Image may be NSFW.
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So the other day my husband Eric, who’s the news editor over at BoardGameGeek, told me about a board game publisher that created fun Twitter games like #BoardGameBand, where tweeters would come up with fun mashups of board game titles and band names — like “Frankie Goes to Hollywood Blockbuster” or “Dungeon Petzshop Boys.”
“Why don’t you do that?” Eric said.
Ding ding ding!
Together we came up with the hashtag #killaqueryin5words, and the premise was simple: I wanted writers to offer up five-word phrases that would cause an editor to trash their magazine query.
I launched the game on Monday morning, seeding my feed with such 5-word screw-ups as “I never read your magazine,” “You don’t publish poetry, but…” and “Google says you like chocolate.”
#killaqueryin5words took off! Writers around the web got a good laugh reading hilarious (but sadly common) query snafus. (In fact, contributions are still rolling in!)
Then I had another brainstorm: Why not pick my favorite #killaqueryin5words tweeters and offer prizes?
The #killaqueryin5words Winners
Here are my top picks. If you’re listed as a winner, please choose any e-book from the Renegade Writer Store that you’d like to receive for free (yes, even the $29.99 one!) and email me your choice at hello@therenegadewriter.com.
Most Prolific
I have to give props to @GiulianoDebra because she contributed more posts than anyone! (I think someone was procrastinating on their work yesterday. Image may be NSFW.
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) Congrats, Debra!
Most Creative
Next, I was super impressed that @NewJerseyWriter created the graphic you see at the top of this post just for the game. She used morguefile to find the photo and Canva to create the image. She also gave me permission to use her graphic on the blog. Thank you, and please choose your prize!
Most Insightful
Another winner is @justinrbannon for his insightful tweet about the game: “Perhaps the most concerning thing about #killaqueryin5words is that it’s provided more than one actual tip.”
Most Hilarious (But Sadly True)
Finally, I had trouble choosing just one most awesome #killaqueryin5words tweet, so we have five winners:
1. @danielcasciato: I’m giving you first dibs. #killaqueryin5words @LFormichelli
2. @BretteSember: “you’re probably not interested but…”
3. @sharonnaylorwed: #killaqueryin5words “my writing group loved it!”
4. @RitaMailheau: #killaqueryin5words To Whom It May Concern
5. @BillDavisWords: I’m here in your lobby #killaqueryin5words
These tweets showcase five fatal query flaws:
1. Arrogance.
2. Under-confidence
3. Unprofessionalism
4. Laziness and lack of research, not to mention a stiff writing style!
5. Stalkerishness
Congrats to the five of you…please choose your prize!
One thing I discovered is that Twitter doesn’t seem to save hashtagged tweets for long, so if you want to check out the funny feed, do it now! It’s at https://twitter.com/hashtag/killaqueryin5words
I have a great idea for a new writer Twitter game for next week…stay tuned!
Thanks to everyone who participated in the #killaqueryin5words game. It’s been a blast!
