Q Sent: 6.21.25
70k Words
YA- Horror
R: 6.25.25

Same blanket response as everyone else. I wish there was more specific details on what to work on.

"Thank you for the opportunity to see your pages. Unfortunately, I don't feel I am the right agent for this project, so I'm passing. Just because I wasn't quite drawn in, however, doesn't mean there isn't another agent out there who will love it. I encourage you to re-work your query so that the plot points, obstacles, and character(s) attempts to overcome them are more clear.

I wish you the best of luck on your writing journey!

Best,
Kiki"

Q: 6/21/25
97 k, Suspense
FR: 6/23/25

Got a note to re-work my query so that the plot points, obstacles, and character(s) attempts to overcome them are more clear.Thanks so much for your time and wisdom. I will take this advice to heart and run with it!

laurahenningauthor wrote: I had emailed her after another agent with the agency passed. She informed me that the agency does not allow you to do that. Oops.

That's strange, because the Donald Maass submissions page specifically states that "If your project is declined you may then query/submit to a different agent at our agency."

Q: 6/22/25 YA Contemporary LGBTQ+
FR: 6/23/25

Got the note about reworking my query, which it seems she tells everyone (?) but she also gave me a note about one of my comp titles being a poor choice, which was appreciated. It’s so hard to come up with them, and I chose one I read a long time ago and don’t remember well because from what I did remember, it matched this pop-culture element in my book—just the one element. Truthfully, I was struggling to come up with anything. Anyway, I’m just putting this new realization here for others to help them avoid my mistake: maybe pick more recent reads (within last 5 years?) and do some research to make sure they haven’t encountered any controversy. I had no clue this book was problematic and didn’t even think of looking it up—it was just a popular book I read back in high school I figured I would use since I couldn’t come up with anything better that wasn’t too obscure. Mistake number one: I probably could’ve found out with a Google search or two. Mistake number two: it was easy to rush through the comps part of my letter because I was much more concerned about the other parts, so I just chose books I’d read in the past I remembered being similar enough in theme without spending any time researching. I also generally felt weird and bad comparing my writing to other works (which appears to be a common feeling), but I think it’s worthwhile to spend a lot more time on it.

Q: 6/13/25 Upmarket Psychological Suspense 91k
FR: 6/22/25 Exactly the same as everyone else, told to rework my query.