My Top 5 Query Don'ts

Things in your query you might want to reconsider:

1) No spoilers
- I realize you want to hook an agent with the premise, and then reel them in with a tease such as, "but then the main character's world falls apart," or "when the shiz hits the fan," or "a conspiracy is revealed," or "all hell breaks loose," and don't actually tell me HOW plans fall apart, hits the fan, breaks loose, or what the conspiracy is - you've lost me. Give me the spoilers, without it, the pitch is too vague and if the premise is something I've seen 800 times, it might be HOW things fall apart that catches my attention. Don't shoot yourself in the foot right off the bat. GIVE ME THE GOODS.

2) Selling yourself short
- Do not make apologies for not having any writing credits. Also, self-deprecating humor doesn't work in email because I don't know you, and it's hard not to sound like a pity party or an attempt to emotionally manipulate me into feeling sorry for you (which 100% of the time backfires #InstaReject). So, when in doubt, for your author bio just tell me about what you do for a day job and if you have any pets. It's better this way.

3) First Drafts
- Do not send me your first draft. Period. I don't care if you're genius incarnate, DO AN EDIT, or three! "Hey, I just finished my first book and I could really use a professional's opinion about my work." Hell to the N-O. I am not a critique partner or a beta reader. I am an agent who wants books that are ready to sell, or can be with minimal edits. If you send me your first draft and I read the first 10 pages and it reads like a first draft, that's a rejection and no, I don't want to see it again even if you've done a major revision. I'll SOMETIMES take major revisions on partials or fulls, but never on a query. You've just fired your one shot and missed the target completely. Don't do this. And btw, if you send me your first draft and just don't tell me, I can tell anyway.

4) "You're not like other agents"
- It's entirely possible I'm being far too sensitive about this one, but if you tell me I'm not like those "other agents" then I'm going to think you'd be better off self-publishing. Those "other agents" are my colleagues and I respect them immensely and if you're insulting them right off the bat in some misconstrued effort to make me feel special, to me, that's emotional manipulation and I'm going to pass. HARD. Another note, is those "other agents" are part of an archaic publishing machine that's been running for centuries and if you can't work within that system, or get easily angered and frustrated to the point of public disrespect, then you are not going to make it far in the traditional publishing world. Another HARD PASS. Don't do this. It's insulting.

5) Don't Follow Query Specifications
- I have over 200+ unanswered queries in my in-box right now. I ask for the specifications in these queries because my time is just as valuable as yours, and I'd like to answer each one of you personally. If you don't follow these recommendations, then you are wasting my time. It's disrespectful and shows a lack of follow-through. There are a lot of writers who feel that agents are LUCKY to receive their pitch, and I do in fact, feel very fortunate to have this job. But a writer treating an agent like "the help" is not. how. this. works. It's a business relationship. And if my first impression is that you're just blanketing rando agents with the same pitch and not taking the time to follow query specs, then perhaps your attention to detail is lacking. Does this carry through to the manuscript? Probably! I'm thinking maybe your work isn't meant for the traditional publishing market - because that also, has a bunch of specifications - depending on the category and genre - and if you can't follow the first step, my faith in your ability to follow the next 20 is pretty slim. Do the homework, folks. It's not rocket science. My specs are on this blog, on the D4EO website, and pinned to my Twitter profile. I can't make it any more easier for you.
Google it.

Query Hints

For those of you here to get some clues as to what I'm looking to represent, here's a hodge podge of my likes and dislikes, I hope this proves helpful to you.

I'm not going to request to read your manuscript if your word count is too low or too high.
What I'm looking for:
YA: 65k - 100k words
Adult: 75k - 125k words

Now, if I read your sample pages and immediately fall in love with your prose, and your manuscript is a little too short or a little too long, I will request your pages in the hopes that we can add or we can cut, but if you're around 60k or less, or 130k or more, that's an automatic pass because I'm not a magician and that's too many words to add or delete.

I'm not a fan of serial killer thrillers.
I know I represent thrillers, and this seems like an odd thing to state because such a large portion of thrillers involve serial killers, but if your manuscript starts with the murder of some innocent person (usually a woman, or a girl), then I am immediately turned off. I don't get off watching murder. I don't actually care what makes an evil person evil. I don't need to live in the mind of a killer as he or she plots their victim's demise(s). That's a hard pass from me.

I'm also not a fan of drunk and/or high male, damaged detectives investigating a long string of nameless dead girls. I have no patience for it. It's a 20th century trope and we need to put this sexist narrative to rest.

Give me your innovative thrillers and murder mysteries with fully developed female - and male - characters that don't celebrate the sickness of depravity.

Please and thank you.

I usually skip prologues. 
When I ask for the first 10 pages of your manuscript in the query, I suggest you send me the first 10 pages of Chapter 1, NOT your exposition-laden, world-building, prologue that has nothing to do with introducing your main character.

If/when I request the first 50, or the full, then you can send me the prologue. But you only have 10 pages in a query, don't waste it on back story. I have a short attention span and you want to grab me right away.
I'm not certain if other agents feel the same way about this, but for me, skip the appetizer and serve me the main course right away.

What's the plot?
A complicated world is cool. An interesting back story as to how the apocalypse happened is interesting to me. A twist on an old trope is always a plus.
But none of these matter if you don't tell me the plot of the book.
So many people pitch me the back story or the set up to their book in their 2 - 3 paragraph pitch, but many don't tell me the plot to the actual story.

I don't need to know in the query everything that happened before the book starts. I need to know what happens in the book.

The main character, the main conflict, the major complication, and a hint at the conclusion.

Ex. Dorothy from Kansas (main character), is trapped in Oz (main conflict), but there's a witch after her (major complication), and she needs to help of her 3 friends and a wizard to get her home (hint at a conclusion).

Even better, if you give me the conclusion.
Ex. ...and she needs the brains of a scarecrow, the heart of a tinman, the bravery of a lion, and a trickster wizard of a mysterious magical city, to get her home.

REQUEST!

I don't need to know in the query about Aunt Em, or even the tornado, or how Dorothy came to live with her elder Aunt and Uncle, or about the crazy neighbor who hates her dog - that's not the crux of the story.

Give me the plot. Not the set up.

I hope these little hints prove helpful during the difficult and stressful querying process. I've been there! I know it's rough. Hang in there, and keep improving.
Best,
Anne

ANNE's QUERY SPECS

Unless I have already passed on your pitch at Red Sofa, query me at Anne@d4eo.com

I represent:
Adult and YA Thriller NOVELS (word count 75k+)
- No drunk detectives investigating a long line of dead nameless girls, please
- No redemptive Nazi narratives 
Adult and YA Horror NOVELS (word count 75k+) 
- Monsters and psychos and creepers, oh my! 
Adult and YA Historical NOVELS (word count 75k+)
- Sweeping and dramatic with amazing settings 
Adult and YA Mystery NOVELS (word count 70k+)
- Who done it? Why done it? How done it? 
Adult Romance NOVELS (word count 65k+)
- No erotica
- Slow burn, high burn, rom com, genre rom, all sexual and gender orientations
- Be advised: If your hero/heroine is so Alpha they're an arrogant jerk, I'm not interested
Adult and YA Science Fiction and Fantasy NOVELS (word count 75k+)
- Utopia, dystopia, urban, high, low, hard, soft, post apocalyptic, natural disaster - I WANT IT AL.
[Keep in mind I'm a bit full up on YA F, so I suggest you hold off on querying me that until Winter 2019]

NEW SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: 
Please Include in your Query:
Category (Adult or YA)
Genre (SF, F, Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Historical, Romance)
Word count (not page count)
1 – 3 paragraph “pitch”
Short author bio
Previously published titles (self published counts)
First 10 pages writing sample within the body of the email – (At the end of the email) MEDIUM or LARGE FONT.
Unrequested attachments will be deleted 

I read every query. If you don’t hear back from me in 6 weeks, please nudge.
6 – 8 weeks to respond to partial requests.
10 - 12 weeks to respond to full requests.

I do not represent self-published (or sequels to self-published), picture books, chapter books, poetry, middle grade, non-fiction, memoir, novellas, short stories, or screenplays. 


Let's do this :)

Why Don't You Represent Self-Published Books, Anne?

Hello! You've self-published a book! Congratulations! It's a major accomplishment and I commend you on your achievement - but no, I'm not going to take your self-published book and try to sell it to a traditional publisher and here's why:
1) Publishing houses want to edit your book to their tastes and standards.
 - If there's already an unedited version self-published, that bell has already been rung - so to speak - and they can't ring that bell again. Plus, then there will be two versions of the book out there (likely with different covers too), and that'll create buyer confusion - which could cut sales - and they don't want that.

2) But, what about books like 50 Shades and The Martian that were self-published first and then sold traditionally?
- Email me a query when your self-published book sells over 100k copies (like the above mentioned titles) and then - MAYBE - I might be able to sell your novel to a trad publisher. Anything less than that? I'm sorry, they don't want it.

3) Your art work/cover is probably not to their taste either, plus there's copyright issues with the artist they didn't choose, that'll add to their headache. Again, more trouble than it's worth UNLESS (see highlighted number above).

No, an unpublished sequel to your self-published book won't work either.

I sympathize - I really do, as I once self published a book and then couldn't get an agent to rep it - so I've been there! I get it. You're frustrated with good reason.

So, what do you do if you want to get a book into book stores?

My advice:
1) Write a whole new book that's completely unrelated to anything you've self published, that's unsold anywhere, unpublished anyplace (even online), and fits into the traditional publishing categories, sub-genres, and word count requirements, and query agents with that novel.

I wish you luck.
Best Regards,
Anne Tibbets

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

After over five years of waiting for "the right moment" (Life Tip: there's never "the right moment." You just have to do it) and much soul-searching, and some resume writing and submitting, and a couple interviews, I am pleased to announce:

 I have accepted a position at Red Sofa Literary Agency as an Associate Literary Agent.

WHAT? THE HELL YOU SAY!

No, it's true.
Way back when I was reading slush for an agent friend, in hopes of filling in the gaps between book deals, she happened to tell me I had a real knack for evaluating and developmentally editing books. She suggested that if I ever wanted a shift in career, I should look into becoming an agent. At the time, I had young-ish kids and felt overwhelmed at the idea of going back to work full-time. Writing part-time felt hard enough.

She may have meant it offhandedly, but her suggestion kicked off a five year dance with myself where I continually debated, thrashed, started, stopped, tried, didn't try, and eventually accepted the truth of my fate and then committed 100% to becoming a literary agent.

I WILL STILL WRITE BOOKS!
Never fear!

Writing is a necessary part of my life. I cannot abandon it. I hope to have more novels published in the future. I shall strive to create!

But as my kids have grown over the past five years, so have I, and my soul needs more. And not just more words, but to help other authors realize their dreams of becoming published as well.

So, here I am, a newbie agent.
Let's dig in:
Big special thanks, obviously, to my new boss, Dawn Fredericks at Red Sofa Literary. Also to Jessica Sinsheimer, Mandy Hubbard, and Bob DiForio, who cheered me on and offered much needed advice.

I'll be accepting manuscripts of various shapes and sizes, follow this link to the Red Sofa Literary website to see what I represent, and if I don't rep what you write, hit up one of the other agents at Red Sofa currently accepting queries, they're all awesome: https://redsofaliterary.com/representative-categories/

Love to all! And see you in the trenches.
XOXO,
Anne

Acknowledgements for DISPERSAL

I would like to take a few moments and thank a few people for helping me land, finish, and publish DISPERSAL.

There was a nurse by the name of Sarah Clark who was a friend of a friend, who under no obligation at all, chatted with me for ages via Facebook regarding medical research for the book. I named a character after her as a means of thanks and appreciation. After the draft had been finished, I asked the same questions of Dr. Anatoly Belilovsky from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America who confirmed Sarah's findings, but since the book had already been turned into my editor there wasn't a way to thank him in print. Thanks to you both! You made me look smart.

Steve Jacobsen, a microbiologist at UCLA, mentioned to me how I should look up how scientists are using digestional microbiomes to cure the super bug (antibiotic resistant infections) and it was that bit of information which led me to twist it a bit and use it in DISPERSAL. Thank you!

I would also like to thank Bree Ogden for bringing this project to me, and Jennie Goloboy at the Red Sofa Literary Agency who represented me during the DISPERSAL deal. I couldn't have done it without you two believing in me. Thank you!

A ton of thanks and praise to David Thomas Moore, my editor on both EXTINCTION BIOME books. He understands my writerly intentions exactly - it was so utterly amazing to work with him. Notes like, "You did this, and initially I couldn't figure out why, but then you did THIS and I was like, YES! Ok. Good set up. Leaving it." It means everything to me that he understood exactly what I was going for, finding the layers hidden among all the action. I just can't say enough how it sustained me on days when I wondered if I had the chops to write a book of this caliber. Also he once said I write like I have a gun in my other hand which I have seriously considered tattooing somewhere on my physical person. I hope we get to work together again, Dave. Thank you!

Buckets and buckets of love to my writers support group: Robin, Meredith, and Lisa, who listened to me moan, complain, and crow and haven't kicked me out of the group yet. Thank you, ladies!

To Adam Christopher, Jen Foehner Wells, Chris Bucholz, and Carrie Patel for their blurbs! I owe you each a solid.

And all the love in my heart to Daniel and my girls who put up with frozen pizza dinners and my nonexistent patience when I'm on deadline. Sorry! And also, thank you for not kicking me out either.

A special thanks to Tom and Bella for not assassinating me yet - although, one of these days, I think Tom might succeed. He wants it more. I don't really blame him.

[And to every single person who told me I should probably "just write romance" (as if that's any easier - psst, it's not), and how I shouldn't write adult sci-fi because it's too hard to break in to, and to every person who looks shocked when I tell them what I write... This middle finger is for you.]

xoxo,
-Anne






  

DISPERSAL E-BOOK AVAILABLE NOW

Hello all!
Good news!

If you're an e-reader DISPERSAL is available NOW!
Here's the link: >> https://www.amazon.com/Dispersal-Extinction-Biome-Book-2-ebook/dp/B075QQFLQS

If you prefer to wait for the paperback on 10/31/17 here is the link so you can pre-order: https://www.amazon.com/Extinction-Biome-Dispersal-Addison-Gunn/dp/1781085013

XOXO,
-Anne

BOOK LAUNCH

HEY! You! Yes, you. You're INVITED!

Come join me (as Addison Gunn) in celebration of a new book launch for 

EXTINCTION BIOME: DISPERSAL 

WHEN: Saturday, November 4th, 2 - 4 pm

WHERE: Barnes and Noble, 160 Westlake Blvd., Thousand Oaks, CA

Fellow authors Carrie Patel and Stephen Blackmoore will be joining me for a Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Panel, hosted by Barnes and Noble

PLEASE COME!

BRING FRIENDS!

Hope to see you there,

xoxo,

--Anne 

EXTINCTION BIOME: DISPERSAL Purchase Links

** PURCHASE LINKS**

AMAZON US [paperback]

AMAZON US [ebook]

AMAZON UK 

BARNES AND NOBLE 

Second in the thrilling military SF series.

THE COST OF SURVIVAL

Alex Miller saved thousands of lives back in New York… but he killed thousands to do it. Now stranded on a hostile sea with countless refugees, he sees the hundreds of tiny, difficult decisions that need to be made every day to keep people alive.

Samantha Hernandez has moved beyond humanity, becoming something else: an Archaean, part of the new breed that live and breathe the ancient ecology. Now she’s having doubts; are they the future of the human race, or only the agents of its destruction?

What they both understand is: this cannot abide. The Archaeans, and the men and women of Schaeffer-Yeager corporation, need a plan, if humanity is to survive in any form. But how to fight back when the Earth itself has become your enemy?

EXTINCTION BIOME 2: DISPERSAL Has a Release Date!

WAHOO!!! You can pre-order my next book HERE >> https://www.amazon.com/Extinction-Biome-Dispersal-Addison-Gunn/dp/1781085013

Those of you aching for more military sci-fi action need only wait until October 5, 2017 for the ebook and October 31, 2017 for the paperback - when Addison Gunn (**cough cough** ahem, ME) releases part 2 of the EXTINCTION BIOME series.

Here's the back jacket description:

THE COST OF SURVIVAL

Alex Miller saved thousands of lives back in New York… but he killed thousands to do it. Now stranded on a hostile sea with countless refugees, he sees the hundreds of tiny, difficult decisions that need to be made every day to keep people alive.

Samantha Hernandez has moved beyond humanity, becoming something else: an Archaean, part of the new breed that live and breathe the ancient ecology. Now she’s having doubts; are they the future of the human race, or only the agents of its destruction?

What they both understand is: this cannot abide. The Archaeans, and the men and women of Schaeffer-Yeager corporation, need a plan, if humanity is to survive in any form. But how to fight back when the Earth itself has become your enemy?

 Pre-Order DISPERSAL Here >> https://www.amazon.com/Extinction-Biome-Dispersal-Addison-Gunn/dp/1781085013