7 Query DON'TS - Massive Query Mistakes | How NOT To Get A Lit Agent

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I'm sharing my top 7 Query DON'TS. These are big mistakes amateur writers make when querying. They're mostly the most extreme examples, though a few are more down to earth/possible pitfalls for the average writer.
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25 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 145

@queendsheena1 4 года назад

Me before video: My worst fear is misspellings a name or saying the wrong thing. Me after video: Never mind. I feel a whole lot better.

@littlestpineapple2898 4 года назад

"Here are some Query Don'ts. Don't threaten or stalk the agent." Fair enough, does need to be said :/ Still, in the future, if we feel like we've screwed up the query process, we can at least take solace in the fact that we (hopefully) didn't threaten the person we were trying to get to represent us. That's something.

@jacquig1939 4 года назад

Right? I may have not done a great job with my query but I didn't threaten to kill someone so...good I guess.

@alixthomazi 4 года назад

I enjoy watching these just to feel better about myself once I realise I don't do any of these!

@jessc.8265 4 года назад

Ditto! lol

@SysterYster 4 года назад

Same! :D

@MRuby-qb9bd 4 года назад

Really digging that eyeshadow. Which is a dumb comment, but it will at least boost the algorithm lol. 😄

@solarsailer4166 4 года назад

I've heard much of these "don't dos" from agents in webinars and workshops for years and it still suprises me that some querying authors think this is the way to behave. The most common complaint I've heard is "authors not doing their research", i.e. querying an agent in the wrong genre. Thanks for your tips and reality checks, Alexa. A few years ago, I was staring at my first compelted first draft without a clue of what I needed to do next. Then I found you and Susan Dennard. Thanks for all the tough love. I'm not a glutten for punishment, but the tough love keeps us in the real world and makes us stronger. I'm still working on my query letter. It sucks but hopefully I can make it suck less with each revision!

@hikkipedia 4 года назад

So relieved that to hear that the query letter should be short!

@grethen123 3 года назад

Loved that you pointed out even the obvious things - it's so easy to get so engrossed in your own book that you forget the etiquette completely ))

@nviz47 4 года назад

When you said insulting the genre/a popular book in the genre &/ inflating the impact of your book and saying it'll be a bestseller and/or better than the rest - made me think of the notorious case of Terry Goodkind. 😎 Haven't read his books.

@mnbennetwriter 4 года назад

I thought threats were an exaggeration until I read and watched interviews with literary agents discussing some of their experiences. Geez. I couldn't imagine so much aggression. Thanks for the helpful tips. Some tips I knew beforehand. Some I am guilty of committing years ago. So helpful when entering the query stage.

@NShiro-tp1fe 4 года назад

I've heard of ppl mentioning their amount of instagram (or other social media) followers in their query and honestly... I'd be so embarassed to do that...

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

Only do it if you're an Instagram influencer and it's a part of your platform (which will sell your book). But, yes, 99% of the time it's irrelevant.

@siuzannavyshneva6312 4 года назад

It's such a refreshing advice! Just recently I found out about CC and BCC in a learning a foreign language video, and now it comes back in a matter of days in this video. Must be really something worth remembering, for it obviously stays on the surface of things.

@RachelKathrynnn 4 года назад

I love these videos. I personally don’t have any desire to write a book but I find the publishing industry to be really interesting and your videos explain everything so well!

@livmilesparanormalromanceb6891 4 года назад

Another great video, thank you!

@mischarowe 4 года назад

Commenting for the algorithm because your videos are awesome. Have a great day. :)

@swaralideshmukh6001 3 года назад

Alexa at 3:33 I feel you, but that face is just priceless.

@mishashmi381 4 года назад

Gonna binge watch all your videos again right before before I step into the query trenches. You're a life saver.

@mishashmi381 4 года назад

@@garyswift135 absolutely. She's one of the authortubers who seriously inspired me

@LariTanner 4 года назад

I can't believe people do what you mentioned, I'm shocked. I've never even thought of these kinds of things. Crazy! Thanks for sharing, I won't be doing any of these! ;) I'm worried about querying but now I know what NOT to do.

@MxSangy 4 года назад

As always, I love the way you expertly spill that tea, sis 👌 I'mma go share this with all my Twitter acquaintances.

@pradeepmr4416 4 года назад

What is your book about

@endlessteatime4733 4 года назад

Sorry, off-topic, but I adore that blouse! The colour looks so good on you and brings out your red hair. I love your what-not-to-do videos, the stuff some people do is really good entertainment... as long as I don't have to be at the receiving end of those actions.

@lollyannaclark 4 года назад

Sending agents pie charts? People really....they really do that? Dammnnnnn.

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

I... saw it on RU-vid.

@lollyannaclark 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne Yikes.

@solarsailer4166 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne I don't doubt your information, but I am shocked.

@DrVVVinK 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne Was it an author talking about what they are doing, and passing it off as advice?

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

@@DrVVVinK I actually came across it as a targeted RU-vid ad of a video about how they had written a children's book better than a bestseller and they talked about sending the pie charts to agents who had rejected them :)

@fallofmanbrand 4 года назад

amazing video

@dropslemon 2 года назад

There's something magical about how my brain mangled "don't shotgun agents with a "Dear Agent"" to "don't shotgun deer agents"

@SinaSkates 4 года назад

"Who wants to read books by jerks?" Lol.... there's so much to that statement. So funny.

@nuny4592 4 года назад

My inspiration for my book idea was "How convenient it'd be to have this power..... but imagine how inconvenient it'd be if there was this curse that went with it!" Because my entire thought process is superhuman abilities that'd be convenient for my everyday life :)

@MazMedazzaland 4 года назад

I have heard about people doing weird things to stand out, or writing on purple scented paper and so on. I don't know why people veer so far out of the submission guidelines. Off topic but I love your top!

@Kevlandia 4 года назад

I'm not sure if it's because I've already gone through the querying stage, but it is MIND BLOWING that people still do these things...

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

... I actually made this b/c of a RU-vid video I saw haha. (but I've seen variations on these/questions about some of them on Reddit recently)

@887frodo 4 года назад

I kinda fear these videos, as amazing as they are, are directed to the minority of artists who are extrovert and amazing at selling themselves. I have cold sweats just thinking about anybody else reading my writing, yet alone paying me for it.

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

I mean, I'm an introvert, so. Introvertedness/extrovertness has nothing to do with being able to learn how to craft a decent query. There's TONS of help and guides out there for those to whom it doesn't come naturally. You don't have to write the most amazing query on earth to avoid the Don'ts, either.

@887frodo 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne True. And hearing about the crazy crap people send and say... Geez.

@nathanielquiet8636 4 года назад

@@887frodo You need to show your work to someone (anyone!) in order to get constructive criticism. It is one important way to improve your craft. Perhaps join a writers group or look at the mentorship programmes some on authortube are involved in. I know it is hard but some of us want you to succeed. Your success isn't to my disadvantage and I wish you all the luck in the world. Writing is hard and we all need help at times ☺

@887frodo 4 года назад

@@nathanielquiet8636 I really want to be part of a community of writers but it's hard for me because English is not my native language. So it's not only the writing but the writing in a foreign language. The lack of resources for writers who write in English as their second language is staggering. I began writing a novel in fall 2013/spring 2014 while taking ESL classes. I'm in the process of rewriting most of it. It's weird. It begins with rudimentary English and ends with college lvl English. Part of the fear is, you know, nobody takes serious a person who writes in English yet speaks it with an accent--and I'm speaking here from experience.

@PianoGirl091 4 года назад

Wonderful advice, as usual! You might be happy to hear that I recently bought Brightly Burning and will be reading it soon. I can't wait, because Jane Eyre is actually one of my favorite stories of all time! Alexa, I do have a more serious question for you in regards to querying and publishing. This might be nothing to concern myself with at all, but when I do start querying, I am absolutely terrified that I am accidently going to query a non legitimate publisher or agent. Any tips on how to avoid/recognize this?

@thepomegranatekid 4 года назад

A good starting place is querytracker.net - not only can you make an account and keep track of who you've queried and how old it is but they have a wonderful database of legitimate agents. I've been using it for months now. :)

@jacquig1939 4 года назад

I kind of twitched at the- don't threaten the agent. Like I can see so many of these happening often but man. I'm sure it happens but just wow.

@lilymiller7237 4 года назад

you helped me find ideas for my book! if i publish it i will definitely mention you in my acknowledgments 😂

@pradeepmr4416 4 года назад

What is your book about

@lilymiller7237 4 года назад

Pradeep MR it’s sort of an enemies to lovers mixed with murder mystery story, i’m a sucker for those books

@sarahjones1318 4 года назад

#2...definitely know what Elf on the Shelf-esque pitch this refers to...

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

So you saw the video too! I thought I was hallucinating haha.

@kaitfitzgerald6598 4 года назад

Love your videos. Just a suggestion, maybe name each don't in order as a reminder.

@kaitfitzgerald6598 4 года назад

At the end of the video. . .

@erinhand6004 4 года назад

I just googled the title I had in mind for my novel, and luckily, I didn't hit on anything with the same name. But I hadn't even thought to check that before now, way to give ma a mini heart attack there.

@AliceFleuryWilmasWimzees 4 года назад

I’m lost! How do I find your link about writing good query letters?

@nviz47 4 года назад

Thanks Alexa! :). I know Goodkind in one example badmouthed his cover artists work, publically and just was very unprofessional, rude and critical.

@stephenginnetty4866 4 года назад

I know talk about unprofessional. One of the many reasons why I don't read any of his books.

@AuthorGuy1 4 года назад

I got the idea for St. Martin's Moon from another book called Blood Moon. For a long time I called it Blood Moon, but I decided I didn't want to use it, so I googled it, looking for alternatives. Turned out there must be several hundred books, especially in paranormal, called Blood Moon. That's where I found St. Martin's Moon instead. The alternative was Werewolves on the Moon, similar to Snakes on a Plane. Still not sure which is better.

@charrier18 4 года назад

In regard to #2... Can we put quotes from beta reports? Kinda like quotes from other authors that you find on book covers.

@jackiesanteramo-mead1171 4 года назад

A literary agent getting stalked by a rejected author sounds like a great potential book...

@tanishjain7851 3 года назад

Can we just appreciate the expression in the thumbnail?

@andreamalkinson1412 4 года назад

OMG I know what ad you must have seen. I yikesed so hard, but I got someone some ad $$ cuz I had to watch the train wreck all the way to the end.

@JessChii 4 года назад

I fell into the trap of Querying an agent who does not represent my main genre, but I queried them because they were listed on query tracker as interested in my genre. How do we get around this? Can we trust the information things like Query tracker presents? Do agents list themselves as interested in certain genres on these platforms? I've been more diligent since, but there are many listed on there who, when you check their website, do not have any representation in that genre.

@ramonarobot 4 года назад

Hi Alexa. I have a question: Do publishers tend to shy away from novels with profanities/curses/obscenities...? If they’re okay with it, is there some kind of threshold on how much is too much in a book?

@michaljaroslavmajan Год назад

Hi, Alexa. I have a question. Do you think it is possible for me, as a Slovak author who has written a book in English, to send it to literary agents? I don't mean just to America or the UK, but maybe also to Germany, because the story is set in Austria and Germany and basically in other countries, but unfortunately, I don't speak German. Do I have a chance?

@julianfantasia9033 4 года назад

i saw a query online whose title was an iconic quote from an extremely famous (made into a feature film that made over a quarter billion at the box office) book that came out less than ten years ago, in the same genre and category as their own book. iconic enough that i read the book and watched the movie once each like five years ago and i still remembered the quote. it was used in virtually all the promotional materials. that was intentional on their part, by their own admission, and they didn't even attempt to hide it. also, their book was a gauche, disrespectful rip-off of that famous title. as a person with common sense it is easy to underestimate how necessary obvious advice can be.

@thejeremiahrivera 4 года назад

I came across a whole video of someone trying to find an agent by saying they shopped their children's book in elementary schools and compared it to The Elf on the Shelf and the kids preferred their book.

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

LOL yes I saw that video too! Honestly inspired this video though the rest of the list came to me very easily once I got started :)

@alwaysapirateroninace443 3 года назад

Wow, people threaten agents. Now I've heard everything.

@NR-rv8rz 2 года назад

If you shouldn't query multiple agents at the same time, even with very personalised emails, and the chances of being taken up by any particular agent is low, then does that mean you basically take five years as you have to query one or two then sit and wait for six weeks before you try the next one or two and on and on? What's wrong with researching hundreds of agencies and parring them down to a prefered shortlist of twenty or thirty then contacting those at the same time?

@AsheJunius 4 года назад

Thanks for the video! I do have one question and it's about _properly_ addressing the agent by name. While going through my list of agents, I found one agent who is referred to as "Ms." in QueryTracker, but when I did research on this agent by looking up information on her personal website, it mentioned she possesses a Ph.D. I thought that maybe it would be more respectful to refer to this agent as "Dr." instead of "Ms." However, I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do. On a similar token, there are a few agents who list "Ms." even though they're married. What's your take on that? Should I still call her "Ms. So-in-so" or use a more appropriate honorific?

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

I definitely use Ms even if someone is married. It's gone out of style to refer to a married woman as Mrs so & so, at least in business circles. I'm not sure about using Dr. honestly... when it doubt, you can use their first name though, if you're comfortable. (but likely safer to just use Ms?).

@AsheJunius 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne Thanks for the reply! I never thought about using _just_ their first name-- it feels so odd, at least in a business letter, but if it's the norm in the literary industry for agents to be referred by just their first name, I might consider doing just that. Thanks again!

@dorothyinman4632 2 года назад

I will say the main piece of advice is look at the agent's page and see what they want from you. I've queried about 10 agents for my book and every single one of them wanted something different: cover letters, long or short synopsis, first 10 pages, first chapter, first three chapters, query letter and it goes on. Some agents want a short biography. Some want the audience the book would appeal to. Some want everything attached in a Word doc, some want you to cut and paste in the body of the email and are adamant if you attach things they won't look at your query at all. This is one of the reasons querying is so difficult. You have to cater to each agent's desires, but it works out in the end if you follow the rules and they want to represent you. Good luck all.

@absolutelycitron1580 3 месяца назад

Alexa ty for saving me from myself

@imnickij 4 года назад

On the subject of titles and querying, is it okay to query without a title? Or should you just put a place holder there and mention it's not the final title if you hear back? I worry about having the wrong title for the book being an issue.

@NShiro-tp1fe 4 года назад

I'm not an expert, but querying without a title looks like you haven't really finished your book. I'd search for a place holder, even if its not going to be the final title (just my opinion)

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

Always come up with some kind of title. Untitled makes it impossible for the agent to search for your query in their inbox/remember it.

@imnickij 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne brilliant, thank you!x

@hellokittyfrosting 4 года назад

Would it be possible to talk about querying stories with major twists in them? Is it better to give them away in the query to make them want to read, or should we hope the pre-twist premise is strong enough to make them want to read it? (Especially at a midway twist as opposed to a twist ending)

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

I have a lot of thoughts on this so good idea! I got into a minor disagreement on Reddit over this topic too! The short answer here: if your book relies on someone knowing the twist to be interesting enough to read, something is either wrong w/ the book, or the way you're pitching it. ie: the solution is to make the first half compelling enough conflict & stakes wise to draw them in to get them to read to that big twist. You can also hint at something bigger being at play, but all the agents I trust say no spoilers in the query. I actually made this mistake in my first queries! I spoiled my twist in early queries, then happily my mentor in Pitch Madness helped me fix it, and my second round query was MUCH better w/o the spoilers (and I learned how to pitch the book better w/o it). So for example, if you were querying Gone Girl, IMO you couldn't spoil the twist of that book in the query. You WOULD hint at it though by asking the kind of question like: Is Nick as innocent as he claims, or is there more to Amy than meets the eye? etc. (that's ham-fisted writing but you catch my drift)

@hellokittyfrosting 4 года назад

Alexa Donne Thank you!!!! That's incredibly helpful 😄

@roxanne6007 4 года назад

But what if I have evidence that my book will outsell Elf on the Shelf?? My unprofessionally conducted study with poor methodology said it will become a bestseller! I should just put up a youtube ad so agents will come to me.

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

Don't forget the website.

@pierreluc 3 года назад

I would add two little things that helped me: 1- Do not use slur words on your title. I know that The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*** was a hit, but most markets don't respond well to shock value. 2- While writing about yourself, write your expertise and if you have one, your following. As my publisher said : "It doesn't matter if I publish the best book on earth if no ones ear about it". Social medias helped me a lot!

@ruthiecoltrane6640 4 года назад

Just on the "talk about the book not you" thing, would you include professional references? For instance if you wrote a book about a fictional military that you the author served in the military or the main character was an archeologist or doctor that you the author are one? Would it help distinguishing yourself from a 19yo english major who has written a first person narrative book about a medical anthropologist working in a war zone by including this information in a query.

@ruthiecoltrane6640 4 года назад

Or would it go down like the person is tooting their own horn. 😒🥳

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

It's ok to have a simple line in your bio paragraph about the relevant experience--short and simple is good.

@ruthrouse 4 года назад

I'm nowhere near the query stages yet but I found myself cringing at some of these. Hard to believe people think they are a good idea

@apsararodrigo9338 4 года назад

Do agents mind if you had a few typos in your query/synopsis or pitch letter?

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

Most don't mind, no! Everyone makes mistakes.

@miscellaneous7151 4 года назад

Okay, gotta change my title. It wasn’t taken when I checked seven years ago.

@aliciap1390 4 года назад

In one of my query emails, an agent requested the first ten pages, which I did! But in my query letter itself, I said that I've given the first 5 pages, as requested. *queue internal screams once I realized my mistake* Is this just going to become an auto reject due to this mistake?

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

Nope! Don't worry. it's not a huge deal :)

@aliciap1390 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne Whew! Thank goodness. Your videos have alleviated so much of the stress I've had in beginning querying! Thank you for posting all this amazing content!!

@timothyburbage 4 года назад

That's okay, I mis-copied an email and put the wrong name after Dear... D'oh!

@rosieradcliffe5578 4 года назад

Aaarrgggghhh ... watched this, and thought "did I remember to Google my title"? You can guess the rest ....

@leonp7235 4 года назад

Sorry, #1 confused me a bit; By don't "shot gun", did you mean to not send the same query letter to many agents (which is obviously a stupid thing to do, but not as stupid as other things on the list), or did you mean to only send out one query at a time? A book may be rejected for any number of reasons that have nothing to do with the objective quality of the book, so I would have thought it would be a little egotistical to presume the first agent you query will be interested in your work? Thanks

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

Both. I don't recommend authors query more than 100 agents (have a video on it), but primarily here it means all at once/on one email chain.

@leonp7235 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne Ha! I can imagine the printouts of queries with half of the page filled with cc. Addressees 😆 I'll check out that other video. Thankyou for the reply.

@gorffennafeighteen4178 4 года назад

I got a question, what if the literary agent is from america and I'm from Wales. Will it be a problem?

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

Not at all! Most literary agents never even meet their clients and everything is done over email :)

@gorffennafeighteen4178 4 года назад

Thank you for the reply!

@JennaStreety 4 года назад

But Alexa THE PIE CHART XD

@TheStumptube 2 года назад

I put together a few indie horror anthologies around 2015. Follow-up emails about rejections are real... and they regularly contain insults. One author told me I was a fool for refusing his story. He was, apparently, going to be the next big thing, so I should have been honoured to read his work. It's all part of the fun. The publisher and I laughed about it for weeks. Oh, and the story was terrible. So bad that I thought a child had written it and I gave a personalised response (rather than a form rejection), encouraging him to keep going. The story had serious tense problems and at one point the perspective switched from first to third person but only for a few paragraphs. It's bizarre to me that anyone would submit something in that kind of state and then complain about being rejected. Don't be THAT guy.

@Themi. 3 года назад

Maybe it's the wrong thing to take away from this video but I'm kind of relieved to hear that so many people completely screw up their query letters. You always hear how agents get hundreds of queries and only represent like 5 people at a time, so it seems impossible to get in, but if half of the queries they receive are that bad, suddenly the chances look much better.

@CharlieHorse4363 4 года назад

Should I participate in pitch wars or query contests before or after my book is ready to be queried?

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

You can't enter PW unless your book is complete and generally you have MUCH better odds at being chosen if you're reasonably close to query ready. I personally do not recommend doing any pitch contests unless you are query ready.

@CharlieHorse4363 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne I'm so glad you said so, I felt that was the case instinctively but I also wasn't sure if I was holding myself back and missing good opportunities! Thank you for replying!!

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

@@CharlieHorse4363 I totally understand the urge! I think for the mentorship part of PW, it's not as dire b/c the point is mentorship, but anything agent facing I'm just reluctant to advise anyone not to put out their best work. There have been cases where someone pitched incomplete or unedited work and fellow authors have noticed (and we whisper about so & so who pitched a book that didn't exist, or they got an agent but no one bought the book b/c it wasn't ready, etc.)

@CharlieHorse4363 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne How would one go about making sure people know you're looking for a mentor not an agent during pitch wars to avoid that faux pa?

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

@@CharlieHorse4363 Pitch Wars is only for mentorship. Are you confusing Pitch Wars with Pitmad? They are different.

@elenalechuga3656 4 года назад

how common are these things in the publishing industry? someone knows?

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

Thankfully not that common but common enough for me to make the list :) They're all based on real things I've heard people have done. (or things I've seen personally in the AMM inbox)

@elenalechuga3656 4 года назад

Alexa Donne even in AMM?🙃insane, but thank you Alexa for all the things you have done for us, newbie writers

@StevenWilliams2560 4 года назад

Bookends Agency strongly advised against guessing titles like Mr., Ms., or Miss, or assuming pronouns. They said stick with first name or first and last name together. They also advised against guessing nicknames. Don't assume Joseph goes by Joe or Margaret goes by Maggie or Peg.

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

I mean YMMV. I used Ms. Roth Parker and it was fine. It was the greeting that felt correct at the time. Part of your research can be looking up the agent's preference b/c everyone's is different. (My agent has since given interviews stating she doesn't mind being addressed as Elana, but that information was not available in 2017)

@dianerocher6705 4 года назад

I love you Alexa

@lilyd8908 4 года назад

I started looking at the mswl hashtag on twitter and was honestly shocked at how many tweets there were from people just talking about how much they hate agents in general? And then it would be tagged “am querying”, like how bitter are you that you aspire to traditionally publish but then go on rants about how much you think agents are terrible people?? What is wrong with people.

@la1495 4 года назад

Okay big novice here: Why is it bad to query multiple agents at once? It seems temporally efficient. Surely the agents know that as well. Also, are they constantly talking to other agents to check for this? I just don't know why that would be bad.

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

Multiple agents at once is fine. Querying 100 at the same time, in the same email, is bad.

@la1495 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne Thanks for the clarification. I mistook you for meaning one at a time. ha that'd take forever

@lilithcrow6675 4 года назад

Don't threaten them? People do that? You shouldn't threaten anyone, ever!!!

@evarchavex4800 4 года назад

'Writing it in the voice of your main character.' Why is this a problem?

@carlajenkins1990 4 года назад

Not in the query letter. You can mention the voice there, but don't do it.

@fadedpages 4 года назад

the query letter is not a piece of art or creative fiction. It is meant to be a short professional paragraph or two that gives an agent the bare bones of your manuscript. It is not the time to try to get cute with the voice.

@mandalynak 4 года назад

It’s shocking that writers actually insult and threaten agents. So amateur. 🙄

@DalCecilRuno 4 года назад

Question: I have a pen name, so, the name you're seeing from me here is not my legal name, not even close to my legal name, and I would love to keep my "real persona" hidden, but I also hear that if you have a pen name, you must sign with your legal name first, and then add "writing as insert pen name." I hate this. I've considered just signing with my pen name and if I ever get anyone interested, then I tell them hey this is my paper name, I never use it unless it's paperwork. But, I'm afraid this could be a query "don't" that you didn't mention. So, can I start just using my pen name from now on or...? To clarify it further, I'm not in the transgender community, so it's not a dead name case, but very similar in the sense that I really hate that name, I've always hated it, always wanted another name, and I would also really prefer to keep my personal life away from my writing stuff. So... Yeah, this has my mind spinning in circles. Thanks. :)

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

It's best to mention it in the query (in the salutation) but if you absolutely do not want to or cannot, you should bring it up once an agent represents you. You'll have to use your real name for legal paperwork so they will have to know at that point.

@DalCecilRuno 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne thank you..So it is possible to keep that away until and if an agent decides to represent me. Hmm... I mean, I put so much effort into this online anonymity thing to ruin it all in the queries. I think even you saw it, and please I hope you've already forgotten it. I'm Dal, always Dal, unless legal and paperwork stuff, I know I can't escape the paperwork. Thank you.

@lilytheviolinist 4 года назад

Also good to check for the agent’s pronouns on their Twitter/website in case they use gender neutral pronouns and don’t use Ms or Mr!

@SiiKei 4 года назад

I use "Dear First Last name" to avoid that.

@TomorrowWeLive 3 года назад

Lol as if any normal person would want an insane agent

@starkidpotter1310 4 года назад

@madelenewaldron8796 4 года назад

Ooh I do have one note on the 'Dear Mrs/Mr [Name]' - make sure to check their pronouns! Querytracker doesn't include non-binary honorifics, and misgendering someone can put you immediately on the wrong foot!

@livstrom 4 года назад

I watch an interview with an agent where they recommend to always write "Dear first name last name", this avoids any gender issues and still works if you think only first name is too informal.

@lisakells6528 4 года назад

So potentially a very 101 question... but as a British writer, who uses British spellings - is that off putting for American agents and editors? Just over here, over thinking everything again.

@pradeepmr4416 4 года назад

First ya first ya i am so happy I am first i ❤ you Alexa Donne i want to scream so that everyone here me i am first pls can we talk through phone