An Agent's Inbox #3

Dear Ms. Martindale:

Eleven-year-old Gladys Gatsby loves to cook, but no one in fast-food-obsessed East Dumpsford shares her passion--especially not her parents, who ban her from the kitchen after one teeny, tiny crème-brûlée-triggered fire. Gladys finds a new creative outlet in an essay contest in which she writes about her dream job: becoming a restaurant critic for The New York Times. But when her essay lands on a Times editor’s desk, Gladys finds herself taking on that job a lot sooner than she expected!

Her first assignment: review Classy Cakes, a fancy new “dessert bistro” in New York City. To sneak into the city and the restaurant, Gladys will need help from every friend she’s got--and possibly from her worst enemy, Charissa Bentley. The most popular, meanest girl in the sixth grade is having a birthday party in Manhattan, and if Gladys can get herself invited, she just might manage to meet her deadline and hang on to her dream job.

GLADYS GATSBY TAKES THE CAKE is a 48,000-word, humorous middle-grade novel about a girl who can’t wait to be a grown-up, even if that means biting off more (delicious, gourmet food) than she can chew. The novel stands alone but has series potential. I’ve read that you enjoy cooking, so I think that this project could be a great fit for you.

I graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Creative Writing and have a play published in the anthology FISHAMBLE FIRSTS (New Island, 2008). My plays and screenplays have been shortlisted for several major awards, which are detailed on my website, [redacted].

I would be happy to send my complete manuscript upon your request and have pasted the first page below. Thank you so much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

T.D.

GLADYS GATSBY TAKES THE CAKE

Gladys Gatsby stood at the counter, the spout of her father’s heavy blowtorch poised over the top of the first ceramic cup. Her finger hovered over the trigger button that was supposed to turn her plain little custards into crunchy, tasty treats. That's when she heard a car door slam outside.

Gladys froze for a second, but then she checked the clock. 5:16--still a good 44 minutes before her parents were due home from work, and they were never early. It’s probably just the neighbors, she told herself, and with that, she took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

Several things happened at once. With a hiss, a blue flame several inches longer than Gladys had expected shot out of the blowtorch, passing clear over the far edge of the first custard. With a whoosh, the wind outside changed direction and began to blow in through the kitchen window, setting the gauzy blue and white curtains aflutter. And with a jingle and a grinding noise and finally a click, someone turned a key in the Gatsbys’ front door.

A moment later, she heard her parents’ footsteps in the hall.

“Gladdy!” her dad called. “We’ve got pizza!”

Fudge! Gladys thought. She tried to release the trigger on the blowtorch, but to her horror, the spout kept shooting flame. She pumped on it desperately with her finger, but that only seemed to make the flame get bigger.

Their footsteps were getting louder.

An Agent's Inbox #2

Dear Ms. Martindale,

In the multiple interviews you’ve given (Krista’s included, thank you Krista!) and your agent bio, you’ve stressed that you are looking for characters, and my manuscript is all about the characters!

THE ADVENTURES OF BIC AND BILL is the story of Bill, Daddy, an ornery goat named Del Ray, the return of Bill’s massive Momma, and a boxing rat. It is told from the POV of a miss-educated chicken named Bic.

When Momma, escapes her indentured service as a prize fighter to the circus, and busts back to the farm, Bill’s happier than a hound dog to have his Momma back. But soon enough Bill, Daddy, and all the animals on the farm are glum as can be, and terrified of Momma’s terrible wrath, and enormous apatite. If Bill’s twice as big as three water buffalo and just as strong, Momma’s bigger and stronger. So when Momma sees how the farms been running since she left for the circus back when Bill was just a giant baby she’s as angry as an exploded hornets nest.

But when the four tiny brothers of the Terral, Ferral, Derral, and Merral Brothers Circus, come calling to collect Momma, and Momma refuses, Daddy proposes a deal that involves Momma, the circus brothers, himself, Bill, and the farm all in one go.

The brothers will host a boxing match that pits Momma against a champion of Daddy’s choosing. If Momma wins she takes the winnings from the fight and pays off her debt to the circus brothers. If Daddy’s champion wins, Momma must return to the circus.

Now, Bic, Bill, and Daddy must capture and train the only living creature that stands a chance in the ring against, Momma Kill Punch Janice. Mr Rat. a six foot tall boxing rat who Daddy tried to sell to Butcher Pete after Bill knocked him unconscious with his gardening club for raiding the chicken coop.

THE ADVENTURES OF BIC AND BILL is a MG boy's adventure novel complete at 35,000 words.

I am a co-founder of the writing and comedy community www.boxingwithpencils.com which receives 6,000 to 8,000 page views a month, and at four months old, is still growing in readership.

Thank you for your time,

A.H.

THE ADVENTURES OF BIC AND BILL

“Lift her higher so I can get at them rats Bill!” shouts Daddy from the porch, pointing his long stocked double barreled shotgun fiendishly under the chicken coop.

Lifting the coop a little higher is easy cause Bill’s stronger than a Mississippi tugboat. Gripping that hen house at the base an raising his elbow, Bill pulls it up enough that he can peek at what’s underneath. Tha Rat’s, glaring back at Bill, growling big as a Cincinnati steam train an meaner than a honey badger in a bee’s nest. Bill’s got his gardening club in one hand an wants to hit that big barracuda toothed rodent right in the skull so he can’t eat no more chickens.

“That’s it Bill, lift it higher! WOOO WEEE I can see that big varmint now!” Hollers Daddy, hopping back an forth on the porch, “Just like you’re do’n Bill, keep go’n higher so I can get a shot at him! Real high Bill!”

Daddy’s got Bill excited now. All exuberant like, Bill goes on an gives that coop a heave. He done sends the chicken house flipping through the air to land ten feet away, smack upside down on its roof.

There’s that rat, exposed big as a python in a playpen. Daddy takes one look at the monster an straight away faints of shock at the size of the thing. He collapses on the porch firing off both barrels as he goes down. One slug goes skipping off towards the sun an the other flies directly at that giant rodent.

An Agent's Inbox #1

Dear Ms. Martindale,

I am seeking representation for HERE TODAY, a humorous women’s fiction novel complete at 84,000 words. After reading your interviews on GotYA and Mother.Write, I think we might be a good fit.

Nate Cather, a world-famous actor, is stalking his own biggest fan. In the public eye since age 15, Nate doesn’t have many normal friends, but he does have Mary K Dallof, a fan who has written him every week for ten years. Nate looks forward to hearing from Mary K more than anyone can ever know--after all, people pay to watch movies starring dashing-and-refreshingly-scandal-free Nate Cather, not the real one.

But when Mary K’s wedding announcement arrives, Nate realizes his one chance at true love is slipping away. Ignoring the protests of his brother/manager Tom, Nate sets off to break up Mary K’s engagement, hopefully without destroying his career in the process. Unfortunately, wooing Mary K requires avoiding her suspicious older sister and maintaining a healthy dislike for her infuriatingly nice fiancé. And he thought shaving his head to disguise himself was tough.

When Tom reports that the tabloids are on his trail, Nate has to decide whether he’s going to risk his career for Mary K--who, as it turns out, isn’t as easy to talk to in real life as she was in his head. Mary K, on the other hand, must pick between true love and a life-long crush. Told from the alternating perspectives of Nate and Mary K, HERE TODAY takes place over the five days before Mary K’s wedding.

I was a columnist and copy editor at The Daily Utah Chronicle, my college newspaper, from 2003 to 2007. I have also worked as a marketing assistant for Shadow Mountain Publishing. This is my first novel.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
R.F.


HERE TODAY

One of the many, many nice things about being both rich and good-looking is that I’m not going to be convicted of a crime anytime soon. Take stalking. It’s technically a crime, and I suppose I could be accused of dabbling in quote-unquote stalking.

See, I’m Nathan Cather. Yeah. The Nathan Cather--the one who probably has a couple stalkers of his own? You’ve probably seen my movies, watched my TV shows, read my interviews. Some of you might have even visited my website.

This isn’t arrogance--it’s fact. Sometimes I meet people who pretend they’re too smart to know who I am, too mature to pay attention to who I broke up with last or how much money I make. “Nathan Cather, huh? What do you do for a living?” They, my friends, are full of it. Everybody knows Nathan Cather--anyone who says otherwise is lying. I’ve been in two TV series and twenty-three movies, dozens of magazine covers, and hosted SNL three times.

So I pose the question: Who is going to find me guilty of stalking? Most women want me to stalk them. And sure, laws probably should apply to everyone equally, but let’s be real. Don’t some apply a little more to the dude who drips his own blood on a girl’s car, and a little less to the international movie star?

I’m just saying.

Now Accepting Entries

UPDATE: We filled out last slot at 3:30 p.m. EST (or 12:30 p.m. PST). If you sent your entry before that, check your spam filter for my reply. If you think there might be a problem, feel free to e-mail me. Entries go up on Wednesday, so stay tuned!

I'm now accepting entries for November’s round of "An Agent's Inbox"! Here's a quick refresher:

The Rules

1. To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions: First, it must be COMPLETE, POLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the genres The Agent represents (which are listed at the bottom of this post).

2. IF YOU PARTICIPATED IN ANY OF THE PREVIOUS ROUNDS OF “AN AGENT’S INBOX,” please DO NOT participate in this one UNLESS YOU HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT that meets the criteria listed above. I have a pretty good memory, and I will disqualify previous entries. If the entry slots don’t fill up by Tuesday, November 15, I may allow previous participants to enter, but I'm not going to make that decision right now.

3. All entries must include A QUERY and THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. You must paste these items IN THE BODY OF YOUR E-MAIL; otherwise, I'll disqualify it.

4. THE ENTRY WINDOW OPENS AT 10:00 A.M. EST (OR 7:00 A.M. PST). Once the entry window opens, I'll accept the first 20 entries. I won't accept any entries sent before the entry window opens or after the first 20 slots fill up.

5. If your entry makes it in, I'll send you a confirmation e-mail with a post number. If your entry doesn't make it in, I'll still send you an e-mail, but it won't have a post number.

6. If your entry makes it in, YOU MUST COMMENT ON AT LEAST 3 OTHER ENTRIES.

The Prizes The Agent, Taylor Martindale* of Full Circle Literary, will select both the winners and the prizes. She might pick 20 winners, or she might only pick one. She might offer full requests, or she might only ask to see another page. It all depends on how good the entries are.

Please keep in mind that THIS CONTEST ISN'T FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. I've encouraged The Agent to treat the entries exactly as she would a normal batch of queries. Essentially, she’ll be answering the question, "How much of the entry did you read, and if you didn't read it all, why did you stop?" I think this process will be instructive for all of us, but if you enter, you need to be prepared to hear exactly what The Agent thinks of your query and first page.

The Genres

YA fiction (all subgenres)
MG fiction (all subgenres)
Women's fiction (historical, multicultural, and book club)

To enter, please send an e-mail with YOUR QUERY and THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript to kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com. And please, please, please remember to PASTE THESE ITEMS IN THE BODY OF THE E-MAIL.

*I know this probably goes without saying, but you should probably treat this round a little differently because you already know who The Agent is. Specifically, if Ms. Martindale has already rejected your query, YOU PROBABLY DON’T WANT TO ENTER UNLESS YOU’VE MADE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO YOUR QUERY AND/OR MANUSCRIPT. I’m not going to say you can’t enter (mostly because I have no way to police it), but you--and she--are going to get a lot more out of this contest if you enter something The Agent hasn’t seen before.

"An Agent's Inbox" Contest Alert

THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR ENTRIES! I'M JUST GIVING YOU A HEADS-UP. THE CONTEST OPENS NEXT MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14.

“An Agent's Inbox” is exactly what it sounds like--next week, I'm turning the blog into an agent's inbox, a public one. We'll get to see 20 queries along with their first pages, and we'll get to hear what a bona fide agent thinks of each one.

The queries and first pages will be yours, of course. I'll accept your entries this Monday, November 14, and then I'll post them next Wednesday, November 16. The entrants and anyone else who wishes to review them may comment until the following Tuesday, November 22, when I'll announce the winners.

Those winners will be chosen by The Agent, and this month, The Agent is Taylor Martindale* of Full Circle Literary!

Rules

1. To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions: First, it must be COMPLETE, POLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the genres The Agent represents (which are listed at the bottom of this post).

2. IF YOU PARTICIPATED IN ANY OF THE PREVIOUS ROUNDS OF “AN AGENT’S INBOX,” please DO NOT participate in this one UNLESS YOU HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT that meets the criteria listed above. I have a pretty good memory, and I will disqualify previous entries. If the entry slots don’t fill up by Tuesday, November 15, I may allow previous participants to enter, but I’m not going to make that decision right now.

3. All entries must include A QUERY and THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. You must paste these items IN THE BODY OF YOUR E-MAIL; otherwise, I'll disqualify it.

4. THE ENTRY WINDOW OPENS AT 10:00 A.M. EST (OR 7:00 A.M. PST). Once the entry window opens, I'll accept the first 20 entries. I won't accept any entries sent before the entry window opens or after the first 20 slots fill up.

5. If your entry makes it in, I'll send you a confirmation e-mail with a post number. If your entry doesn't make it in, I'll still send you an e-mail, but it won't have a post number.

6. If your entry makes it in, YOU MUST COMMENT ON AT LEAST 3 OTHER ENTRIES.

The Prizes The Agent will select both the winners and the prizes. The Agent might pick 20 winners, or she might only pick one. The Agent might offer full requests, or she might only ask to see another page. It all depends on how good the entries are.

Please keep in mind that THIS CONTEST ISN'T FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. I've encouraged The Agent to treat the entries exactly as she would a normal batch of queries. Essentially, she’ll be answering the question, "How much of the entry did you read, and if you didn't read it all, why did you stop?" I think this process will be instructive for all of us, but if you enter, you need to be prepared to hear exactly what The Agent thinks of your query and first page.

So get those queries and first pages polished up, then meet us back here on Monday, November 14, at 10:00 a.m. EST! At that time, you may send your entries to kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com. Looking forward to it!

The Genres

YA fiction (all subgenres)
MG fiction (all subgenres)
Women’s fiction (historical, multicultural, and book club)

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below!

*I know this probably goes without saying, but if you’re thinking about entering, you should probably treat this round a little differently because you already know who The Agent is. Feel free to do a little research and include personalization in your queries. Also, if Ms. Martindale has already rejected your query, YOU PROBABLY DON’T WANT TO ENTER UNLESS YOU’VE MADE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO YOUR QUERY AND/OR MANUSCRIPT. I’m not going to say you can’t enter (mostly because I have no way to police it), but you--and she--are going to get a lot more out of this contest if you enter something The Agent hasn’t seen before.

Interview with an Agent: Kathleen Rushall

Excited to share an unusual Wednesday edition of "Interview with an Agent" with you! Today’s interview features Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Ms. Rushall has a jam-packed schedule this week, so the interview’s not interactive, but her answers to the usual questions are quite informative, I think. Happy reading!

KV: How long have you been agenting, and how did you get into it?

KR: First of all, thank you so much for interviewing me! I really appreciate it and I love to appear on blogs like Mother. Write. (Repeat.)--places where we all have the same passion.

I officially became an agent in May of 2011, but I was assisting other agents with their projects and on administrative tasks in an agency before that. I interned at the Sandra Dijkstra Agency for six months and then worked at Waterside Productions for about a year and a half before becoming an agent with Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

KV: How would you summarize your personal agenting philosophy? What do you expect from an agent-author relationship?

KR: I look at the author-agent relationship as a give and take. I really view it as a partnership. Like all strong partnerships, it should be built on communication, respect, and honesty. I expect authors to work hard, to always strive for improvement (good writing is a process), to have initiative, and to be open and upfront about their ideas, brainstorming, and goals. And I hope they expect the same from me as their agent.

KV: What genres do you represent? What genres do you definitely NOT represent?

KR: I represent children’s fiction including picture books (looking for quirky, character-driven, and funny), middle grade, and young adult fiction. For both YA and middle grade books, the voice is paramount (haven’t heard that before, eh?).

For middle grade books, I’m looking for something with a strong voice that’s fast paced with good character development. I’m really open to anything: girl-centric, multicultural, boy POV, adventure, fantasy, contemporary, etc.

For YA I especially love Southern gothic, thrillers, mysteries, I’d love to find a good ghost story, historical fiction (Western, anyone?), romance, science fiction. Again, a memorable and engaging voice is key and I’m really looking for that unique plot with characters I care about. So, sorry to be completely unoriginal here, but voice and hook are important!

I’m also representing adult nonfiction in the areas of crafts (DIY), how-to, pop culture, parenting, business, and health.

KV: Are you interested in picture book writers who AREN'T illustrators?

KR: I actually prefer picture book writers who are just writing the text. I'm not currently looking for illustrators. Great question!

KV: What query pet peeves and/or pitfalls should writers avoid when querying you?

KR: Honestly, it’s just simple things. I think anyone reading this blog is already on the right track with the preparation. Things like not putting the title of the book in the query letter or not addressing me specifically at the opening (please no “Dear Agent”s or, worse still, “Dear Sir”s).

The only other thing is to make sure you’re ready. You should have your critique partners help you decide this--have people read over your letter and, of course, your manuscript. Edit edit edit. This is your first impression so you want to make sure it’s as strong as possible.

KV: You only want to see the query letter in a writer’s initial contact (if the writer queries by e-mail), but several respected industry sites have advised writers to include a few sample pages at the bottom of every query, whether the agent asked for them or not. So if a writer goes ahead and adds those pages, do you find that more assertive or obnoxious?

KR: Actually, I would love to see the first ten pages of the manuscript included in the body of the e-mail with the query letter.

I know there is a lot of conflicting information online on various sites about which agent wants what for each submission; I feel bad for the confusion! If you don’t include the first ten pages, that’s fine; I will always request what I want to see. Just makes it nice and easy when it’s already in the letter. But please no attachments of the full manuscript with the initial query letter.

KV: What are you looking for in a manuscript right now? What are you tired of seeing at the moment?

KR: Since I’m open to a wide range, it seems like it may be most helpful here to focus on what I’m not looking for.

Right now, for YA, I’m burned out on paranormal “creatures” (this can include anything from vampires to werewolves to angels to fairies). There are exceptions (like I said, I’m into ghosts and witches), but paranormal romance and dystopians aren’t something I’m currently looking for.

For picture books, I don’t represent rhyming texts, and the book really has to make me laugh for me to love it. I want humor in my picture books!

For middle grade, I don’t want anything too “quiet.” There really has to be a strong hook that keeps the story moving. I hope this helps!

KV: What’s the best way to query you?

KR: The best way to query me is electronically. I do accept snail mail queries, but I prefer e-mails. Just e-mail me your query letter and the first ten pages of your book (in the body of the e-mail vs. as an attachment) at Kathleen@marsallyonliteraryagency.com.

For picture books, please go ahead and include your picture book text in the e-mail as well. For nonfiction proposals, you can just include your query letter and I can ask for your proposal. Can’t wait to see what’s out there!

Thanks again, Ms. Rushall, for taking the time to answer these questions. And good luck to everyone who decides to query. I won’t be surprised if that’s quite a few of you:)

P.S. Don’t forget to drop by this Friday for more details on next week’s round of “An Agent’s Inbox.” Taylor Martindale of Full Circle Literary is going to be The Agent, and I know she’s ready and raring to go. Looking forward to next week!

Writing What You Are

I know I say this a lot, but I have some wonderful critique partners. I’ve learned so many things from all of them, both from reading their words and letting them read mine. In particular, I’ve learned what it means to write what you are.

Consider Amy. On she surface, she appears to be just another American housewife and stay-at-home mom, but if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find she actually spent most of her growing-up years in Hong Kong. (I think her parents were professors or something.) Then she moved back to the States for college, got married, and—you guessed it—moved overseas again, this time to mainland China. She and her husband lived there for the first seven or eight years of their marriage, which means that, on the whole, she’s spent a lot more time outside of the United States than inside of it.

But the really exciting part is that she lets that heritage seep into her writing. Her novels often have an American-Chinese angle, and why wouldn’t they? She’s kind of an expert, after all. And it’s such a part of who she is that not writing about it would deny the rest of us such a unique perspective on another culture (and even our own).

Then there’s Ben. To give you an idea of what he’s like, check out the bio sketch from his Blogger profile: “By day, I battle rogue robots for the good of society. [I think that means he writes technical manuals for a robotics company. (And after checking with Ben himself, I discovered he also gets to test these robots. Talk about a cool day job!)] I’ve been run over by a station wagon, have nearly run over a kangaroo, and would rather just ride a bicycle. I survived depression, found true love, and am living happily ever after. I love writing, singing, and lists with three items.”

Ben’s most recent manuscript is about two young people with depression who take a job with a robotics company. The company does contracted work for the U.S. Army overseas; at the moment, they’re developing a line of intelligent armored vehicles designed to carry out the most dangerous suicide missions. The problem is, the armored vehicles aren’t quite intelligent enough to run themselves, so they need a team of drivers, drivers who want to die.

Oh, and did I mention the main character’s pretty handy with a camera (and that Ben is, too)? 

Writing what you are is similar to writing what you know and writing what you love; in fact, writing what you are draws from both of these more common refrains. But writing what you are goes even deeper. Writing what you are means writing the manuscript that only you could write. It means writing about the themes, the people, the places that are uniquely yours.

I think we forget sometimes that we’re characters, too, unique and interesting individuals with voices and idiosyncrasies, likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. So when agents say they want to read something they haven’t read before or discover an undiscovered voice, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We just have to give them OUR stories. Because if they truly are our stories, then they have to be unique.

Agent-Author Chat: Michelle Andelman and Liesl Shurtliff

Hey, look--it’s another installment of “Agent-Author Chat”! (Two interviews in two weeks? I’m on a roll!) Today’s interview features Michelle Andelman of Regal Literary and one of my good friends and critique partners, Liesl Shurtliff.

Here’s a quick reminder about how this will work: Ms. Shurtliff will share her query with us, the actual query she sent to Ms. Andelman, and then she’ll chat a bit about how she developed it and what advice she has for fellow writers. Then Ms. Andelman will tell us what she liked about the query--and the manuscript itself--and share some query-writing tips with us.

Ms. Shurtliff's query and responses will appear in orange, Ms. Andelman's in blue.

Ms. Shurtliff’s Query Rump is a lousy name, but it’s even worse when your name is your destiny. Rump’s destiny really stinks. Because his mother only spoke aloud part of his name before she died, Rump is only part of a person. He is short, skinny, and apparently an idiot, because he thinks the world is round when everyone in the village says it’s flat.

When Rump discovers his mother’s old magic of spinning gold, he thinks his destiny is golden, until the greedy miller manipulates Rump into bringing the gold to him. Only then does Rump realize that the same magic that allows him to spin the gold also binds him to take whatever others will offer him in exchange for the gold. He fears his half-spoken name has something to do with the mess.

Then the miller boasts to the king that his only daughter, Opal, is the one who spins the gold. Rump thinks he’ll be a hero if he helps Opal, but he gets in over his head when Opal makes a foolish bargain: she promises Rump her first-born child. On a quest to be free of the miller’s greed and the binding bargains, Rump learns of rumpel, magic that traps you, and of stiltskins, magic that frees you. He’s got the trapped part down. If only he could find a stiltskin. If only he knew his whole name.

RUMP, a middle-grade retelling of Rumpelstiltskin from his own quirky point-of-view, is complete at 58,000 words. I read that you prefer quirky and charming middle-grade, so I hope this will interest you. I have published stories and articles in Guideposts Sweet 16, Hopscotch for Girls, and The Friend. I review books for Deseret News and I’m an active member of SCBWI since 2008.

Thank you for your time.

KV: Ms. Shurtliff, how did you first come up with the idea for RUMP?

LS: I was actually brainstorming another fairytale when I got the idea. I was thinking about the importance of names and how it would be really interesting to create a fairytale world where a person's name determined their destiny. Instantly my mind gravitated to the Rumpelstiltskin tale, because if there ever was a story where a name was important, it was that one. And because I have a totally immature love of potty humor, I thought it would be funny to shorten his name to Rump. I smiled instantly. What kind of a destiny would someone called Rump have? A totally stinky one! The name and destiny were the seeds of my story and it grew from there. It was a lot of fun!

KV: Tell us a little bit about your query-writing process. Did you work on it here and there as you were writing the manuscript, or before, or after? How many times did you revise it? And how did you decide what order to put things in?

LS: I did write the query here and there as I wrote my manuscript. To me a query is a sort of compass. If you can’t coherently boil down the larger parts of your book in 250 words then it might be an indication that you have a problem with your overall story, like you have no idea what it’s about. So the query helped me stay on track and focused.

I revised my pitch paragraph dozens of times as I revised my novel and got it ready for submission. I often revised what characters and plot points were necessary in the query and tried to make it as clear and tight as possible.

As far as the order, I'm a fairly linear person, so I just started with the beginning and moved until I reached the major tipping point where I hoped an agent would ask to read more.

KV: What was the hardest thing about writing your query? What was the easiest?

LS: I think the hardest thing (or at least most labor intensive) was really personalizing my query to each agents’ particular tastes. There are varying ideas about what makes a good query. Some want you to go right into the pitch, others prefer a bit of introduction. Some want book comparisons, others find that presumptuous. Most want you to end the query with a cliffhanger, but I did find one agent who wanted to know the resolution in the query. Some want no sample page, others want one, five, ten, three chapters, the whole thing plus a synopsis and a bio and the name of your dog.

It's an exhausting amount of research, but I think it's important to show them that you've taken the time to learn about them and give them what they want. Otherwise, how can we expect them to take our work seriously?

The easiest part was writing the first couple of lines. I know this is tooting my own horn, but it still makes me laugh.

KV: Ms. Andelman, when you first read Ms. Shurtliff’s query, what caught your attention?

MA: I was caught by the mix of humor and heart that was evident in the query itself--Liesl did a terrific job of crafting a query letter that demonstrated just how strong and lively a writer she is, and what’s more, a query letter whose tone perfectly captured that of the project.

Rump is a little boy with at once a wise yet humorous perspective. There’s tenderness yet also a bold, laugh-out-loud quality to his voice, and the way he sees both the world and himself. From reading Liesl’s query alone, I was able to sense that about her protagonist--and sense that she’d drive him through a truly extraordinary and emotional character arc, even alongside the adventure she was going to send him on. I only hoped the pages would bear that out! I was so eager to see; truly, I had such genuine fun reading the query that I couldn’t wait to dip into the pages! Liesl says just above that her query made her laugh--me too!

KV: Obviously, the manuscript met--or exceeded--your expectations. What did you love about RUMP?

MA: I’m drawn to fairytale and folktale retellings in theory, but in practice I’m selective about what I take on in this vein. RUMP won me immediately over! The manuscript made it evident how much Liesl loves and knows the fairytale she’s giving a fresh spin, and how much she loves and knows fairytales in general.

RUMP has strong roots in traditional fairytale world building and storytelling. There are sludge-slurping trolls, aunts who are witches, and pixies with gold fever. Yet it also boldly reinvented the wheel, recasting the reviled legendary character of Rumpelstiltskin as a very young boy you can’t help but feel for--and whose humor, magically, even within the context of the traditional fairytale story world Liesl created (one that’s all her own, yet has a timeless feel), felt perfectly contemporary. There’s a bold, irrepressible boy humor in RUMP that called to mind SHREK, which I totally love, and which I feel also--like RUMP--pays homage to fairytale tradition while irreverently dosing it with a humor I loved, and which I think kid readers today will love.

KV: Just have to jump in here and say that I love the Shrek comparison! It’s so apt! And it's so cool to hear what an agent has to say about a manuscript I’ve actually read. Okay, back to the interview…

How quickly did you read Ms. Shurtliff’s manuscript? Is that pretty typical of your response times on requested material, or do those vary?

MA: I just looked back at my records. There were just 14 business days that passed between the day I received Liesl’s full manuscript (I did request the full upfront, after reviewing her paper query with ten pages of writing attached) and the day I wrote to let her know I was in love with RUMP, and wanted to schedule a phone conversation for the next day (during which I offered her representation).

My response times on requested material, admittedly, can vary. I can take longer especially in cases where a full read finds me sitting on the fence, loving elements but not feeling the work’s quite coherent enough yet, so I must think about what specific editorial work I might suggest an author and I do together to get a submission ready for editors’ eyes.

Or I can take longer if I love a full manuscript but worry about its marketability. In that case, sometimes I need to take extra time to decide if I love it enough to commit to it, even if I feel it could be a tough sale. Or, I need to give extra thought as to a placement strategy--that’s my way of shoring up my confidence that I can successfully find a home for it.

Of course, it’s loveliest to read a submitted manuscript and, as I am reading, clearly see what editorial work I’ll recommend and what my placement strategy will be--and, by the end of my read, be feeling that warm & fuzzy “I-am-in-love, I-want-to-represent-this-author, I-know-exactly-which-editors-will-flip-for-this-like-I-have” glow. That’s not the case with every submission I take on--some I love, but need a lot of development; some I love, but raise market questions that I need to answer first; but some come along that, for me, feel like no-brainers. I love it, it’s in great shape, and I know just how I’ll go about placing it. My response time is speedy when that’s the case and that was totally the case with RUMP.

KV: Ms. Shurtliff, what tips do you have for fellow writers as they work on their queries?

LS: Do your homework on both queries and agents. Read as many queries as you can and figure out why they work or don’t work. (I highly recommend Query Shark.) Have a few people read your query who have not read your book to make sure the query makes sense. If you have to explain any point at all, that’s a red flag.

Beyond that, don't obsess over it! Queries are important but your book is more important. Put the big time into the real baby.

KV: Same question to you, Ms. Andelman. What query-writing suggestions do you have?

MA: The best query advice I have is not to query too soon! Give yourself time to get the manuscript right--I think Liesl’s final tip above is totally on-point. There’s no sense in sweating a query for a book that isn’t as ready--as developed, as polished--as you are able to get it.

That said, once you’re ready, I recommend drafting a concise query that doesn’t summarize the plot in step-by-step fashion but instead moves us through your story’s major movements and gives us a sense for how your characters arc. It’s so important, I think, to highlight in a query an emotional throughline for your story or protagonist--really, I don’t see enough queries that do. It’s the emotional arc (that runs alongside your story arc) that hooks me in a query, and which makes me want to read the book.

KV: Any last words of advice or encouragement you’d like to share with us?

LS: Focus on your craft and give yourself time and space to grow as a writer. Getting an agent and a book deal (though very exciting and validating) are not the grand prize of writing. The goal is to write wonderful stories that you love and reach the audience who will love them as well. So keep that in mind when you’re biting your nails over a query letter.

Wow, wow, wow! Thank you, ladies, for these wonderful thoughts. I, too, thought Ms. Shurtliff’s suggestion about focusing more on the book and less on the query was spot-on, and Ms. Andelman’s insights into her manuscript-reading thought process were so informative.

As I announced a few months ago, RUMP recently sold to Knopf/Random House, so the rest of you will be able to read RUMP for yourselves in the spring of 2013! Until then, this interview will have to tide you over:)