Ordinarily I find Miss Snark's blog amusing and somewhat helpful. But yesterday I was surprised to see her post a query letter from a small press author, complete with the name and identifying details (title of book, publisher, etc.). She invited her readers to critique it (and most of them are gleefully tearing it apart).
A query letter to an agent is private correspondence, and I would be extremely dismayed to have a query letter I wrote to an agent or editor posted out on a heavily visited blog for everyone to see. I'd be even more dismayed if the agent invited everyone to make fun of my query. That's not just snarky; it's unprofessional.
I don't know who Miss Snark is, but I'd like to find out, because I am now certain I don't ever want to submit any of my work to her.
Not defending her here (she does that quite snarkily herself) but I got the impression she was posting something that someone had emailed her thru her blog.
ReplyDeleteHer blog pretty clearly states that anything you send her there may end up on her blog; it also says you're likely to be on her Nitwit list for submitting through her blog.
That was just the impression I got - if she is posting actual submissions that went to her, not to Miss Snark, I agree - pretty cheesey of her.
I hope she isn't posting things sent to her privately as an agent, and if she is it might make it easier for someone to find out just who is behind the blog. It all depends on how many agents that author sent that very query letter too.
ReplyDelete