If you don’t already know, #QueryChat is a Twitter chat that takes place every couple of weeks. It’s a time for writers to gather so that they can ask questions and give advice to each other. It also includes helpful links and special guests, like agents or published authors. And sometimes we just vent about our latest query related emotional breakdown. I moderate #QueryChat, if you have any questions.

How do you join? Sign in to Twitter at the announced time (see @QueryChat, that’s me) and follow#QueryChat to watch the questions and answers fly. To participate, make sure to add #QueryChat in your tweets or we won’t see them!

Can I get a Woot-Woot and a ReTweet along with your participation?!

Disclaimer: Some people have approached me, asking to promote their services or website. Peer run chat advice is the sole intended purpose for #QueryChat. But that doesn’t mean I can’t pimp this list at the beginning and end of each chat. If you have query related info on your blog or offer services related to the process, please contact me and I will add you to the list below at my discretion. (Aka, make sure you aren’t a spammer and your info is relevant.) I want #QueryChat to stay helpful without worrying over who wants to offer what, so I ask that you reference people in the chat to this post as well rather than giving individual links in the chat, in order for it all to stay fair. *Again, contact me if you want to be added below!*

Also, don’t troll. See definition of troll here.  If you’re looking to pick arguments or gain attention in order to sell your services or promote your website?  Go somewhere else.  You will be blocked and others in the chat will be reminded of their ability to block you as well.

Helpful Links for Query Info:

Absolute Write

Agent Query

Janet Reid

Miss Snark

Nathan Bransford

Preditors and Editors

Publishers Marketplace

Query Shark

Query Tracker

Rachelle Gardner

The Rejectionist

The Swivet

Some Helpful Links for Query Critiques:

Absolute Write’s Query Hell- Section of a great writing forum where you can post your query for critique from peers.

C.A. Marshall- An agent’s intern. Offers free query critiques. Also provides editing services, for a fee. See link for more info.

C.J. Redwine- Offers a query workshop that teaches and critiques for a fee. See link for more info.

Nathan Bransford’s Forum- Section of an agent’s forum where you can post your query for critique from peers.

Examples of Helpful Books for Queries:

2010 Guide to Literary Agents

The Writers Digest Guide To Query Letters

Examples of Helpful Books On Writing:

Writing the Breakout Novel

Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

3 AM Epiphany

Plot & Structure: (Techniques And Exercises For Crafting A Plot That Grips Readers From Start To Finish)

Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Dynamic Characters and Effective Viewpoints

On Writing

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition

Links to Previous QueryChat Guests:

(Contact me if you’d like to be a guest and you’re an agent, editor, or published author.)

C.A. Marshall

Hannah Moskowitz

Mercedes Yardley

Kathleen Oritz

MacAllister Stone

Victoria Strauss

Weronika Janczuk

Things to Have in Place When Beginning to Query:

• Cake
• Synopsis
• Tissue
• One Sentence Summary/Pitch
• Alcohol when necessary, but moderation please.
• Questions for Potential Agents
• Friends
• Tracking System for Queries
• Chocolate
• Website Presence
• Bubble Bath
• Your MS COMPLETE and Ready to Send