It was. She was demonstrating fierce like she wanted all writers to be.
I really liked her.
Janet Reid /Query Shark Passing
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I really liked her.
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Thank you, Janet, for helping so many writers navigate all stages of querying. I am grateful to her site and her sharpness alongside such generosity and humor.
She was a very funny lady. When I first started following Query Shark, I posted a silly rendition of "O Christmas Tree" as "O Query Shark", and then "You're a Mean One Mr. Finns" to the tune of "You're a Mean Mr. Grinch." on a different post.
A couple of hours later, "Mr. Finns" was her blog header, and I got an email with a YouTube link. She had staged a little Christmas tree with a shark on it, and her intern was singing "O Query Shark."
She didn't know me at all. We'd never spoken or interacted at that point, as this was before I dared try my luck with actually querying. I can only imagine she did similar things for others. Things like that stick.
Most of the queries I sent to Janet over the years resulted in very prompt rejections (but kindly worded form ones). Once, however, I got a full manuscript request from her. That sticks out and felt like a major win at the time! (And it still does.) Alas, as is often the case in this business, it went on to be a rejection too. But it was still a full manuscript request, the only one I ever received from her! The book is a thriller and mentions the movie "Casablanca" early on in the sample pages, which was one of her favourite movies. I believe she's posted about that movie a couple of times on her blog. One stands out in my memory about tension.
Here's the link to that post if anyone would like to read it:
I also loved her blog posts, especially how she referred to herself sometimes as Snookums, and to us writers as woodland creatures!
I rarely comment on threads involving people who have passed on, but I wanted to say something here. Very sad to hear of this news. Her passing is a major loss to the writing, agenting, and publishing communities at large.
And to Janet, if she can still see our posts where she is now (I hope she'd appreciate this even if it's a bit on the nose and possibly corny):
"Here's looking at you, kid."
Here's the link to that post if anyone would like to read it:
I also loved her blog posts, especially how she referred to herself sometimes as Snookums, and to us writers as woodland creatures!
I rarely comment on threads involving people who have passed on, but I wanted to say something here. Very sad to hear of this news. Her passing is a major loss to the writing, agenting, and publishing communities at large.
And to Janet, if she can still see our posts where she is now (I hope she'd appreciate this even if it's a bit on the nose and possibly corny):
"Here's looking at you, kid."
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I saw the title of this post and was like: 'okay, maybe this was an update because her Query Shark blog hasn't been updated for months.'
Because of my sensitivity to bad news, I rarely believe it when it has been declared that someone died. It's such a huge thing to come off as a piece of news. So I checked the Query tracker and it was indeed true. Two actors from my country died this year, very beloved, and made my native film industry into what it is today. Just by reading Janet Reid's blogs, I learned how to challenge myself, learned important things, noy only related to querying. I just think once in a lifetime, there's just that one person who rises up and takes up a challenge that others can barely manage. She made a very big impact as an agent and I don't think there's any literary agent who can wear her shoes and help aspiring writers walk past their baby steps.
Because of my sensitivity to bad news, I rarely believe it when it has been declared that someone died. It's such a huge thing to come off as a piece of news. So I checked the Query tracker and it was indeed true. Two actors from my country died this year, very beloved, and made my native film industry into what it is today. Just by reading Janet Reid's blogs, I learned how to challenge myself, learned important things, noy only related to querying. I just think once in a lifetime, there's just that one person who rises up and takes up a challenge that others can barely manage. She made a very big impact as an agent and I don't think there's any literary agent who can wear her shoes and help aspiring writers walk past their baby steps.
I saw this yesterday and I couldn't bring myself to reply. I found the blog maybe 4 years ago, but for a year now I always have the QS blog open on a tab. I go, check a query and the replies, and then on to the next example.
Who knows how many writers got their break thanks to her sharp teeth. Condolences to the family.
Who knows how many writers got their break thanks to her sharp teeth. Condolences to the family.
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It's always a tragedy when the world loses one of the greats, no matter what they were great at. Janet may not have been a big name outside of publishing, but she was truly the very definition of "great". This news breaks my heart.
Publishers Marketplace has a brief statement about Janet today. (I don't know about anyone else, but I've been hunting for official sources like I need the confirmation.)
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Thanks for posting that, @JJ Litke.
She wasn't an unsung hero: I reckon everyone who ever so much as wrote a haiku knew about her and her generosity, dedication to the community, and brilliance. She was a byword in the industry and must've known how loved and appreciated she was. She was and remains a shining beacon acting as an example to all of us.
She wasn't an unsung hero: I reckon everyone who ever so much as wrote a haiku knew about her and her generosity, dedication to the community, and brilliance. She was a byword in the industry and must've known how loved and appreciated she was. She was and remains a shining beacon acting as an example to all of us.
Stop making me feel feelings. RIGHT NOW.
The query shark died over the weekend: https://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2024/04/obituary-janet-reid/
Sorry -- just saw it was posted elsewhere at AW, so feel free to delete here, mods.
Sorry -- just saw it was posted elsewhere at AW, so feel free to delete here, mods.
Really stunned by this news. Janet Reid was active throughout most of my writing career, both before and after I started querying, so it sort of felt like she was a permanent fixture of the industry, like she would live forever, but of course no one does.
She will definitely be missed. I didn't always agree with her judgments of queries at her blog, but I was always grateful for how she gave a clear explanation for her thought process, something we don't get when we're in the trenches, sending out queries and parsing rejections. I also loved how she advocated for writers to acknowledge our worth, rather than coming to the query table as hat-in-hand beggars (while not going overboard into arrogance).
She will definitely be missed. I didn't always agree with her judgments of queries at her blog, but I was always grateful for how she gave a clear explanation for her thought process, something we don't get when we're in the trenches, sending out queries and parsing rejections. I also loved how she advocated for writers to acknowledge our worth, rather than coming to the query table as hat-in-hand beggars (while not going overboard into arrogance).
Just posting the memoriam on her blog for anyone who'd be interested to read it. Was posted yesterday and not sure how many may have seen it.
Oof, since I'm not heavily active in publishing news, I only just heard about this. Very sad, she's helped so many people improve their queries and avoid scams. Hopefully her site sticks around and maybe someone else will take the mantle some day.
Ms. Reid's obituary for anyone interested.
Edited to provide a link that felt a little less spammy
Update: removed link because it may not have been her real obituary. Nothing is sacred.
Edited to provide a link that felt a little less spammy
Update: removed link because it may not have been her real obituary. Nothing is sacred.
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I could be wrong, but I suspect this is just one of those content-mill bot obits. I don't think it's Janet Reid's real obit. Especially because none of the menu links on the website work. And the obit itself is generic and bland. I think if this was Janet's real obit, she'd come back just to chomp on (and spit out) whoever wrote this.These fake AI-obits (especially of public figures) are littering search results solely to serve ads.
You know society has gone to shit when even obituaries aren't immune from enshittification.
ETA: That same website also has Frankie Vallie's obit. Thing is, he's still alive.
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*explodes into fit of incoherent swearing*