As surely as the changing of the moon and the appearance of new seasons of Survivor, there always seems to be a website out there devoted to poking fun at bad queries. These come and go, with varying levels of humor and angst.
The most recent iteration has been the subject of some debate on various blogs in the past week, and I’m curious what people think. Do you find these sites rude, funny, educational, malicious, informative, privacy-invading, entertaining, possibly a combination?
And, just FYI, my personal policy that I will never ever make fun of a query that is sent to me, nor will I quote from one without your permission. Query freely.
Remus Shepherd says
It wouldn't bother me if agents posted pieces of my query. Hell, I might learn where I went wrong — although I hope I've avoided doing anything creepy enough to warrant a blog post.
But I have a thick skin, and I know that other authors might not. So on the whole I think it's mean-spirited, but it's not important enough to speak out against. Let the agents blow off some steam at an author's expense now and then.
Perry says
I don't mind the really obvious ones that poke at the arrogance of some people, but when it's clearly a mistake I think it's more cruel than anything else. It doesn't do the agent/editor any justice to be seen as yet another humorless brick in the wall between writer and reader.
Kristy says
I think it should always remain anonymous or reprinted with permission.
Anonymous says
I am an outsider (not a writer) who studies the history of publishing and I view it as utterly unprofessional.
I work in education and constantly have to deal with adults not following directions but I have enough respect for them not to make a mockery of them just to flex my own muscles and to attempt to show that I am important–that and I also want to keep my job. 😉 To me it looks to be a power trip and ego boost for the agent. In other fields you would be fired for such behaviour.
I have no problem if the author of the query gave his or her permission to be the object of ridicule. Such activities not only violate trust but are immature.
~Darla
adamo says
I think they're great. Anyone with a little common sense is probably safe from ridicule. Those whose sanity or command of the language is shaky, however…
Ramsey Hootman says
When I read them I think they're pretty funny, but when I ask myself whether I'd want that agent to represent me… the answer is No.
SWK says
Seems to me that most query mistakes fall into a few standard categories so the poking-fun, malicious or well-intended, gets old either way. Would be nice if more folks pointed out the essential importance of the manuscript. The key to a great query is having a great piece of writing READY TO SELL. Then, I think, a decent query pretty much writes itself.
Zee Lemke says
Wow. Everyone's on the other side. I actually treat them the same way I treat textsfromlastnight or overheardinnewyork. People say things that, taken out of context, are HILARIOUS. If I goofed up enough to be that funny, I'd expect to end up on the internet somewhere.
…also it gives me hope. There are a lot of people out there who are worse at writing queries than I am.
Cameron says
Ahhh… Query fun… Oft amusing, rarely worth the read, unless I'm in query-writing mode. I won't read a blog with a post title of "This Week In Query Bashing." Instead, I wait until I'm ready to query and search my fav blogs for "best queries" or "worst queries."
kelcrocker says
Wow, the responses are really coming in fast! I love hearing the different views. I think the people who are saying that such sites can be cruel, and that it creates a "look at the losers!" kind of mentality have a point.
The kinds of sites I'm talking about, though, that I enjoy, quote such a small part of the query, I think it would be really hard for most people who are reading it to identify the writer. And I don't think the agents are poking fun at the writing or the story concept as much as they are the fact that people simply are not acting professionally when they query. (This would be the difference between the agent-querier relationship and a barista making fun of a customer at a cafe, I would think.) Frankly, the nonprofessional people irritate me. They make it much more difficult for serious writers to get through because they're clogging agent in-boxes with unprofessional work.
Kate says
I don't read the ones that JUST make fun. It's entertaining, but not as useful, and I don't really have time. Or I don't make the time, either way. The Snarkster and the Shark were/are hilarious. There's a fair amount of teasing going on there. AND, they're main agenda is to help. I get a good laugh and valuable advice all at the same time. I think that's the difference.
Jenny says
I don't think that posting queries–a business letter for all intents and purposes–should be open for discussion in public forums unless the writer has specifically asked for a query critique (a service that is provided on several agents' blogs/websites).
I understand that agents may be vastly entertained–probably the way many HR people are entertained by some resumes and cover letters–but these aren't intended for public consumption and shouldn't be made fun of, critiqued, or picked at in public.
Or, you know, until that one Post Secret guy heads your way.
Daryl Sedore says
I'm 100% against poking fun at people who have submitted something inferior.
This is a form of bullying. We teach our children not to do this. Then adults, scratch that, professional, adults do it.
The kid who stands out in the school yard gets picked on. The slower kid in math class gets laughed at.
Same thing here. These people do make mistakes with their queries. I understand that thousands of queries hit agencies all the time and every once in a while an agent sees something and asks themselves, what the hell is going on? How could this person submit such junk? Next step: send form rejection and move on. Writers who get 50 form rejections will revise their query, or read more on how to do one properly, or stop submitting and stay in their current job. But to heckle them in public is wrong.
I just don't like it. It's never happened to me. I received partials and a full request from my query. I just feel bad for writers who make a mistake and then get beat up for it.
Heidi says
I find them hilarious, but I would imagine that anyone who sees their queries in these blogs doesn't. I do think there is a lot to be learned from sites like that, though—I find myself making mental what-not-to-do lists.
MJR says
I think Slush Pile Hell is funny–those bad queries are so over the top and she (he?) doesn't mention names. I agree with Jesse above–humor is a good teacher. It's doubtful many of us would write such awful queries, but I also think we can all learn something by reading the worst of the worst…
Stoich91 says
If it's harmless, hilarious banter done tastefully and anonymously, what's not to love (and even learn?). People against sites like these have a grand total of 0% of humor. And mind you, I'm only referring to top-of-line query sites, like Slush Pile Hell and Query Shark, that actually *help* people (or post helpful tips every now and then), not completely ridicule them.
If it's cheesy, unprofessional ranting aimed at hurting others, why waste your time?
Giles Hash says
I think it's important to have a thick skin, and while I would never want my query to be made fun of, I think that if I say something really stupid, as long as I'm kept anonymous by the website, they can make as much fun of my query as they like.
My friends already make fun of the fact that I spend a good deal of time sending out "QUEER-ies". Don't attach my name or blog to the post mocking me, and I don't care.
Anonymous says
I just wish I knew who the agent responsible was, so I could make sure not to query or – heaven forbid – sign with someone who could be so unprofessional when nobody's looking.
And unless these queries are totally fictitious, it's incredibly unprofessional. All our doctors probably poke fun at us and our falling-apart bodies to their nurses, but they don't post about it online.
It's not even in the same category as TFLN or OH in NY. Not at all.
jscolley says
I agree with J.M Lee. I think it shows not only a lack of professionalism but a bit of mean-spritedness to boot. It's one thing to "show examples" of "queries that fail" as an educational tool. It is a very different thing to throw them out into the tweetverse or webosphere for public ridicule. It indicates a certain amount of hubris on the part of the agents. …That being said, some of them ARE funny. And I have been guilty of partaking in the guilty pleasure of reading them. ;P ;P
Jeni Decker says
Oh I think they're great. I mean, we can't get too precious about ourselves, can we?
And clearly there are plenty of agents out there in the blog/twittersphere that aren't too precious about themselves.
Otherwise we wouldn't know how many cupcakes so and so has eaten in one day, or how so and so's fifty gerbils are faring after their hemorrhoidectomy, or what they were doing while waiting in line for MOCKINGJAY to drop…
–all as a daily resounding echo fills the twitter-halls:
"Man, I wish I could get my QUERY BOX emptied!"
I always giggle and think to myself, 'Well, perhaps lay off Twitter for fifteen seconds?"
There's plenty of room to find humor on both sides.
😉
Steven Brandt says
I will take any criticism / feedback from an agent I can get. I'm for it.
Wendy Delfosse says
It really does feel mean spirited. I don't visit them, cause it just feels like joining in with the other kids on the playground picking on that one poor kid (or hundreds of kids.) There's a line between providing helpful feedback to lots of people and just ridiculing the one.
Morgan says
Reading over that site made me laugh out loud. My neighbors now think I'm crazy. But while bashing absurd queries is a great way to get a laugh, it's definitely unethical in my book. I know I would be mortified if one of my queries was posted on a website!
Nicole says
Some are funny; some are nit-picky. Either way, I think there's value in seeing an agent's actual thoughts about these queries.
Even if it's just a fleeting thought–that most agents would never put into words–as they shake their heads in fond amusement at all of us naive writers. 🙂
You KNOW they've gotta be thinking similar thoughts at least a few times while wading through slush. I think it's helpful to gauge the type of reaction certain queries (or parts of queries) get.
Allison Morris says
I'm all for it. I can't say I find it educational since there are other blogs I go to for that (like this one!) and the mistakes are so over the top that they aren't particularly enlightening.
The funny query bashing site I read keeps me sane. It makes me laugh and reminds me to maintain my sense of humor.
Lindsay B says
Against.
I love sites like Evil Editor's blog where writers, knowing fully well what's likely to happen, volunteer to have their query letters critiqued in hopes of improving them.
It's unprofessional to publicly mock someone's work without permission.
rjkeller says
With so many Grumpy Literary Agent blogs on the market, I feel the genre's appeal has diminished and I will therefore have to pass. However, these things are subjective and I wish them good luck with all of their blogging endeavors.
flibgibbet says
I find them educational. Gives me an awareness of what horrors exist in the slushpile and why some agents might become irritated/jaded in a very short period of time. (And why most of them don't bother with anything other than a form rejection).
Anyway, since the folks quoted (in the link) are anonymous, I say no harm no foul. Maybe now they'll do some research regarding protocol and refine their people skills; and maybe their bad examples will encourage the rest of us to do the same.
Emily Anderson says
Critiquing a query with the author's permission is instructive. Mocking is just cruel. There's a fine line. I watched a live chat with an agent going through the submitted queries for the chat explaining why she would ask for more or reject. Some of the information was valuable, when it was straightforward and blunt, but the making fun left a bad taste in my mouth. Everyone was laughing about it, but if one of those queries had been mine, I would have been mortified. I can understand how agents get frustrated about cocky or snarky queries, but in general, an author is trusting an agent with their heart and soul. Agents should respect that trust.
RBSHoo says
I'm fine with it. I've made my peace with the fact that I may never get published, but I know how to approach this business professionally. It's really not hard to write a query that gets taken seriously (even if all it ever draws is a form rejetion).
Yet if you still manage to make an a$$ of yourself using the very skills you're hoping to sell, then I have no sympathy.
If I attended an open NFL tryout, shouldn't I expect to be made fun of? Why is this any different?
It's like the line I heard on my first day of law school more than a decade ago — if, after a month, you don't know who the class jacka$$ is, it's you.
Mira says
I believe sites like this are dangerous to the current state of the industry.
You don't need EVERY writer turned off by these sites, just a sizable number of them.
Given Nathan's post yesterday, and the fact that authors will more and more be able to bypass both agents and publishers anything that alienates writers from the industry is risky, to say the least.
The fact that these sites are anonymous potentially damages the entire industry, because writers don't know who is responsible, and therefore their distaste is spread to EVERY agent, EVERY editor.
Personally, I find these sites to be utterly dispicable. I can't say it strongly enough. For agents, supposedly a writer's strongest advocate and supporter, to be publically mocking any writer without their permission is beyond unprofessional and into the range of reflecting poor personal character.
But that's me as a writer. If I were in the industry – and I would guess that those in the industry know who this person is – I would do everything I possibly could to get that person's site shut down.
Publishing can not afford to alienate any writer.
They risk losing that writer to e-publishing. Amazon has not, and I doubt they ever will, publically mocked any author. The concept, frankly, is unthinkable, and so it should be for the publishing industry.
Anonymous says
I'm totally for them.
Some people need to lighten up.
Anonymous says
If the querier remains anonymous and the comments are constructive (or at least enlightening on what went wrong) I think it's fine. Sometimes the comments need to be a bit 'Snark-like' in order to get it into people's heads.
Anonymous says
Honestly, it doesn't bother me in the least. Most of the stuff that ends up on that site is a little ridiculous. I'm of the camp that if people did a minutia of research that wouldn't end up there. I've always wondered when agents say only a handful of their queries are readable how that could be, but it makes sense now.
Katrina L. Lantz says
I thought it was funny at first, but I agree with ryan field, who said the anonymous agent was trying too hard to get a laugh.
Also, when he/she started making fun of religions, I was out. Unfollowed. Unfollowed.
Unpublished writers HAVE to have a sense of humor about the rejection process. But shouldn't there be some mutual respect in there somewhere?
Nathan, you are much funnier, and without alienating potential clients. Kudos to you.
Ariana Richards says
I don't agree with public ridicule of anyone. Constructive critique, even when blunt – fine. Anonymous snippets where no one is specifically called out – fine. Downright mean? Never fine.
I don't work in publishing (though obviously have an interest in being a part of it), but I've done hiring for many years in many industries (software, healthcare, marketing).
There's one constant – you don't send your resume in unless you've spent time polishing it and proving you're qualified for the job. If someone does otherwise, the hiring managers will pick it apart, and joke and laugh amongst themselves about the flaws. It's not specific to agents and editors, it's a fact of life if you don't do your research.
And personally, if I wasn't able to laugh at myself, life would be pretty miserable.
Erin says
Are some of these bad queries super funny? Absolutely. And I'm sure literary agents who are immersed in this stuff every day need to make fun just to stay sane. But having been an editor myself, I personally think it's mean to share the laughs with the world at large. Behind every letter is a person, and no matter their level of talent or skill (or lack thereof), they deserve if not respect at least the preservation of dignity (as far as it goes).
The Invisible Writer says
If the query was submitted for the purpose of critique (with humorous commentary if that's the critic's thang) – I'm all for it. It's a good natured laugh and can be very valuable insights for the rest of us.
If an agent is posting (and commenting/making-fun-of) bad queries they received and doing it without permission from the author for the sole purpose of getting a laugh – I oppose. That agent is now trying to destroy an author's reputation by polluting the author's name and/or book title and/or book premise.
gsfields says
I'm new to writing, but everything I've read on blogs, books, and magazines say that writers should develop a thick skin.
So as long as they don't name names, aren't personally offensive, and aren't mean spirited, I have no problem. I
I read the "What I'd Love to Say" blog and it was so funny I almost spit out a mouthful of coffee onto my computers screen.
heather says
No. I don't like it. Queries are stressful – possibly more stressful than writing a book. A lot of people work hard on them, and to be made fun of is simply not cool. "Roasting" seems to be popular nowadays, but in my opinion, it only shows mean spiritedness.
Anonymous says
Against.
Ishta Mercurio says
Editorial Anonymous and The Rejectionist have both poked fun of what they considered to be particularly bad/outlandish/frightening queries on their blogs, with the difference that they never quoted directly from the queries. As long as there is no way to know who actually sent said query, I think it's educational, actually. It's a great lesson in what-not-to-do when querying, and for those of us who have made those mistakes in the past and then realized the error of our ways, it's healthy to be able to laugh about it.
I'm not fond of the ones that don't protect the querier's identity, though. I think that's unprofessional.
Matthew Rush says
I would just like to say Nathan, that while I don't really think these kind of things are meant to be malicious, I have the utmost respect for your policies about this kind of thing. I mean even the worst, most ridiculous queries out there have to be considered a writers real and true heartfelt attempt at finding an agent, which is a key step to becoming published. It's not something that I think many people take lightly.
Believe me I've written my share of terrible queries in my time (see my blog for examples), and I've even made fun of them from time to time, but I have that right, as the author of such drivel. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with agents or editors who share particularly horrible examples for laughs, lord knows I've read slushpilehell and queryshark and evil editor and had a smile, and that's natural. There doing it anonymously so it's not "really" hurting anyone, but at the same time I personally think it's quite admirable to be above all that.
I mean you've already got the dream job, you make a good living making other writer's dreams come true, you obviously love writing, reading, writers and readers so why go for a few cheap laughs at their expense? What would you really gain?
There is plenty of cheap, petty entertainment in the world and as human beings we marginalize each other every day. I'm happy to know that my favorite agent doesn't feel the need to lift himself up by lowering others down (no offense to those who do).
Reena Jacobs says
I admit, some of them I do find amusing, but it's a guilty kind of pleasure. It's poking fun at the misfortune of another. If that person knew what was being said about him/her, I'm sure his/her feelings would be hurt. So in the context of "do unto others," it's wrong.
If the queries are made up, generic stuff of what not to do, I'm fine with that. However, it irritates me when I see agents do things like tweet #queryfail as they go through their queries with live examples, cause I know those are people trying their best and just trying to get a break. It's a virtual slap in the face.
I can't imagine agents would take too kindly to editors doing the same to them. #agentfail Tee hee. No I don't think that'd go over too well.
Anonymous says
I love one of the blogs in question – SlushPile Hell – and often quote exerpts when critiquing submissions before they're sent to Agents, to illustrate pitfalls of using rhetorical questions, fauning, oversell, etc.
It is proving to be an essential resource.
– NaomiM
robinC says
Not a fan. Behind every (earnest) query is a struggling writer who just wants his/her voice to be heard. Even if the "picking apart" is done in the guise of being helpful it can come across as mean spirited.
Querying is such a vulnerable action – all that hope that someone commects with you and your writing enough to want to request a partial or a full – I think any writer wants to believe that no matter how deluged an editor or agent is, their letter (and work) will be treated with respect. This sort of blasts that thought out of the water. No wonder we're all so freaked out about query letters, lol.
Thanks for making this place a haven, and for including the occasional video with cute animals!
Elizabeth says
I don't like those sites. Query critique sites where the authors submit, yes. Anonymous (or not) agents posting them without permission to make fun? No, even when the authors are anonymous.
I find it unprofessional. People don't send queries so they can become teaching moments for other unagented writers.
There are at least two agents on my do-not-submit list because they comment on queries publicly. (Not that they care that I won't query them, I'm sure.)
Anonymous says
I wish the author of the Slushpilehell site would stop posting here anonymously (name at the bottom of the post or not) trying to influence the thread.
Liz Fichera says
Making fun of people to get a laugh is beyond tacky, not to mention unprofessional.
G says
I don't mind poking fun at myself when it comes to querying or synopsis writing, but I would find it problematic having someone else poking fun at me.