Amanda Fletcher is querying MG sci-fi

a woman in a pink shirt is laughing while holding a fan . ALT: a woman in a pink shirt is laughing while holding a fan .

Got a personalized rejection on a full from a big time editor with lots of great feedback! Making a plan for revisions and feeling equal parts accomplished and defeated. #amquerying #kidlit

Would be cool to do a follow up someday when I'm rich and famous 😉

Query update: August 2025

While I was relaxing on vacation, my inbox was busier than ever. Here are my current stats: Total queries sent: 82 queries sent (4 editors, 78 agents)Rejections/no reply: 60 (including one personalized!)Requests: 5 Eight form rejections landed in my inbox within days of…

My interview is up! This was my first time as a guest on a podcast, and Nancy was a wonderful interviewer...made me sound halfway intelligent 😂 Shout-outs to @scbwi.bsky.social and all my friends there who have helped me so much on this journey!

I hope this is just another trend that will subside after the effects of the pandemic have waned a bit. My daughter (4th grade) says she's sick of graphic novels now and wants to read more "real" books. She really likes novels in verse now.

And struggling to find a home for my 55K sci fi.

I think there's definitely still an audience for longer books -- lots of kids still gobble up Harry Potter, and those are super long! It's good to have a mix of short and long books for this age group. That being said, I'm aiming the word count for my next book around 40k.

I met some editors from Delacorte at the SCBWI conference in NY, and we posed this question. They didn't seem too fazed by high word counts in MG (70K for fantasy was okay with them)..but the agent I later met with and asked the same question was definitely wanting work in the 35-55 range.

Query Update: July 2025

Summer is a notoriously quiet season in publishing. Agents and editors on long vacations let their query inboxes pile up. Which is honestly fine by me. I'm going to keep hitting "send" and face the deluge of rejections and (hopefully) requests in the fall and winter. Here…

Agreed! Just saw it today and discovered a great new comp for the MG novel I'm querying...

When it comes to queries, I’m noticing an increase in everyone trying their best, this is a very hard industry, creating in these difficult times is challenging, and I’m very proud of you. ❤️

Finally started reading the new Hunger Games book - one chapter per night with my sixteen year old so we can experience it together (we've read all of them this way.) I suppose we could have bought the audio, but reading aloud to him while he's still at home with us brings me joy. ❤️❤️❤️

Yay! I cannot wait to read this!!

I have no doubts our media specialist at Brookwood will order it when I ask her. 😉

Educators, reviewers, readers, friends, FOREVER RIPLEY is coming.

How to Help:

1. Like, share, comment on posts
2. Ask public/school libraries to order a copy
3. Educators & reviewers, request a copy for review on Edelweiss or Netgalley & leave a review
4. Pre-0rder anywhere books are sold 🩷📖🐕🙏🏼

I've decided to use this as a comp for my next batch of queries. Aliens have been a tough sell, but reading this gives me hope!

Just finished this delightful novel, What Fell from the Sky by @adriannacuevas.bsky.social! Fascinating history about a military exercise in the 1950s, and of course fun speculation about a lost little alien and her family. Highly recommend! #kidlit #writingcommunity #bookreview

Promo from my new Kickstarter coloring book! A fairy special thank you to Nicole Poole for her talented voice!🧚🩷

www.kickstarter.com/projects/wim...

#scbwi #scbwiillustrator #fairy #kidlitart

Taking Another Plunge Into the Query Trenches Whew. Here we go again. I took a good long break from querying, just about a full year. In that time, I’ve revised with a mentor, cut 11,000 words, and revamped my query letter. I’ve al…

Friends, it's a big day! Sent off a huge batch of query letters to agents and editors. Remaining cautiously optimistic that movies like Lilo & Stitch and the forthcoming Elio will give me a boost. Wish me luck!
mandyfletcherwrites.com/2025/06/03/t...
#amquerying #kidlit

Taking Another Plunge Into the Query Trenches

Whew. Here we go again. I took a good long break from querying, just about a full year. In that time, I've revised with a mentor, cut 11,000 words, and revamped my query letter. I've also learned a lot more about the industry and made several…

Submitting Short Fiction

Last year I started submitting my short fiction to literary magazines. Like the laborious task of querying a novel, this too involves patience, persistence, and perseverance. Oh, and rejections. Lots of rejections. Famously, this is how Stephen King got his start. He…

Spring Fling Kidlit Contest As always, you all made it SO hard to choose winners. But after much discussion, Kaitlyn and I are pleased to announce the results!  Winners, please wait for Kaitlyn to contact you through email....

A big CONGRATS to all the winners and honorable mentions in this years #SpringFlingkidlit contest!!! ciaraoneal.weebly.com/spring-fling...

And there's one at the Atlanta Airport: Central area - between gates T17 - T21

I am SO checking that out when I'm there in June!!
See where there's one near you here: short-edition.com/en/p/find-a-...

This is such a cool idea! I would totally love to read a short story while waiting for a train, bus, or plane...
short-edition.com/en/p/short-s...

So many great pitches today! In case you missed it and you're looking for a fun, geeky MG sci-fi adventure, mine is pinned on my profile. 🙂

green-themed moodboard. From left to right and up to down: a hand reaching through tree bark and foliage; painting of Icarus as he falls by Gowy; a hand reaching to grasp some berries; a lightbulb attracting butterflies; a green-lit tree grove; a piano in a greenhouse below a chandelier; Houasse painting of Daphne’s hand growing foliage; stylised painting of many crows on a colourful branch; hands reaching through lily pads in pond water.

LORD OF THE FLIESxTHE ASH HOUSE

1920. the Manor House waits. soon, 8 children will arrive, and the 14-year-old master of the house will begin his games. how do you survive a puppet master when you’re his marionette?

🐊 revising through RevPit ‘25 🐊
#QuestPit #MG #H

Love this!

Left to right. Top row: hands reaching out of the water. A doll head. Human hands with sharpened nails. Middle row: A lighthouse shining through fog. “Are you afraid?” An eerie figure standing beside a tree with a noose. Bottom row: Hands reaching towards each other in the water. A sea creature with glowing eyes and sharp teeth. Multiple hands reaching out of the forest brush.

🌊 THE BAD ONES X DREDGE 🌊

After an ancient curse is unleashed on their sleepy seaside town, six teens must find a way to break it.

This YA Fantasy Horror features:
👥Dual POV
📜A Deadly Deal
😈Ravenous Monsters
🤫Secrets With Severe Consequences
💔Exes to Allies to [redacted]

#QuestPit #Q #YA #F #H

A surprised 12-year-old boy, a tiny alien, and alien spacecraft invading. Text reads: Meeting an alien on vacation is weird...having that alien follow you home is weirder...but helping it save the worlds is weirdest of all.

ROSWELL JOHNSON SAVES THE WORLD x ELIO

A sci-fi-obsessed seventh grader proves ADHD can save the world from alien domination.

🤖Pop culture sci-fi galore
🖖Star Trek-style cloaking
⏰A ticking clock
🏛️Caper in the White House
🤯A HUGE twist
#questpit #MG #SF #Q #ND

When a 12y/o loner befriends an ancient scarecrow, they team up to teach his bullies a lesson. But with each escalating act of vengeance, Oggie’s own body bears the hatred, and 'Old Crow' reveals he is much more than a grinning farmyard prop. #questpit #AG #MG #H #ownvoices #OCD