Thanks! Now to send off the query letter for the novel. I think I'm going to change to a different editor at the agency though, I think it'll be a better fit. It means I'll need to adjust by letter a bit.

Editor? Do you mean another agent? (Meaning, get the title right! It does make a difference.)

Also, I'd like to apologize in advance for the wait. I know I used to stare at my submission pile, some of which had been there for almost nine months, and cringe with guilt. In my defense, though, I had no assistant!

Agent, yes, different agent at the same agency. The short story people I submitted to were editors. The novel query is going to an agent. The word editor never appears in the query letter :).

Bibliography Alphabetizing question

Hill, Joe and Mary Sue. 2002.

Hill, Joe and Andy Aardvark. 2003.

Which comes first? Does date trump second author or second author trump date?

Go, Gud! May the responses be (relatively) speedy and positive!

One of the things this agent has said is that number one thing that makes her reject a fantasy manuscript is a big datadump in the first 30 pages.

Would be too cutesy to tack on something like, 'with no big datadumps' onto my first sentence about my manuscript?

Yes.

Nice definitive answer, Thanks!

When you're reading lots of submissions, you want a concise, businesslike cover letter. Especially with fiction, what matters most is the actual manuscript.

Also, you don't want the agent to go into the manuscript attuned to the fact that you said there's no big datadump in the first 30 pages because then they'll be looking for it and anything that remotely smells like it will work against you.