Query Guru (YA Fantasy)

How to handle a large cast of characters

(If you’re looking for my latest free post full of writing news and resources, you can find it here.)

Time for a quick humble brag…

Recently I gave feedback on an author’s query and first pages. She had been querying for months and receiving nothing but form rejections or no responses.

After making the changes I suggested, she got a full request from a traditional indie publisher… and then they offered her a book deal!

I will be interviewing her at some point, so keep an eye out for that, but in the meantime… my methods work, people! They really do.

Today’s Query Guru post:

Welcome to another Query Guru post! Today we’ll look at both the query letter and first page of a YA fantasy.

Both were submitted by a subscriber to my newsletter (thank you, author, for submitting!). If you would like a chance to receive feedback on your query letter and first page, fill out the following Query Guru form. You do not have to be a paid subscriber to receive feedback, though you do have to be a paid subscriber to read the feedback I give to others.

And, if you’re looking for a comprehensive guide to how to write the query letter in the first place, check out my in-depth post: How to Write a Stand-Out Query Letter.

(Note: For privacy reasons the author has removed identifying details from the query, in case you’re wondering about the lack of specificity in the bio.)

Here’s the query: