Hello everyone! 
 
It's officially August, aka “salt air & the rust on your door” month for fellow Swifties. It's truthfully one of my favorite parts of the year. Sometimes, the air feels cooler in the morning. The stores start to fill with Halloween decorations. It feels like a natural restart, a way to reassess the year as it's been and time to take charge against the coming colder months.
 
It also just so happens that today, August 14th, marks my one year anniversary as an agent. To celebrate, we're spending this newsletter discussing the three biggest lessons I've learned and what I'll do to make the second year even better (what a tough challenge)!

I always tell my clients to celebrate every single thing, no matter how small it may seem. Finished your round of revisions? Go get a yummy drink! Got your first response on sub? Eat your favorite snack! 
 
So, I'm going to take my own advice here and start this newsletter out with mind-boggling things I've accomplished this first year of agenting.

• Signed with seven incredible authors. Y'ALL ARE THE BEST!!
• Sold my first project to one of the big five!
• Read over 2,500 queries! Thank you to all the authors who trusted me with their work.
• Attended several in-person and virtual writing conferences.
• Met with some of the coolest, hard-working people in this industry.
• Somehow started a pitching contest on Twitter called #Careypit that blew up my notifications for weeks. But how fun and beautiful!

Now, let's get into some of the ways I've been challenged this year.

​As a once querying author who spent over a decade in the trenches, I thought I would have a very good mentality against rejection. 
 
But I was wrong.
 
Yup, my first lesson includes pointing out how naive I was. When I started signing my first clients and putting them out on sub, I knew those “nos” were going to come. It's just a part of the process. This business is subjective, not everyone is going to feel the same about one story.
 
And as those “nos" came in more and more frequently as I put more and more stories out into the world, it started to take a toll. It confused me at first, why was it bothering me so much? But in my mind, I had to be strong for my clients and just keep moving forward. I didn't have time to be sad. You see the issue, yes?
 
I needed to slow down and reflect, one of the biggest themes of this first year of agenting. My clients' beautiful, wonderful stories that I fell in love with were facing rejection. These talented and wonderful humans that I am so lucky to work with had to hear another no, when all I wanted was to help make their dreams come true. Of course that would make me sad!
 
So, I had to learn to embrace those uncomfortable feelings so they wouldn't remain pressed against my lungs and rotting away. I let myself feel sad. I let myself cry or eat a pint of ice cream or go on a drive to look at the sunset. 
 
Doing those things kept my head above water and reminded me of the truth: that rejection is just one step. I am just one human trying her best, spinning on this planet, and there's multiple paths that end with what I want for me and my authors. But no hero comes out at the end of their book unscathed, and aren't they all the more beautiful for that?

​The turn around in this industry is no joke. This year I've watched countless of agents and editors leave the business. And it's no wonder based on all the problems publishing faces (if the CEO of a publishing company is reading this, please pay your employees better thank youuuu).
 
I already knew stepping into my role I would be facing a ton of those issues. Not to mention I have two other jobs (author and full-time gig to pay the bills). And for some silly reason, I didn't really have a plan to keep myself sane against the uphill battle. Why did I think I could handle it all just fine? Me, a person with multiple mental health disorders and my stubborn, grudge-holding Taurus personality.
 
But I've got a  plan now, after a few grueling months where I felt myself slipping over the edge of balance and crashing into the pit of burn out. Too close for comfort, I wasn't going to do that to myself or my brilliant authors.
 
So, I set up some boundaries and habits, things I am still working out and testing to this day. I'm sure it'll adapt even further the more experience I get. Some specific examples include: shutting down my email on my phone past a certain hour, not doing any work on Sundays, and picking up hobbies that have nothing to do with publishing (hi puzzles!). I'm also very sad to report that exercising and spending time outside does help (gross). 
 
I've got some things I'm still working on, like finding a way to balance reading for fun and lessening my time doom scrolling. But there's a big difference between now and then.

​This one is a little more technical, but over the past year I've learned lots of tricks and work methods that keep me and my clients organized and focused. It was basically a whole year of trying out different ways to agent and finding things that best served me and my clients. I had to ask myself a lot of questions. What should my sub plans look like? When should I nudge? How should I word my emails to editors? Thank goodness I have a ton of experience with project management and great mentors to help along the way. 
 
If you're looking to get into the industry or are curious about details like this, here are some things that stuck:

• A combination of Airtables and Notions for sub plans is my go-to. I love how pretty Notions can be for client-facing stuff, but I also like the functionality of airtable for organizing bigger things.
• Quarterly meetings with my clients, together and one-on-one, are an absolute must for so many reasons, mostly because I love them.
• This app called Speechify that takes documents and turns them into audiobooks? Soooo worth the money. Long drives are the perfect time to catch up on subs.
• Write down everything. Ideas that come to your mind, things editors say about their MSWL, dreams clients have. I have several Google Docs with just thoughts and sometimes strange ideas. Organized chaos, baby. Not everything has to be perfect or make sense to other people.
• Hand-written cards go a long way. That's it, that's the tweet.
• You're going to make mistakes. So are editors. We are all human, and we all deserve grace. They're just opportunities to learn.

I could share more, but some things I've learned I'm choosing to keep close to my chest. But safe to say, it's been a fun year of trying, failing sometimes, and improving.

I know we've talked about how much I love autumn, but you know what else I also love? New years. That energy when everyone is planning for the months to come and getting excited for all they can accomplish…oooh I soak it all up and love to find ways to recreate that magic. So, with the first year of agenting officially over and a second year on it's way, let's set up some goals, shall we? But I'm not going to write things like sell more books. Of course I wanna do that, but those things are outside of my control, as frustrating as that is.

• Sign horror clients. I am oh-so hungry for it. MG, YA, adult, I want them all!
• Similarly, I would love some adult clients across all the genres.  I love me some kidlit, but you should see my Libby account history (spoiler alert, it's a lot of adult fiction).
• Attend one major writing / publishing conference! I'd love to go to something like YALLFEST or ALA's annual conference.
• Focus more on continuing my education. Whether that's by finding online courses to attend or something else, I want to be the best advocate for my clients and my genres in this ever-changing industry. So I gotta keep up!
• Keep working on my balance between life and work and agenting. I want to be in this business for a long time, so I have to make sure I'm supporting myself mentally and physically.

And there you have it, the biggest lessons I've learned this first year of agenting. I won't pretend I'm an expert by any means, and I recognize some of the stuff I've talked about might not work for other agents. I'll be the first to say that I've still got so much more to learn, do, and try. But to me, that's very exciting. Life would be too boring if I had all the answers. 
​
Thank you to everyone who supported me throughout this first year. To my amazing mentors, friends, and authors, I wouldn't be here without you. I am beyond thankful and appreciative of everyone's love. I cannot WAIT to see what happens next in year two!

​A solid structure for a query includes the following: a hook, book, and then cook. 
 
A hook is a one to two sentence pitch at the start of the query that draws agents and editors right in. Sometimes, that hook can be dual-purpose and include info like comps or personalization. For example, one query I offered on hooked me right in by comping to one of my favorite books (THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON by Kelly Barnhill).
 
Book is the part of your query that includes the summary of your manuscript. Usually, it's around three paragraphs long, give or take. This is the most difficult part of the query itself. How do you summarize your entire story into such a small section? I'll talk more about that later.
 
The last part is the cook, in other words your bio paragraph. We'll also talk about this more later and how some of my favorite queries really had fun in this section. 
 
I'm not gonna lie to y'all. After spending a decade querying and then becoming an agent, the biggest shock I experienced was realizing just how many queries in my inbox weren't…well…queries. I'm talking about queries with no info about the book, empty boxes where a query should be, queries that only tell me why the book is the best book in the world, etc. When I was querying, I was so meticulous about making sure my query had everything, and if you're doing that too—good news, you're ahead of about 40% of my inbox.

​Let's talk a little bit more about the book section of your query. I mentioned this is the most difficult part of the query. It always was for me! But here's the most important lesson I've learned as a querying author and an agent writing pitches for my authors.
 
You don't have to tell us everything. 
 
I know, I know. You want to! Especially if you've got a complicated fantasy with a ton of details. You want to tell your potential future agent all about the twists and turns in your plot, the swoon-worthy romance, that adorable side-character that makes everyone laugh. But it's damn near impossible to fit it all into three paragraphs. So, instead of focusing on cramming in as much as possible, which can often lead to confusion, try to only highlight the most important themes of your story. 
 
There's things you should for sure include. For example, info about your main character, any romantic leads, and some world-building if you're writing a fantasy or sci-fi (just enough to give us a taste on how your world is different). But also, try to hint towards the emotional growth your character will go through and clearly lay out the stakes (aka will the main character run the risk of losing their soulmate or killing the entire town).
 
I know it's easier said than done. So, before you write your query, knock out your synopsis. That's an important step too, and it'll help warm up your summary skills but is less of a challenge (one to two pages instead of three paragraphs). Once you have your entire book summarized, then tackle your query with the goal of not going past four paragraphs max. Don't let yourself go over. Be absolutely ruthless with your cutting skills. Kill more than one of your darlings.
 
Then, the scary part. Ask for critiques. The most important person you can get to look over your query is someone who has never read your story. That way, they can read it and report back on what they think the most important parts of your book are. If they give you answers you weren't expecting, maybe go back to the drawing board and make sure your most importants themes are more prevalent. 

I know you're busy trying to condense down your entire story into three paragraphs, but don't forget this is an agent's first look at your writing. Your query has a hell of a job to accomplish, so the best way you can give it a leg up on every query out there is to make sure it's reflective of your style. 
 
Do you write poetically? Make sure your syntax reflects that. Are you querying a simple and funny MG? Throw in a joke or two and pick words that your 12 year-old protangoist would use. You don't want to write something complicated and wordy if your story isn't, and usually nine times out of ten I can tell from the query if the writing style is something I'm going to enjoy. 
 
Every word counts, so pick ones that best fit your style and show off what makes you a writer in the first place. ​

​I'm always so sad when I enjoy a query but don't learn a thing about the person who wrote it. Picking an author and working with them their full career is such a personal process, especially since I'm such a hands-on, editorial agent. The best way to help me figure out if we'd be a good match is by focusing on your bio paragraph, which often gets overlooked the most when writing your query. 
 
Of course, there's the basics you should include in your bio. Any publishing accolades, if you have any experience in publishing, and if you were represented / published before. But I love to learn about you personally too, especially how it relates to your story. Did you write a queer tennis book and are you a tennis player yourself? Tell me! (and if this is you, please reach out to me, this is a dream project of mine). Have you written a horror and have experiences with ghosts? Spill the tea! 
 
As someone who is also extremely passionate about representing diverse stories from diverse voices, consider adding in why you're the person to tell this story (only if you're comfortable doing so, of course). Bottom line, have fun with it! Some of my favorite bios that made me perk up included gorgeous lines that hinted at the author's lyrical prose or gave me insight into the inspiration behind the story. 
 
Even if I don't end up offering on your story, I love learning about the people in my inbox, and rest assured I'm reading that bio.

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​Well! That's it! I hope this newsletter helped you get a good grasp on what makes a query truly magical. Remember: ensure your query has a solid structure, your summary doesn't confuse its readers, show off your amazing writing, and don't forget to tell agents about yourself.
 
Just a final closing remark: I know this is tough. Querying is rapidly changing and more difficult now than it's ever been with an uptick in people writing books and a downtick in editors and publishing houses.
 
But know I believe in you. Big hugs to all querying authors everywhere!

2023 is absolutely going down as one of the best years of my life (so far at least!). So many dreams of mine came true, including becoming an agent.
After a whirlwind of a fall and winter, it was so nice getting together and celebrating the holidays with my first ever clients, pictured above (though we missed you, Ellie!). That time getting to know one another and talking about our publishing dreams was just another moment where I pinched myself. Little ol' me?! Representing these wonderful writers?! I am so, so honored to be doing this. Working with these inspirational people to get their magnificent stories out into the world is something 8-year-old Carey would be awe-struck by. 
In honor of this exciting 2023, I wanted to chat a little bit about my first half year of being an agent. I opened to queries officially on August 14th, though I had been reading submissions for Belcastro a few weeks prior. During that time I...
Received 2019 queries.
Requested 97 fulls.
Offered on 9 manuscripts. 
Signed with 5 clients (though that number might be growing in two weeks).
And, if you're curious, I still have 50 fulls to get through until inbox zero. 
Above all, I've learned a lot this year. What kind of books am I really looking for? What good can I do in the publishing world? What tips and tricks can I apply to my work ethic to boost productivity and respond as quickly as possible to queries without sacrificing reading attention? I've still got a lot to do and learn, but I'm for sure a better agent than I was on August 14th. I'm a big believer that we're always updating and improving as humans, and the same is absolutely true as a literary agent.
But that was 2023. What do I want to do / see for 2024? As a Taurus, I love planning and accomplishing goals. I've been updating my MSWL as I've been working through my inbox in anticipation of opening back up at the end of January / early February. But I have some specific goals in mind too...

• Of course, sell my first book. I fully anticipate doing this for all my clients. These stories, y'all...so DAMN good. They deserve all the deals!
• Sign with a MG horror writer. Please, please, PLEASE! 
• In general, sign more YA, MG, and adult clients. I love PBs, but my list is pretty dang full there now.
• Keep building my list. I am hungry, passionate, and ready to get more stories out there. Let's get it done!
• Go to my first in-person conference (which is already scheduled, YAY! You can learn more on my MSWL page which also has my upcoming conference dates).
• Lead my first conference class (already scheduled too, let's goooo).

It's safe to say 2024 will be an exciting year filled with lots of amazing stories. The amount of talent and wonderful people in my inbox is outstanding. To everyone who queried me in 2023, thank you. From the bottom of my heart. I am so honored you want me to potentially work with you, and I don't take that decision lightly. It's my sincere hope that all of your stories will find their homes and readers, even if it's not with me.
And to my clients, thank YOU for trusting me to be your champion. It has been an absolute delight working with all of you, and I can't wait to see what 2024 brings for us. I am one lucky agent. 
And to those who plan on querying me in 2024. I promise to read your query. I promise to give your story attention and love, just like you've given it for years (probably, unless you're like one of my clients who wrote her book in weeks). And I promise to give you as much feedback as possible, even if it's just a form (check out my form rejection blog for further details). 
Thank you 2023 for everything. Cheers to 2024!

*Last updated on 4/1 when I added several more form rejections to give us much feedback as possible*

Hello, everyone!

As a once querying author myself, I really wanted to try my best as an agent to develop form rejections that were kind, encouraging, but also had tidbits on why I said no. Because of the thousands of queries I received during my short time being open, I'm not able to give feedback like I wish I could for every rejection (except for fulls, of course. All my full rejections are personalized). However, I created TWELVE different form rejections that I can easily pick from so I could offer as much personalization as I could. It's not much, that's for sure, but in an effort to support querying authors sending me their stories, I'm going to explain each form rejection and what they might mean for your projects. 

Remember, even if I reject you, this business is so subjective. You've got this! Keep at it, but also make sure to take lots of breaks. It took me twelve years of querying until I found my wonderful agent (and this happened before I became an agent myself). I believe you'll have  a success story one day too. 
​
Let's get into my form rejections.

This is probably my most frequently used form rejection, because, like I mentioned above, this business is soooo subjective. What might be a wonderful story to someone else just isn't hitting my personal check marks for a book I want to represent. Just because I don't like it doesn't mean someone else won't. And just because I'm saying no now doesn't mean I don't really wish the best fo you, your work, and your career.
​
I realize there's 0% feedback here, but that's because, again, of how subjective this business is. How can I, one person with my own opinions and tastes, tell you something isn't working when another agent with their own tastes and opinions might scoop this up in a heartbeat? If you get this rejection, keep querying and see what happens next! If you get a lot of rejections, then maybe reevaluate and see if you can improve your query or your opening pages.

This is probably my second most commonly used form rejection. If you receive this rejection, it means I loved your query and dove into the opening pages. But I didn't connect with the writing as much as I needed to offer representation. This could mean so many things. Maybe it's just not my personal taste, for example I've found I've really been leaning more towards poetic and lyrical prose. Or maybe your story opened in the wrong place (hellllooo prologues and dream sessions). Or maybe something is missing in your craft. Are you using passive voice? Are you showing AND telling? Are your pages filled with dialogue but missing emotion and description? These are just some examples of why I've rejected on writing recently.
​
​If you receive this rejection, maybe reread your opening pages and see if something isn't working. Or reach out to a CP / beta reader to see if they can offer feedback on those really, really important first lines. Again, another agent may totally feel differently and request the full. Take this with a grain of salt.

If your story is over 120,000, it has to be really, really amazing for me to request. Which has happened a few times so far, but for the most part I can usually tell in the opening pages why your story has such a high word count (repetition, too long description, info dumping). I know there are some really amazing longer novels (I'm looking at you Priory of the Orange Tree), but for the most part a higher word count means a lot of work for me and the author to cut it down, or we're signing up for a difficult sub process. Editors are really calling for lower word counts right now, across all genres.
​
I do want to emphasize that 120k isn't an auto rejection for me, but it does make me look at your work with a more critical eye. And you want to query with your best foot forward. So, if you get this rejection, see if there is a way you can revise your word count to get closer to the 100k - 110k mark. And if you do, as I say in the rejection, you're always welcome to requery me. I will always accept edited submissions. You've got this!

This was such an exciting form for me to add! It means that now that I have my first clients, I have to make sure I don't accept projects that are too similar to the ones I've already signed with. 
​
If you receive this rejection, keep querying! I just can't represent you because of my other wonderful clients. But clearly your idea is good, because it made me sign with someone else. And if you end up not getting an agent with this particular project, query me again!

Belcastro Agency asks that querying authors don't query multiple of us at the same time with the same project. The reason for this is so that we don't have to compete with each other. And if you can't follow that rule and you query a bunch of us at once, that's usually an indicator we might not work the best together. Of course, accidents totally happen from time to time (I know I was absolutely guilty of this while querying), so if you query two of us at the same time I don't usually bat an eye. But I do have to reject it. I'm the newest team member at Belcastro, and the LAST thing I want to do is step on any of the other amazing agents' toes here. However, it's an entirely different story if you query all of us at once. Please don't do that. It's so easy to see on the backend of Query Manager.
​
If you get this rejection and didn't realize you did that, don't panic! Just wait for the other agent to respond. And feel free to query me with another project later! But if you get this and you did query all of us all at once, please don't do this in the future. And most agencies don't like that either, FYI. 

I've only used this form rejection a handful of times. If you get this, it means something was holding me back. Could have been the story wasn't grabbing me by the throat, or the prose was missing a special spark. How many times can I say agenting is subjective? But it really, truly is. Whatever the reason, getting this form rejection means you caught my attention, I love what you're doing, but I just didn't fall head over heels enough to offer representation. Keep in mind, I have to read a story several times before it goes on sub. And when I offer, I'm planning to stick with you for your whole career. So an offer from me isn't a simple thing I do for a lot of writers (it's only been six people so far). 
​
Keep querying with this project if you get this rejection. I bet another agent might fall in love like I couldn't. BUT, if you don't get an agent with this project, please please query me again. I am not offering that to many other authors, so I mean it when I say that.

A lot of times when I'm reading the sample pages of a great concept for a kidlit story, I find that the tone of the writing doesn't fit the age group of the audience. This is such an easy problem to run into as adults working on children's stories. This isn't to say that YA or MG can't tackle adult themes or big emotions / scary moments. But when I use this rejection, it's more the voice doesn't fit the perspective of a kid or a teenager, especially if the story is told in first person. 

If you get this form rejection, take a look at how your voice is coming across. Are you using adult sounding phrases, out of date expressions, or syntax that doesn't match the dialogue of today's kiddos? Remember your readers at the end of the day. It's not me, it's not publishers. It's the kids.

I've found that 70% of my writing based rejections are based on too much telling language. When I connect with the story idea and the opening of the pages, if your writing uses too much telling and not enough showing (or also too much passive voice) it's going to be a no for me. Like I mention in the rejection above, this is a personal preference and another agent might feel totally different. In fact, another agent at Belcastro and I have passed manuscripts to one another, because the amount of telling didn't match our styles (and I ended up offering on that project that didn't fit the agent's style).

Those are all twelve of my current form rejections! If I think of more common reasons on why I reject, I might add more later to help give more feedback. If you can think of any things you wish I could include in these forms, let me know! I'm always looking for ways to improve as an agent, and it means the world to me that so many of you trusted me with your work.
​
You got this! Keep querying and keep working on your craft. I can't wait to read all your stories one day.

Before we dig into the book that got me my agent, it's important to point out the books that came before. All these “failed” querying attempts built a foundation beneath me so my final querying project would be as strong as possible and also gave me a head start in some agents’ inboxes. 

Before GSH, I wrote nine other novels. I completed my first book when I was 16, twelve years ago. That book will NEVER see the light of day, neither will its sequel and then the prequel I wrote following. Back then, I didn't know much at all about the publishing process. I didn't realize I was wasting time writing books in a series that wouldn't get picked up.

If you’re curious, the books were called FLINT, IGNITE, and SPARK. They were about a chosen one with red hair who could control fire and was the only one who could save the world from some big, bad guy. Bleh, cliche much? 

Back then, I didn't know about agents, so two of those books weren't queried. FLINT I sent to about ten agents. If you're one of those agents, I would like to personally apologize for the monstrosity that was in your inbox. 

Querying Book #1 Stats: 

Queries Sent: 10
Rejections: 10 
Requests: 0

Three books down. What about the other seven? I wrote two other novels that also didn't queried. I might go back and revisit one, a story about a girl navigating her parent’s magical creature refuge. But for now, those two did nothing but help me hone my skills. 

My next novel did make it far. STONEHAVEN. After I figured out the entire YA draft I wrote wasn’t working, I scraped it and rewrote it for a MG audience. When I started reading more MG, I realized THIS was my sweet spot. These kids need the help the most, and there’s something so sweet and important about crafting stories for confused, angry, and excited 12-year-olds. 

STONEHAVEN was my first attempt at seriously querying. I still love that story so much. I have several ideas for revising, so don’t worry, this won’t be the last you hear of it. Here’s the stats for how this MG portal fantasy did out in the querying trenches:

Querying Book #2 Stats: 

Queries Sent: 80
Rejections: 69 (ha, ha NICE)
Requests: 11 (about 14% request rate)

Not bad! But I didn't get that offer email every querying writer is chasing after. So I moved onto another project. HOW TO SEE GHOSTS. My first MG horror, the story that made me absolutely fall in love with the genre. 

Querying Book #3 Stats: 

Queries Sent: 58
Rejections: 55
Requests: 3 (a measly 5% request rate)

Ouchie. I went backwards majorly. Something was NOT working. But I learned something through that process. Even though I’m a plotter and always have my book outlined before I start, sometimes it takes me a whole draft to realize it’s not working. STONEHAVEN is also a great example of that. Good news for me, writing a draft doesn’t take long. 

Enter REVIVED GIRLS GUIDE TO BATTLING GHOSTS. This book was a deep revision of HOW TO SEE GHOSTS. Very quickly it comfortably curled up in my heart as my favorite book I’ve ever written. A.k.a, the book of my heart. It still owns that title to this day. When I was considering agents for this book, an important part of that decision was if they would consider working on this project next. 

Querying Book #4 Stats: 

Queries Sent: 81
Rejections: 68
Requests: 14 (17% request rate)

I was devastated that I didn't end up with an agent. However, it wasn’t for nothing. This book got me on the radar for a lot of agents. And it landed me a spot in RevPit, an incredible mentorship contest for authors close to querying but who need an extra push to get there. That's where I met Adah Li, my brilliant editor. We still talk frequently. She has been such a guiding light for me in publishing. Querying writers, I can’t recommend RevPit enough. 

It took me a little while to write again after having to shelf REVIVED GIRLS. But one night, an idea came to me. What if I wrote a story that is GHOSTBUSTERS meets BABYSITTERS CLUB? Thus, SPOOKY SITTER SOCIETY was born. Little did I know this book would eventually get me an agent, it would just take one last failed attempt at querying before I found the shiny draft lying within. It takes me a couple of attempts to figure out what I'm doing, what can I say?

Querying Book #5 Stats: 

Queries Sent: 90
Rejections: 75
Requests: 16 (18% request rate)

​

To give you context, here are my pitches and query that got me my offer. 

PitchHero Pitch:

A queer, neurodiverse MG horror that is GHOSTBUSTERS meets BABYSITTERS CLUB. 12-year-old Evey lives in Savannah, Georgia, where real life ghosts have haunted the city since 1866. Only children can see the rotting corpses that haunt dark corners of houses, so The Ghoul Scouts was created to patrol the city at night, watch over haunted houses, and stop the ghost from terrorizing the city. #ownvoices

PitDark Pitch:

LOCKWOOD & CO x THIS APPEARING HOUSE Do you own a haunted house in Savannah & need a night out? Call the Ghoul Scouts! Our teams are trained babysitters AND ghost hunters. *not liable for damaged furniture/escaped ghosts, esp if 12yo Evey is your sitter. #Pitdark #MG #H #LGBT #ND

Query:

Dear [Agent],
​
12-year-old Evey lives in Savannah, Georgia, where ghosts have haunted the city since 1866. Only children see the rotting corpses that haunt dark corners of houses, so The Ghoul Scouts was created to patrol the city at night, watch over haunted houses, and stop the ghost from terrorizing the city. GHOUL SCOUTS HONOR is a queer, neurodivergent MG horror complete at 68,000 words, perfect for fans of the spooky atmosphere in Lockwood & Co by Jonathan Stroud and the emotional drive and important themes found in This Appearing House by Ally Malinenko. [Sentence specifying why you chose that agent & calling out if you’ve already queried them]

After a nasty friendship break-up, Evey swears off anything that isn’t getting her closer to winning Blanchard Middle School’s student of the year award. If she can earn that, she’ll prove to her ex-best friend Laura that she’s fine without anyone’s help. That is until, thanks to dwindling volunteer numbers, anyone wanting the student of the year award is required to volunteer with the Ghoul Scouts. Unfortunately for Evey, Laura is the head of the Ghoul Scouts. To make matters worse, she’s paired with Matilda, her school rival and her main competition for the award.

While Evey tries her best to guarantee her win by taking charge at every haunted babysitting gig, she uncovers information about a secret ghost that is threatening to destroy the town and the unexpected conspirators working to cover it up. But the ghost's story holds the key to a darker, deeper mystery that could explain why spirits haunt Savannah in the first place. She’ll have to decide if she can lean on her Ghoul Scout group to help and forget the promise she made to never trust others again or risk the lives of everyone in Savannah, including her own.
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Thank you for considering my query.

I was beyond excited to be featured in the incredible line-up of WriteOnCon 2019! I went live at the end of the first night, Friday February 8th. During my hour long session, I answered questions about social media management, specifically for writers trying to navigate that space. Several hundred people reported in live to watch me speak, but you can watch me live now by clicking the video below!

I am not a brave person. I don’t pretend to be. I would much rather be sprawled across my couch with my cats and boyfriend than out hunting for adventure, or even out where a lot of people are.
 
Oh, also, I startle at most loud sounds, and I hide under blankets during the scariest parts of movies.
 
However, I’ve noticed that this this lack of bravery affects how I interact with people. I don’t speak up for myself as often as I could, I just go along with what everyone else wants even if I really don’t want that, and I think far too often that I am annoying someone even if all I am doing is asking them a question.
 
As I stepped over the threshold of student into full-fletched adult, I made it a goal of mine to start being a bit braver.
 
They say the first step in fixing a problem is recognizing that it exists, and I completely believe that. Because even discovering a problem was hard work. It’s not like I woke up one morning and magically thought, “Hmmm, I am going to fix my fear of fear once and for all!” I didn’t really recognize I had a problem until I dug more into self-help articles and spent more and more time analyzing my own emotions. I’ve been doing those bad habits for years and years, but it wasn’t until these past few months (when I had to do things like find new friends or discover my place in a completely new location or own pets) that I saw the problem and knew it needed to change. And it wasn’t going to be pretty.
 
I started deciding to do things like tell a waiter they brought me the wrong food or it wasn’t cooked well, communicate to any sale associate or hair dresser exactly what I wanted, and canceling plans if I didn’t want to go. These were super small steps, but these were things I wasn’t doing earlier. Through doing these things, I find myself being okay in arguments instead of collapsing into a puddle of tears. I found myself okay with telling someone I disagreed with them. I found myself okay with discussing big issues with other people.
 
The big whammie that happened, however, was when I heard myself saying out loud, “I would love to play for the worship band.”
 
I took piano lessons for years when I was younger, and always the worst part of the process for me were the recitals. I would grow sick, sweaty, and shaky within hours of the time I would have to stand up and play. And, here I was, putting myself in the position where I would possibly be doing those things regularly.
 
Of course, the nerves came full force. I had plenty of nightmares of doing horribly or completely missing my call time. I had many panic attacks during work on the first day of rehearsal, like 8 hours before I was even due to play. I found myself wiping my fingers off of my jeans moments before, found myself praying harder than I have ever prayed before as I climbed the stage to the keys. 
 
But, here’s the thing, I did it. A girl who is was consumed with anxiety and stage fright, got in front of her entire church and played an instrument (MIND YOU, there was one song that had a big solo) where people could hear when and where I went wrong. 
 
It’s crazy, and I may be a little insane, but I did it. After surviving that experience and not playing a single wrong note, here are the five takeaways so I’m not just talking about myself, and you can learn something too:

1. It’s okay to be afraid. Fear is a part of life. But the not-okay thing is when being afraid interrupts your quality of life (point in case, me).
2. There are always exceptions to this rule, but maybe one of the best ways to tackle those fears is to face them head on (if you are afraid of heights, do not jump off of something high to conquer that fear. Even if there is a parachute attached to you, that is just plain crazy).
3.  It is always worth the time and energy to take care of yourself: mind, body, and soul.
4. You are always improving, and there is always places to grow. If you are frustrated with where you are, think creatively about a way to change your course.
5. People are your best resource. I couldn’t have gotten on that stage without loved ones encouraging me on and answering all of my crazed texts (you guys know who I am talking about, wink wink).

What do you think? Are you afraid of something and is it blocking your way of living? Or do you think I’m just dumb? Let me know in the comments!