Want more info about me than you can get from daily blog posts, Facebook status updates, and tweets? Well, you’re in luck! Megan of Literary Life just posted an interview with yours truly. Got more questions that Megan and I didn’t cover? Put them in the comments, and I’ll answer them. If they’re REALLY good, they may be the subject of my next blog post.
What kind of questions? Whatever! Personal stuff, work stuff, questions about what I’m looking for, how I work, my favorite tv shows/shoe store/shampoo… I’ll answer just about anything you can dream up. Go wild!
Filed Under: News
Tags: asking questions, interviews
June 10th, 2009 at 9:10 am
How long should a query be? Who you reject it if it was over 400 words?
June 10th, 2009 at 9:38 am
A query should be approximately one page, if you printed it out and were to send it the old fashioned way. But I don't sit and count words. Just hook me with a interesting concept or plot, tell me a little bit more about the story, and add something about yourself. Take a look at some of the examples posted in the "About My Query" series for more ideas of what a query should look like.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Any thoughts on young readers and the ever-emerging mobile reader market? I'm imagining every smartphone out there will have an ebook app on it in the near future, and I'm curious what you think about how young readers would want to access this. Shorter fiction? Serialized stuff? Whole books? Comics? All kinds of possibilities I think or so it seems.
June 10th, 2009 at 10:11 am
A few weeks ago Rachelle Gardner had a wonderful post about making THE CALL to offer representation to an author. The post was very up lifting and had me filled with smiley-goodness, even though I haven't received THE CALL myself. I was just happy to hear about all the other authors who had. So I wanted to ask, how do you make "THE CALL" or do you email initially? And have you ever called an author to offer representation and something they said on the phone made you go…"um…so yeah, it was nice talking to you, bu-bye", changing your mind about the offer? (This is for all of us to make note of not to say it when/if we receive THE CALL-lol)
June 10th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Would you ever rejected a finnished novel that had typos in it.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Jim -
I think mobile devices are great for short fiction. I can totally imagine a complete re-emergence of short story collections on eBooks just for that reason.
I have a friend with an iPhone, and I'm totally jealous that he can sync his reading on it with his reading on his Kindle — that, to me, is the best way for reading longer fiction.
But when we talk about "young" readers, keep in mind when most kids get cell phones nowadays, and when they get cell phones with all the bells and whistles. I think those mobile aps, at least for now, need to be targeted towards teens and older.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Karen –
Usually, so as not to encounter an author in a state of shock or unbelief, I email first. I mention that I like their book (duh!) and want to talk with them about it a little further. Then I set up a time for a phone call.
So far, none of the conversations I've had with an author about a book have changed my mind. You have to realize, by the time we're talking, I've already read the query, sample chapters, and the full manuscript. I've probably already considered editors I want to send the book to. At this time, I want to just chat with the author, learn more about them, hear what else they're working on, etc.
In all honesty, the call is gravy. The book is the meat, and though it hasn't happened yet, if I LOVE the meat, I can find away to eat around the gravy, if need be. (Which may have taken the metaphor a leetle too far.)
June 10th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Oops. My bad. I meant 'teens' when I said younger readers.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Leslie Ann -
It depends. If we're talking about a few typos over the course of a couple of hundred pages, yeah, sure. I'm not a copyeditor, and I know how easy it is to miss something.
If I can't get through a sentence without noting one or two or more typos, I think that's beyond "typo" and into a serious concern about the author's grasp of the English language. That would make me leery.
But that's also something most likely to be caught on a query, before I get to reading the manuscript.
June 10th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
If we want to send you a query and make sure you get it, what E-Mail should we send it to?
June 10th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Ninja -
ALL queries should be sent to queries@ktliterary.com. Full, detailed instructions on what to send are on the Submissions page of this website.
June 10th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Will you do one of those "What I wish was in my inbox right now" posts? I love to see what all the agents want and what they wished they could see themselves repping in the future!
June 10th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Thanks for the shout out!
Hope everyone liked the interview:)
Here here Jamie! I love those inbox posts!
It's always interesting to read what people are sending you, and why you like it or not
June 11th, 2009 at 4:36 am
Just what kind of shampoo DO you use? Because your hair looks great in your photo. Also, how is the purple streak treating you?
June 11th, 2009 at 6:25 am
Jamie and Megan, check out the next post for a little more detail on what I wish were in my inbox.
And Kiersten, I'm a fan of Herbal Essences' Color Me Happy shampoo and conditioner.
And the purple streak is fading a little bit, even though I dyed it again before BEA, but I'm heading back to my hairdresser in a week or so for another boost of color!
June 11th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
[...] of the questions posed on yesterday’s Ask Me Anything! post was about what I wish were in my inbox. Let’s see: A personal invitation from George Clooney [...]
July 21st, 2011 at 4:28 am
[...] on Daphne’s blog, she advertised our interview! YAY! She also has another one of her Live Feed Blogs – they’re my personal [...]