tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812909700950069050.post2867428150967510917..comments2024-03-16T01:00:59.945-04:00Comments on Query Shark: #300Janet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812909700950069050.post-2013999441715227052022-08-23T18:46:51.979-04:002022-08-23T18:46:51.979-04:00I don't know if you see comments posted on old...I don't know if you see comments posted on old blogs like this, but I laughed out loud when I read "Why you put this at the top of your query letter I do not know." I thought, "SNL fan." And then I saw you posted it on a Sunday and knew you were channeling Kenan Thompson. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15556828203028279692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812909700950069050.post-41960597202303302012018-03-08T14:52:31.529-05:002018-03-08T14:52:31.529-05:00S.E. Dee, exactly - my brain just read "place...S.E. Dee, exactly - my brain just read "placeholder non-title" there. :)DLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08768285199864217885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812909700950069050.post-4016333630584847482018-02-28T11:28:54.912-05:002018-02-28T11:28:54.912-05:00I don't think the story is actually called Cop...I don't think the story is actually called Copy Paste. I don't think the story has a title yet so the writer was implying they'll copy and paste the title there when the time comes. That's my assumption anyway...S.E. Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01900678669541652968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812909700950069050.post-26394370808077036412018-02-28T08:56:43.001-05:002018-02-28T08:56:43.001-05:00nightsmusic, I thought the same. I actually wonder...nightsmusic, I thought the same. I actually wondered whether Janet had just used some sort of substitute for the real title or it didn't have one, so that got plugged in ...DLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08768285199864217885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812909700950069050.post-24192192012115234862018-02-26T14:38:21.207-05:002018-02-26T14:38:21.207-05:00A side issue, but when I read "Title: COPY PA...A side issue, but when I read "Title: COPY PASTE" my first thought was that you had set up some kind of a mass mailing and you intended to copy & paste your title in the slot only you forgot to do that and sent out the mailing without inserting the title and without proofreading. That's probably not the impression you want to give. Adelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08790958029798438793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812909700950069050.post-86398838322863586512018-02-25T16:19:12.051-05:002018-02-25T16:19:12.051-05:00I think your can be an interesting story. As Janet...I think your can be an interesting story. As Janet already said, the elements you present are too abstactact and generic to understand a thing.<br />What makes her think the two teenagers are responsible? What makes her realize something else is happening?<br />Why is she the only one who can solve the situation? Who is the boy she can’t let the Pied Piper take him?<br />You need to add some details to make it more interstin.Frankiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14515451171608119922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812909700950069050.post-13319321370320364272018-02-25T14:03:40.680-05:002018-02-25T14:03:40.680-05:00I do want to say, that with all the violence in Ch...I do want to say, that with all the violence in Chicago and all the mass shootings, there's room to do a story like this that is really relevant to the times. So while this query doesn't do anything for you, I really do hope that you have a great book and are merely suffering from the same affliction that so many of us authors seem to contract early on, i.e. the inability to query without choking. Because you've come to the right place to fix that...Sean Gateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04292749244845727005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812909700950069050.post-9231904553302251262018-02-25T13:51:46.155-05:002018-02-25T13:51:46.155-05:00Janet's comments pretty much cover everything,...Janet's comments pretty much cover everything, but there's one thing she doesn't mention. I realize titles change, but yours is Copy Paste. Absolutely nothing in your query even comes close to matching that title. Usually the title is indicative of the story. This doesn't and it scares me. It makes me wonder after reading it and your query, if your story reads the same as the query. <br /><br />Everything in your query needs to either make sense, or make the agent go Hmmmm...I need more to figure things out but wow, this is a great pull! That's not happening here.nightsmusichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05984119792540771870noreply@blogger.com