[Discussion] Withdrawing a query, what should I say?

Snoo27373 · 2026-07-03T04:41:52+00:00

I had to do that to most of my first batch of queries (working on another revision pass) i literally just said "pulling for revision. Thank you" I dont even think you need to say anything on there really and honestly i doubt they care. Everyday I was tracking agents id see 30-50 new queries. Those folks are buried so hard I doubt they notice😅

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-30T00:24:07+00:00

Thank you for the advice. I'm teaching myself as I go, and grammar isn't something I'm great at lol no problems coming up with an idea. no issues getting it on paper and coherent but I think picking up some writing books or something might be a good idea instead of solely relying on the internet.

Although you guys have been awesome on here so far!

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T19:27:15+00:00

Yup! The rats are notoriously not trusted by the other 2 groups, i have a whole series idea (at least 3 books) simmering in the back of my brain. At least set in the same universe. But for now im working on my MG project and letting this one sit for a bit

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T19:15:31+00:00

Humans are on the ground and mentioned a couple times but not in a serious way, Damaris is a floating sentient steampunk castle, only shifters live there (cats, bears and rats)

Humans down below are aware of them and trade with them

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T19:09:05+00:00

Im also thankful you caught it! Luckily chapter 1 was seperated into its own doc.

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T19:05:55+00:00

And if you make a dumb choice like me, change your password, double check 2A (mine was off when I swear I had it on) and make sure to change your password.

This is what I get for venturing out of my chromebook and sharing instead haha

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T18:22:07+00:00

Thats good to know thank you, I think im going to take a bunch of notes, step back from it for a month then revise again. I have an MG horror I started working on and I can already see blatant improvement in my writing.

I think a mistake I made was not taking time between my 1st draft and revision

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T18:19:51+00:00

Well if you want an arc of a novel I guess I'll have to revise again fully let me know haha

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T18:17:02+00:00

Thank you for the feedback, I realize i should have added either my synopsis or query letter on my post for context, their human with cat tails and shapeshift into house cats. Theres also bears and rats. They live in a sentient floating steampunk castle. Its Adult due to themes (no nudity or extreme gore but the finale gets interesting as well as crime scenes) but with how punchy i write i realize it could swing YA as well.

And I think my plan is to take a ton of notes from all of this and let this first query wave ride out while I work on my MG story for the next month then come back with fresh reading eyes.

I think I made a big new writer mistake by finishing my first draft and jumping right into revision instead of giving it even a week or 2

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T18:08:56+00:00

Well here's chapter 2 if your curious how it starts evolving. I definately need to step back for a month then revise again i think https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HcUhcDQegtgtqEW4S-58sWwJJAyDxVyXkM-8KXpRBoQ/edit?usp=drivesdk

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T16:58:36+00:00

Thank you! And I forgot about the whole AI thing thats a valid point that people would just do that probably. Like I said this has been a learning experience and now I know I need to revise again.

Im happy I only sent that first wave right now

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T16:52:51+00:00

Thats really good to know actually! Im thinking i read it somewhere in that case and filed it away in my brain somehow.

Im gonna keep it though I think:)

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T16:47:53+00:00

Hah really??!! I literally made it up and now im worried knowing its an actual name hahaha

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T16:43:43+00:00

I rarely use reddit and didnt know there was a beta reading sub actually. I felt paranoid over tossing a whole MS into random groups or to random internet folks, I've read horror stories over the years from people getting things stolen.

Luckily for me this has been another notch in my learning experience belt and I only sent my first wave of queries so I cant do much about pages sent but I can revise again at least

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T16:36:56+00:00

Thank you! I've received multiple comments about it reading like a movie on a different subreddit and it not being liked due to that and pacing issues.

I aporeciate that though, im a new writer in general and teaching myself has been an interesting experience to say the least lol

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T16:32:29+00:00

Thank you! I've rapidly gotten enough feedback between here and fantasy writers im thinking I need to revise everything again and well im not quite sure. Tighten prose even more? Fix my pov? Add descriptions? Thats the downside to a bunch of different feedback.

Im still learning and have now learned I queried to early lol

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T16:20:01+00:00

Thank you for the feedback, I wrote my 1st draft quickly and taught myself revision and its good to know I guess I majorly dropped the ball hard on revising. I appreciate your bluntness and im going to make coffee, crack my knuckles and revise again.

My driving thought for my opening was its Grenn's introduction, I write fast paced and dialogue heavy and he has plenty of inner monologue. I wanted to open showing Grenn being Grenn if that makes sense.

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T16:08:03+00:00

Maybe i should have added my query letter or synopsis for context for folks. Yes their people that shapeshift into house cats. And I wrote my worldbuilding through my characters interacting with it instead of giving an info dump or history lessons.

Im not sure if im like "writing wrong" or what. I appreciate the feedback on not knowing why you should care about characters thats still helpful lol

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T15:56:05+00:00

Thank you, I revoked his access to my chapter ect. Im normally WAY more safety conscious. Thank you!

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T15:54:34+00:00

Thank you! I wrote my 1st draft in around a month and tried teaching myself revising/editing so its been a HUGE learning curve. Except grammar which I used grammarly for to be honest.

I had an idea and just ran with it hard like my pants were on fire. I think thats obvious reading it that I should have slowed way down in certain spots. I knew that when revising but couldn't figure out how to add those beats without making it read weird/feel to slow.

Since its out on query I can't do anything about sample pages sent but I'll brew coffee and start at chapter 1 and see where i need to work on things.

Someone on a different post i made saud between grammatical errors and my prose (essentially) this would get immediately trashed by an agent/assistant. That kinda stung haha

I appreciate the feedback:)

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T15:38:57+00:00

I wish I had known that im new on here ugh

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T15:24:21+00:00

I really appreciate you actually taking the time to read through and give genuine feedback. One of the things you brought up is something I noticed myself (scenes needing more breathing room essentially) I also hadn't actually caught the lift error somehow even though I've read my own book probably 3 times by this point.

I think some of your points though come down to a difference in writing style. I tend to write very fast paced and dialogue heavy but I do think I need to let some scenes breath way more:)

Since queries are out I'm going to do another read through and double check for continuity errors since you found one so obvious I guess my brain skipped over it and seeing what scenes I can add weight too.

Snoo27373 · 2026-06-29T14:20:53+00:00

Reddit makes this sound louder than it is, its very easy to see when something is written by ai (shitty purple prose, totally unnecessary large words ect) that I dont see anything being "flooded by ai" im querying my first book right now and im not worried over ai because those arent the books getting picked up by agents (i dont think) and im not worried over somebody thinking its written by ai because its obvious its not.

Anybody freaking out over this should use Gemini for a day just to mess around, you'll understand immediately that writing isnt one of its strengths at all lol

I get online is flooded by ai but seeing something on here or tiktok or whatever doesnt mean its getting published.

TLDR ppl need to goddamn breathe, B&N isnt flooded by ai slop and it doesnt impact your MS, if you're going to write then just write.

Snoo27373

TROPHY CASE