I’m having a blast at my first writing conference, SCBWI’s annual summer one in LA. Some things that are sticking out to me:

• First impressions matter. Great titles, great 1st sentences, great 1st paragraphs, great 1st chapters. Best title I’ve heard so far today: “Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All”.
• Literary Agents want to know you’re respectful of the industry and thoughtful with your craft. It helps to be an avid reader.
• The Industry is talking about the books published in the last 2-5 years. Consider this timeframe for finding comparative titles.
• There is a book called Big Cat, Little Cat that is guaranteed to make me cry. I had to order it immediately.
• Don’t ask rhetorical questions in your query letters and pitches. But what if I do?? =)