QueryDice
Every week, I critique one author’s query. I can be a little tough, and I can be a little snarky. But the goal is to help the author write a more effective query and to illustrate do’s and dont’s to the other blog readers. It’s also something I really love to do. Credit where credit’s due: The Query Shark and BookEnds have been doing query critiques long before I knew what they were.
Blog readers are encouraged to post their thoughts, critiques and comments. Because I can only express one opinion, discussion is what makes this beneficial to everyone. I ask that all comments are kept professional and helpful. If you don’t feel that the author of the query can benefit from your comment, please don’t post it.
To submit your query to my weekly QueryDice, fill out the form below. I will critique your query and then post it, sans any identifying info like your name and the title of your book, on the blog. Below the contact form, I’ve posted the links to all previous QueryDices.
Good luck!
SlushPileTales 
SO sorry about the formatting of my query. Then again, it seems as if everyone else had the same problem!
Ms. Ruth, I am pretty sure my query was submitted to you this morning via your web-site, but I did not receive a confirmation. Just checking.
I just submitted my query and actually typed the entire thing in the box to avoid the copy/paste issue and when I clicked submit it still messed up the format. It looks like it is going to change the formatting no matter what we do.
It did this to me too.
Same here. And this was after reading the other comments about this issue and putting hard line returns in by hand.
In defense of those people having trouble formatting emails, it shouldn’t be a criteria for “novice.” That really cuts deep and implies a cursive submission. I know from personal experience this isn’t the case. I.e. I personally know Word forwards and backwards and can have perfect formatting in my manuscript, yet when I submit sometimes on my less-than-perfect generic email program, it sometimes messes up.–Don’t know why and it has nothing to do with how the orignal manuscript was. I have no control over it, as is probably the case with these people. The commoness of problem shows it must happen a lot. We can’t all be computer geniuses for every single program and function out there. We’re focusing on writing, not a Masters Degree in computer technology.
Sorry about the format. I can resend.
Ditto on the formatting! It looked great before I hit submit. =/ Sorry about that!
Same as everyone else, I’m sorry about the formatting of my query.
Same with formatting. Sorry!
The formatting is all messed up in my submission! Sorry! I pasted from word, noticed it was all lumped together, and tried to space it out as I had it in the document, but when I clicked submit it went back to the incorrect formatting! Let me know if I need to send it again!
I apologize for the terrible formatting of my query- I pasted it in from Word, not realizing that the layout wouldn’t hold up; it looked totally normal, until I clicked Submit. Please disregard or, if you’d rather, let me know if I should submit it again- I don’t want to clog up your inbox, if I don’t have to.
Warm regards,
Laura VB.
Bleh. Mine totally did the same thing. Gotta love technology.
So glad I’m not the only one!
Fortunately, this has never happened with any queries I sent (after this, I went back through my sent messages and made sure of that), but knowing that it could have happened makes me cringe. Nothing screams ‘novice’ to an agent like someone who can’t even format her emails properly.
I’m sorry, I realized too late I’d forgotten to personalize the address on that! It was supposed to be addressed to Dear Ms. Ruth. 😦
Apologies for the typo in my query; it will be fixed soon!