I respond to all queries. If you sent a query and did not receive a response, go through this list to see what went wrong:
1. Did you query before 11/20/19?
YES: Resend your query. Many of my queries were lost on that date.
NO: go to 2
2. Have you waited thirty days?
I ask for 30 days to respond to queries. In addition, there is a place on the blog that shows how caught up I am. Make sure you're not jumping the gun.
NO: Simmer down and wait.
YES: Go to 3
3. Did you address it to Janet@JetReidLiterary.com?
NO: resend it to that address
YES: Go to 4
4. Did you include the requested 3-5 sample pages in the body of the email?
NO: resend, and this time include the pages
YES: Go to 5
5. Did you send the email to more than one person at the same time as a cc or a bcc or on the TO line?
NO: go to 6
YES: resend it to me, and do not include anyone else, including yourself in any address line
6. Did you include an attachment of any kind?
NO: go to 7
YES: resend it to me without any attachments. Pages are pasted into the query itself
7. Did you query for more than one project in the query letter?
NO: go to 8
YES: revise your query. Query for ONLY one project at a time.
8. Did you query by post and fail to include an SASE for my response?
I do NOT send email rejections on queries received on paper.
NO: Go to 9
YES: Requery and include an SASE OR requery by email. (email is preferred)
9 Are you someone other than the author of the book?
NO: go to 10
YES: Your query was deleted. It will not help to resend it because I do not respond to queries from anyone other than author.
10. Have you sent me email in the past, such as newsletters, cute pictures, signed me up for your mailing list?
NO: go to 11
YES: your email is likely now blocked. Resend the query from a new email address.
11. Have you queried me more than twice this year for the same project?
NO: go to 12
YES: your email has been flagged as junk or spam. Stop querying.
12. Have you checked your spam filter for my reply?
(if you have one of those "please click here to be on my approved sender list" barriers--I didn't)
NO: go check
YES: go to 13
13. Does your query letter contain any phrase or word that would trigger MY spam filter?
NO: go to 14
YES: rewrite your query letter, resend
14. Does your email address resemble your account name closely enough?
My spam filter sorts those mismatches as spam.
NO: change your account name to match your email, or get a new email address
YES: go to 15
15. Does your email address provoke my spam filter? (ie is it not your name, but a description of body parts or lifestyle or stamina)
NO: go to 16
YES: get a professional email address.
16. Have you included an actual query, not just pages from your novel?
NO: Resend with an actual query (250 words approx) and the first three to five pages of the novel.
YES: Go to 17
17. Have you sent an actual query, not something you think is "better" "improved" or "more helpful" than a query? [Examples so far: an Excel spreadsheet of blog posts that comprise your novel; a published copy of the book you're querying on; a CD rom; a USB drive.]
NO: Resend with an actual query (250 words approx) and the first three to five pages of the novel.
YES: Go to 18
18. If you've gotten all the way down this list and nothing has been a do-over, try again. Pay attention to the things that trigger my spam filter, and the things that trigger my delete key.
Also, stuff happens. If you haven't heard back, and you haven't done anything wrong that you can see, just query again. If it happens a second time, drop me a note on Twitter: @Janet_Reid.
Questions? ...well, I'd tell you to email me, but clearly that's a problem. You might try reaching out via Twitter: @Janet_Reid
