This query is part of the Be an Agent for a Day contest. Rules and Regulations here
Please post your rejection or manuscript request in the comment section!
Dear Agent for a Day:
A dead fortune teller. A skeptical private eye. An ancient Japanese curse. The fear is real, but the terror is all in your mind…
INUGAMI is a psychological murder mystery that reads like a supernatural thriller. Set in contemporary San Francisco, a Japanese psychic foresees her own brutal death and asks P.I. Greg Padgett for help. But after she tells him the killer is an “inugami” — a person who is possessed by an evil animal spirit — Padgett turns down the case, thinking the old woman is crazy.
That same night, the fortune teller is found mauled to death by a savage beast of unknown origin. Then Padgett receives a cryptic email she sent moments before she was attacked, warning that he will be the inugami’s next victim! So now the P.I. must find a creature he doesn’t believe exists, and stop it before it can fulfill her prophecy.
As Padgett delves deeper into the Japantown subculture, the former undercover narc begins to suspect her drug-addicted son is the real killer. But the P.I. may have addiction problems himself that cloud his judgment, and could be responsible for his mounting paranoia. When the son turns the tables by placing the inugami curse on Padgett, the ultimate question is whether the nonbeliever can resist the power of suggestion.
About myself: I’m a former journalist and columnist for a daily newspaper. My feature screenplays have won or placed in many contests, including the Nicholl Fellowships, which is sponsored by the Academy Foundation (the Oscar folks). Two of my scripts have been optioned by established Hollywood writers/producers, but have not yet been produced.
If you would like to read INUGAMI or sample chapters, I’d be happy to email you a pdf file or snail mail you a hard copy. Thanks for your time and consideration!
Best regards,
Author
STATS: 43% request rate
Pinkie says
Dear Author,
I like the tone of your query and I believe this book will sell. Please send me the first three chapters.
Thanks.
CPK
Maria A says
Thank you for thinking of our agency, but not for us at this moment.
Best of luck,
Agent
donnas says
Thank you for your interest but I do not feel like it would be the right fit for me at this time.
Best of Luck.
Dana says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately I am not interested in representing your novel.
Regards,
Dana
Reasons: Not a fan of the idea dn the writing wasn’t very snappy.
Janine says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query, but I am not the right agent for this. Best of luck.
Reason: although I think this could be interesting, I thought the query was written a little too loosly. Loved the inugami concept, but got confused about whose son it was…
Rebecca Knight says
Dear Inugami,
Thank you for your query, and for thinking of my agency. Unfortunately, I feel that I’m not the best fit for your project. This industry is highly subjective, so I’m sure others will feel differently. Best of luck to you in all your endeavors.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Knight
Nora Coon says
Not right for us at this time. Best of luck.
***
Something just didn’t grab me. Also, pronoun error in the query, unless the PI has an abrupt gender switch.
RainSplats says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately it’s not a good fit for me. Best of luck.
-Rain
(much better than before. near miss)
Alisa says
No, thank you.
Alisa.
Shannon says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Please send the first five chapters of INUGAMI including cover letter. I look forward to reading it and will contact you within four weeks upon receiving the material.
Sincerely,
Shannon
Getabo Publishing says
YOU MADE MY TOP 5!
*****
Thank you for your recent query. Your story INUGAMI appeals to me at various levels and I would like to read a partial of your work.
Please submit to me by email your first thirty pages or as close to this as possible at the end of a chapter or natural break.
Please remember to include your original query at the bottom of the e-mail.
I will respond with the outcome, whether requesting your manuscript in full or not, within thirty days.
Sincerely.
The Big Editor
Getabo Creative Publishing
lilianamama says
Dear Author:
Thank you for your interest in the “Be An Agent For A Day” contest. I found your idea intriguing and would like to read more. Please send me your first three chapters and a plot synopsis.
That said, I’m afraid your first paragraph made me laugh. It seemed a bit over the top.
Annie Reynolds says
Dear author
Thank you for taking the time to submit your query to the A.F.A.D. agency.
Let me start by telling you I did enjoy your query, your novel concept caught my interest. I did however find your query letter could benefit from additional polishing, and would be happy for you to resubmit your query at a later date.
Yours truly,
Annie Reynolds.
Anonymous says
Dear Pursuing Author,
After thoroughly reading your query, I feel that your story might have some real potential, and that it holds a lot of the qualities that we are looking for at this time. Please send us the first 30-50 pages of your story for further reviewing.
Thank you,
Pepe Habanera
Aisling says
Dear Author,
I am sorry to inform you that I am not interested in your book. It does not fit with what I am looking for right now so I regret to tell you that, although I appreciated you sending me your query, I would not like to represent your work. I wish you the best of luck with your future writing!
Aisling
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
Your book is interesting and I feel it has some potential, but it’s not for me, thanks for the attempt though.
Sincerely,
Mitsubishi
Anonymous says
Thank you for your query, though I don’t think I’m interested in taking your story idea. Keep on writing.
-Thanks,
Suzuki Volkeswagon
Asherose says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your submission, but it isn’t for me at this time. Best of luck with it elsewhere!
Agent
Reasoning: Very very close. First para excellent, really drew me in; but then query began to be too long and involved. Condense it and definitely send again! “If you would like…” goes without saying.
Anonymous says
Dear writer,
Your book looks promising and I may be interested in representing it. Please send me the first fifty pages so that I can get a better grasp on your writing and book in general.
Best regards,
Nathaniel Orange
drat says
Dear Author,
Thank you for sending me your query. I agonized over this one a bit, because your premise and voice are very interesting. I like the new take on the werewolf theme.
However, I am limited on the number of requests I can make in a day, and ultimately I concluded I’m not the right agent for the book.
Good luck with your manuscript, and query widely!
Thanks,
SDC
Anonymous says
Dear writer,
I enjoyed your query, but I’m afraid I’m not the right agent to represent this work. I’d love to see more of your writing.
Gloria Valentine
Katalina Marie says
Dear Author,
I’m sorry but I don’t think that this book is the one for me.
Regards,
Katalina Marie
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I enjoyed your story and am interested in representing you. Please send me your full manuscript.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Quintus Blackburn
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I am not interested in your novel. Keep writing, your story had potential but was not for me. Feel free to Query me later with another piece of your work.
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
Thank you for the submission, but I regret to inform you that I will not be picking up your story.
Keep Writing,
Agent Jackie Moon
Anonymous says
Dear author,
I appreciate your query and found your concept interesting; however, it is just not what I am looking for. I look forward to future queries from you!
Thank you, Scarlett Cyrus
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I have decided not to take up your offer on publishing this book. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to view your material.
Thank You,
Happy Gilmore
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I regret to inform you that I am not interested in representing your story. I hope you have better luck in the future.
Best of luck,
Arkham
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I have read your request and I do believe you have something going. Please send me the first thirty pages, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Have a nice day,
Veronica Lovette
LateInTheGame says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, I am not the best representative for your work.
Good luck in your search for representation.
All the best,
Agent LateInTheGame
Gryph says
Dear Author,
Thank you very much for your query. I’m interested to see more! Please send me the first three chapters to blahblah at blahblah dot com. Either Microsoft Word format, OpenOffice format, or rich text would be fine.
Thank you very much for considering me!
Agent Gryph
CarrieK says
Dear Author of INUGAMI,
Thank you for your query. I would like to see more of INUGAMI. Please send me the first 3 chapters of your manuscript and a synopsis.
Thank you, and I look forward to reading more.
CarrieK
Reba says
Dear Author,
Please send the first three chapters.
Best,
Reba
Kate H says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. I’m afraid I’m not the right agent to represent you, but I wish you the best of luck.
Kate H
s.koncilja says
Dear Author,
I received and read your query. Unfortunately it is not something that I’m looking for at the moment.
Keep me informed about your future work and good luck!
Agent S.K.
Dorothy says
Dear Author:
Please send your chapter ouline and the first 50 pages. I’m interested.
Anonymous says
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, I do not feel I am the right agent for your project. I encourage you to query other agents and wish you the best of luck.
Thank you,
Agent C
superwench83 says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query! This sounds like a wonderful story. I would love to read more. Please email the manuscript to me.
Sincerely,
Agent for a Day
(This query did seem a little long to me, and I think the author could cut part of it out. But the opening is so stellar that I can ignore the rest. And I think an agent could, too.)
EJN says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately, since the writing just did not grab me, I will not be requesting further materials. There are many different agents out there with many different tastes and sensibilities, and I wish you luck in finding the right one.
Regards,
Agent EJN
publishingcareer says
Dear Author
Thank you for your interest in our agency and submitting your query for your novel INUGAMI.
I read it with interest but unfortunately it is not what I am looking for.
Best of luck and kind regards.
Yours faithfully
Robert Sullivan AFAD
Melissa says
Form rejection:
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately it doesn’t meet my needs at this time.
Thank you and best of luck,
Melissa (Ximera)
Mira says
Dear Author,
I very much liked this. You were my number 6.
Exciting, fast paced mystery thriller in a familiar but exotic environment? Sounds great! The Japanese element lends mystery and interest to the story.
The only question I had with it was – where is the romance? Don’t you need a romance in a suspense thriller?
But anyway, you have impressive credentials, and have clearly written a complicated, intricate psychological thriller here. I compliment you and wish I could have picked six.
Best of luck to you!
Mira
PCB says
Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting your query. We are not in a position to represent you at this time, but wish you all the very best in your writing endeavors.
Sincerely,
PCB
Dave says
Sorry, but I’m going to have to pass. Don’t give up though!
Just_Me says
Dear Author,
I am intrigued by your concept. Please send the first three chapters of your work along with a detailed synopsis at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Agent
Nikki Hensley says
Dear Author:
Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately, I don’t think I am the right agent for this novel. Best of luck in your search!
Agent Nikki
(*note* It took me a long time to decide on this one, and it is honestly my sixth choice, had we been allowed another. I’m so sorry to reject it!)
vicariousrising says
Thank you for your submission. Please send me your full manuscript. I look forward to having the opportunity to review your work.
Hildegarde512 says
Thank you for submitting however [If I were a real agent, a GENTLE FORM REJECTION would exist here].
Kendra says
Dear Author,
Your query for Inugami hooked me instantly. Please send the first three chapters for further consideration. I look forward to reading them.
-Kendra
Hallie says
Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting your query to My Imaginary Yet Successful Literary Agency. I receive many queries each day, and I request only a small percentage of manuscripts that I’m interested in representing. I have decided not to request one for your book because I don’t feel that I’m intrigued enough to be its best representative.
Should you need resources for querying, finding writing resources and groups, or if you’d like to know more about how I choose manuscripts, please visit (this section of my agency’s website) for more information. I wish you the best of luck in finding a home for your writing. Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to consider your work.
Warm regards,
Hallie
__________________________________
And if I were fortunate enough to be able to give some feedback to each and every author I declined, I’d note the following:
This feels a little like “white guy vs. the magical yet evil minority,” and while the plot looks to be tightly written, it wasn’t unique enough for me to choose it as one of my top five. I do think it’s something that could be published, though, and that your query shows off excellent skills.