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[Agency] Liza Dawson Associates

NoelDwyer

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For those who have been querying Liza Dawson Associates (esp. those who have gotten some initial positive responses), how much have you taken their unusual query guidelines to heart? Their FAQ recommends a query format that's heavy on "here's where my book belongs" and "here's what people say about it" and "here are my qualifications" and pretty light on actual story. How closely did you follow that?

(My query right now is basically all story. I'm not sure I have much to say on the other things they're asking for, but I also don't want to shoot myself in the foot by ignoring their preferences. It may just be that I need to bite the bullet and write up an alternative query for the agents who prefer this kind of format; I know it's not unique to Liza Dawson.)

(Also, apologies if this is the wrong place to ask this kind of thing.)
 

NoelDwyer

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Yeah, it's certainly different from the format I've learned to write to on critique forums and Query Shark, but my sense is that they're a reputable agency, and that they do really mean fiction.

Here's part of their instructions about what makes a successful query:

"Rather than leading with the plot, these letter-writers lay out the case for their book in a crisp, tidy four-paragraph format that begins:
1) Here is a (describe type of book).
2) It's the story of (give only a three-sentence summation).
3) Here's how the book came to be written and what people think of it.
4) Here are my credentials."
 

Krista G.

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Yeah, it's certainly different from the format I've learned to write to on critique forums and Query Shark, but my sense is that they're a reputable agency, and that they do really mean fiction.

Here's part of their instructions about what makes a successful query:

"Rather than leading with the plot, these letter-writers lay out the case for their book in a crisp, tidy four-paragraph format that begins:
1) Here is a (describe type of book).
2) It's the story of (give only a three-sentence summation).
3) Here's how the book came to be written and what people think of it.
4) Here are my credentials."

For what it's worth, I queried three Liza Dawson agents five years ago with the more typical, plot-heavy query I used for other agents and got requests from two of them (and for the record, I queried these agents months apart, so I wasn't just going down the list :)). Also, I just hosted Jennifer Johnson-Blalock on my blog for a query contest, so you might be able to glean something from her feedback: www.kristavandolzer.com. (If you scroll about halfway down the sidebar, you can use the archives to check out the individual entries. Her feedback is in the comments.)

Good luck!
 

cdecho

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I queried Liza Dawson on a humorous historical mystery. It was a typical format -- how I've heard of you. Name, length, and genre. Hook. One paragraph description. Bio. First five pages and no synopsis. I got a request for a partial the next day -- yesterday. I did address some of her wants from Manuscript Wish List. Now, we wait. Hope this helps.
 

travelgal

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Yeah, it's certainly different from the format I've learned to write to on critique forums and Query Shark, but my sense is that they're a reputable agency, and that they do really mean fiction.

Here's part of their instructions about what makes a successful query:

"Rather than leading with the plot, these letter-writers lay out the case for their book in a crisp, tidy four-paragraph format that begins:
1) Here is a (describe type of book).
2) It's the story of (give only a three-sentence summation).
3) Here's how the book came to be written and what people think of it.
4) Here are my credentials."


What if you don't have any credentials, and how do you answer question 3 when you've shown your book to nobody? Is she referring to beta readers? Haven't had any of those yet.

Jennifer Johnson-Blalock appears to appreciate a three paragraph summation of 2.
 
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mbowman

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Got a partial request from Liza a while back and she just upgraded it to a full today! She can't wait for me to send the rest and after a quick go eyeball read through (I always do it before submissions) I'll send it off! I don't want to get my hopes up because she doesn't seem to take on new clients often but this is really encouraging!

Getting two full requests in a week does wonders for the mood.

Edit: 1/12/2017 I forgot to update this! Liza is an awesome agent to work with! She said she loved my full (The YA Paranormal) but she thought it might not sell so she asked to see if I had anything else. I told her I had a YA Sci-Fi I was finishing up and she asked to see it as soon as it was ready! I sent it off in December and she updated me this week that she is still reading it but she'll get back to me soon!

Don't want to get my hopes up or anything considering how selective she is, but she seems like an incredible person to work with!
 
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CristinaRoswell

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Submitted to Caitlin on February 17th with just a query letter as she requests on the website. Got a rejection today with a short message saying it's not right for her, but she thanks me for the look.
At least she was quick.
 

Stytch

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In my continuing quest to tidy up my query list... Does anyone know if Hannah Bowman sends an auto-response, or what her standard time is until I can mark it CNR?
 

litdawg

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Agree with above posters that Caitlin Blasdell is quick. EQ on September 11, and PR on September 17. I was waiting for Hannah Bowman to open up to submissions when I saw that she recommends querying Caitlin during times she (Hannah) is closed to queries. After reading Caitlin's MSWL, I realized she was just as good of an option as Hannah.
 

Wizera

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Queried Caitlin Blasdell with an MG fantasy on 5/31/22.
Rejection 6/6/22.
 
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