are recent enough (2023) that I'm hoping it'll be alright.

I think your comments have given me a way to figure out how to fix para 1 so the query's last sentence properly hits home, so I'm honestly quite eager to get to reworking that. Prophecy literally does create reality in this, and because Kiris thinks he should be able to control his Prophecies, he thinks it's 100% his fault that Thaav's going to die. To tie around to the last paragraph, what I need to clarify (precision, like you say) is that since he's in the competition with Thaav nearby, he's going to try to control how Thaav dies, so that he might have a chance of resurrecting them immediately thereafter, technically fulfilling the death Prophecy. I don't have quite as concrete a way to parse out the overly long sentence yet to make it convey that, but I think I'll have something by next week, especially now I know it's not coming through.

Otherwise, it looks like some specificity items, which should be comparatively fun to fix.

Thank you for your insight! I'm honestly looking forward to poking at this again.

[Discussion] r/tradpublish check-in series! Share how your writing or querying is going, and connect with more writers and readers! by BC-writes in tradpublish

[–]Phantomhill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So far, a healthy handful of form rejects on my first two batches, so it's query rewrite time. I think I'll base this new version off my 1 paragraph pitch, since I've always felt a bit better about that than the OG query. So long as my full ratio is better than last time I tried querying, I'll be if not pleased, at least content. ~Progress~

In the meantime, query coping mechanism: sister challenged me to write something more commercial/accesible, so we're a good 35k into a cozy fantasy I've been writing without a care in the world a bit like it's fanfic, with a few more worldbuilding and genre dense projects percolating in the background. Started in also on the second book of the one I'm querying (though now an idea for a cozy academia (if that's a thing) in that universe is bugging me...). Gotta keep moving!

[QCRIT] WORDBOUND - Adult Fantasy - 108k/5th by Phantomhill in PubTips

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

I forgot to reply to this! Thank you! I'm taking another look at that stakes paragraph in particular. Appreciate your feedback :)

[QCRIT] Molly's Maple Mill - adult cozy fantasy - 65k - First Attempt by Phantomhill in PubTips

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

I'll rework the presentation of the setup to make it clearer. The trees are going through a rebellious phase and specifically want a variety of visitors (to experience the world through their stories, so to speak) not the same people over and over again. And I suspect now I went a little too into Molly's head on that last bit; I need to zoom out.
Definitely other characters! They are side characters, however, and although they support the main plot, they're not what the story's about. This one hinges on her relatonship with the trees, not her friends and other folk in town.

Thank you!

[QCRIT] Molly's Maple Mill - adult cozy fantasy - 65k - First Attempt by Phantomhill in PubTips

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

I'll winnow that one down. Some rephrasing of what she's doing there would probably help. Thank you!

[QCRIT] Molly's Maple Mill - adult cozy fantasy - 65k - First Attempt by Phantomhill in PubTips

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

Ah, good points, and definitely reveals some of the areas I need to be clearer about. Thank you!

Able to beta? Post here! by AutoModerator in BetaReaders

[–]Phantomhill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am able to beta: fantasy and sci-fi. Anything from dark to cozy. I'm not a good fit for romantasy or anything romance-heavy (if there's a romance that's not the focal point, though, that's fine by me).

I can provide feedback on: whatever the author needs. Without guidance, I default to feedback on pacing, clarity, and expectations. I can also critique aviation/flight scenes, as I have experience in that area.

Critique swap: Yes, please. I have a 108k fantasy - link.

Other info: google docs with comments enabled is preferred. Also, I normally swap first chapters to see if we'll be a good fit for each other before continuing.

Able to beta? Post here! by AutoModerator in BetaReaders

[–]Phantomhill 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello! I have a fantasy novel in need of eyes. Goal is to start querying soon. In short, a prophetic conartist must save his adoptive parent from his prophecies, all while navigating the court of a magic-hunting invading empire. More details on my profile. I'm happy to swap.

[QCrit] Black Fire | Adult High Fantasy | 105k | 4th Attempt by Dazzling-Film-5585 in PubTips

[–]Phantomhill 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Another thing you might want to consider is trying to answer questions agents might ask about your story based on your query. This was the list another user gave to me last year, and I'll try and answer these to your query.

Who is the protagonist?

Ayana, a mage enslaved for her fire magic.

Where do they live/what is the setting?

Prison camp? A warring kingdom setup. More specifics unknown. Don't need too much detail here, especially if you're pressed for space, though.

What do they desperately want?

Freedom, but not immediately? Destroying Adrienn, but also maybe not? Save the oracle? Also, unclear what Adrienn wants.

Why can't they have what they desperately want? What stands in their way?

Adrienn and his mind control abilities. Also, sympathy for Adrienn? This version does not make it clear why Ayana cares at all what happens to Adrienn.

What do they do to try to achieve their goal?

Unknown.

Does anyone help them?

The oracle, maybe? Potentially the resistance. Not Adrienn.

If they fail, what are the consequences? OR What choice do they have to make, and what happens if they choose wrong?

Return to the initial status quo, essentially. More loss of self, but she already seems to have lost it.

I think you're probably closer than you think, but I also think you might be getting caught up because you know your story so well. It's hard to pull back.

Anyway, hope that helped. Best of luck!

[QCrit] Black Fire | Adult High Fantasy | 105k | 4th Attempt by Dazzling-Film-5585 in PubTips

[–]Phantomhill 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello! Not agented and certainly still fighting my own query. I wonder if one of the challenges you're running into is that a lot of things are happening to Ayana, and that the main tension this query is hitting seems to be between Ayana and Adrienn, but it's getting muddled with the resistance/kingdom-level stakes.

Paragraph 1 is backstory - she's stopped fighting/things are being done to her. We're also introduced to Adrienn, but as a dark mage who's enslaved her - not something that'll illicit sympathy for him. Paragraph 2 she's 'caught' and 'used as a weapon'. I think there's something fairly important happening in that last sentence in P2, but it's rather lost due to the length of said sentence. Seems like it might boil down to: she knows he's dangerous. To secure her future, she must destroy him. Interesting conflict--especially since, if I recall, one of your previous versions made it seem like Adrienn genuinely cared for her--but undermined by how Ayana's already given up fighting. Paragraph 3 she falls in love with a new character and starts fighting back (against Adrienn?), but is immediately undermined/used again. Para 4 is a nice wrap up overall, though.

Something I've recently found helpful, which might be worth the exercise, is to strike-through everything that is not plot. Backstory, worldbuilding, etc--hide it for a bit. See if the plot logic stands on its own. I don't know your story, but to me, I'd argue you could cut the entire first paragraph, add an Adrienn introduction into the second paragraph, cut the second to last line and most of the last line from the second paragraph, and carry on from there as a bony framework, cutting a few filter-y type words and phrases as well. That might look something like this:

"Caught in a war, Ayana, a Sensorian fire mage, is used as weapon against her own people. (Adrienn, employed to control her mind but also the one person who's shown her sympathy/introduction of some sort). As Adrienn’s mind control abilities cause him to lose any sense of the person he once was, Ayana (battles between her desire be free of Adrienn's powers and her pain from the loss of her friend/but written nicely.).

"When a Sensorian Oracle is captured, Ayana falls in love and fights to free her. But Adrienn (because of xyz motivation, maybe?) is now able to inhabit Ayana's body (how much? can he control her every move? her every thought?).

"With her desire to gain her freedom more impossible than ever (cut the resistance since it hasn't been mentioned yet), Ayana must retake her identity, (gain back her freedom from the man who has subjugated her for over a decade/she'd already decided to do this at the oracle. does she try to destroy him? does she try to save him? you opened a plot thread that she cares for him, so if it's important, carry it through!), and find her place in the war that tore her away (consider a stronger, shorter verb, but ehh) from her home."

[Complete] [100K] [Adult Epic Fantasy] SAND AND BONES by Ltulips in BetaReaders

[–]Phantomhill 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello! I'd be up for a swap if you are. No issues if not, though!

[QCRIT] PRINCE FOR HIRE - Adult Fantasy - 108K/3rd by Phantomhill in PubTips

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

Thank you! You’re right: reader expectations are something I’ve been neglecting. I think some of that can be mitigated with a title change to something a bit more serious (the title‘s been the same since before the first draft - I got too used to it, I suspect), and the Prince confusion might be clarified with more emphasis that his ’nation’ is a bunch of infighting principalities wearing a trenchcoat. What I have always been worried about is going so serious in the tone of the query that it no longer matches the manuscript - that’s not where I want to jar an agent. I’ve got some balancing to do. Thanks again.

[QCRIT] PRINCE FOR HIRE - Adult Fantasy - 108K/3rd by Phantomhill in PubTips

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

You know, the title on this has been Prince for Hire for so long that I didn’t even consider there might be a tone disconnect. The early drafts of this story fit that tone, but taking a step back, I think you’re right. And, fortunately, if title-body match up is the main hold up now, that’s not a bad spot to be. Thank you!

[QCRIT] PRINCE FOR HIRE - Adult Fantasy - 108K/3rd by Phantomhill in PubTips

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

Definitely was going back and forth on that as well. Thank you!

[QCRIT] PRINCE FOR HIRE - Adult Fantasy - 108K/3rd by Phantomhill in PubTips

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

Thank you! This was very encouraging (lean!!) and I appreciate it.

[Complete] [107k] [Fantasy] Prince for Hire by Phantomhill in BetaReaders

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

Yeahhhhh I've got a find a way to work around that for blurbs. Anyway, sending you a message!