Querying Agents
The Steps, The Tools, and The Heartbreak
My writing brain has been consumed with agent queries lately. So much so that I have failed to write any Substack posts and for that, dear readers, I’m sorry! Since it’s so top of mind for me, for anyone interested, or to whom this might be helpful, I thought I’d break down my process for querying agents.
Wait, What are you Even Talking About?
Probably a good place to start is the “what” of the matter or, consequentially, the “why.” As you may recall from a previous post of mine (see below) there is more than one path to publishing your book. As also mentioned in that post, I’m not opposed to self-publishing. In fact, I’m quite pro-self-publishing (see my podcast).
But, I also know the invaluable benefit of an agent in promoting your novel upon publication. Something that would be entirely on me if I go the “independent” route, as the cool kids are calling it these days. So I’m of the firm belief that if I can go the traditional route, I will.
The first step in traditional publishing, 99.99% of the time, is getting a literary agent. And to get a literary agent you must send them a query. Not unlike applying for a job, this involves sending them a query letter that pitches your book to them (kind of like a cover letter), and then many agents will also ask for additional materials like sample chapters or a full synopsis (with spoilers!).
My Morning Affirmation and How It's Going
Do you have a morning routine? I learned mine from a book and sales methodology called Ninja Selling by Larry Kendall. It’s designed for real estate professionals (I used to be one of those) and the morning routine goes a little something like this:
My Query Letter
A query letter has three key components (note: I am very much NOT the expert here this is just the knowledge I have compiled from reading lots of different Substacks, and from my lessons on query letters at The Novelry). Those components are:
The Pitch: This should include your genre, word count, a one-sentence “hook,” and also some comparable titles to prove to an agent that you understand the market you’re writing in/for.
A Little More Information: Beyond the hook, the agent will probably need a very brief synopsis of what your book is about.
Bio: Again, this is brief. But some information on your background and qualifications as a writer are good to include here.
Bonus: It’s also nice to tell a particular agent why you’re query them. I’ll go into that more later.
In yet another post (gosh, thanks for bearing with me through all this) I asked you all to vote on my pitch. Now, not to offend anyone, but after that very helpful exercise, I actually came up with a completely different pitch that none of you have seen before.
In a world where the gods have gifted only women with the most powerful magic, men will do anything to keep that a secret until Lia June, a maid in the Academy for Boys, discovers their lies and must reckon with being the only person with the power to change the future.
What do you think? Actually, don’t tell me I’m not sure I can handle rewriting it again. It only took me what, two years, to be able to summarize what my whole book is about in one sentence. *sigh*
Another big piece of the query letter is finding comparable titles. I read recently in a blog from an agent (I’m so sorry, I can’t remember which one), that you shouldn’t just list titles, especially if you’re going with big blockbusters like mine. You can’t “namedrop” willy-nilly, so to speak. You need to identify why that book is comparable to yours.
For the rest of my query letter, including my comps, if you’re interested, here it is:
Dear [Agent],
I’m excited to share my novel, THE LAST EMPRESS, with you because [REASON]. THE LAST EMPRESS (110,000 words) is a second-world fantasy that blends romance and women’s literature and tells the story of Lia June, a maid in the Academy for Boys. In a world where Gods have gifted only women with the most powerful magic, men will do anything to keep that a secret until Lia discovers their lies and must reckon with being the only person who can change the future. My manuscript has the fast pace and power-related plot twist of Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing, the worldbuilding and "secret love" romantic trope of Demi Winter’s The Road of Bones, but imbues the gender politics of A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
Centuries after defeating the Last Empress, the magical former ruler of PanaTerras, the Council of Men remains afraid. To prevent the rise of another female leader, they have enacted strict laws to control women. Lia, however, has a secret, one that is supported by her best friend, Bear, who is destined to lead the Council of Men one day. When Lia’s secret is discovered, the Last Empress, still alive, offers her a chance at an entirely different life. Lia is forced to choose between her love for Bear and a future she never knew existed.
The daughter of a librarian, I have over 15 years of professional writing experience and spent just under a decade as a literature teacher. I also recently completed The Big Edit course through The Novelry, where I workshopped THE LAST EMPRESS with a writing coach from a Big Five publisher. I would be honored if you considered representing my novel.
Thank you for your consideration,
Steps of Sending a Query
Okay, so I have my letter. Or the 8th or 9th version of my letter. What now? Again, I’m not an expert. For context, to date, I have sent 99 query letters and received 26 rejections. Not terrible. Not great either. But, for what it’s worth this is what I do.
Identify an Agent: I’ll go into the tool I use for this in the next section, but the probably obvious first step is to identify an agent. That agent needs to be 1) interested in representing the genre you write in and 2) open for queries.
Learn About That Agent: While accepting submissions in your genre and being open for queries are the main qualifiers, it’s important to do a little more research than that on an agent. For this, I go to the agency’s website and look up the agent's bio. I look for things like “tone” or “themes” that they’re looking for.
For example, the agent for one of my absolute favorite authors, Heather Fawcett, was open to queries recently, but she explicitly stated that a “must” for all her author’s books is that it will make her laugh and leave her feeling hopeful. I don’t think either of those are attributes I would give to my book, sadly.
You might find other specifics like whether or not they prefer to represent only marginalized voices, and as a straight white lady, I am not one.
Finally, if available, you should look at the agent’s list of current clients. This way you can see if they represent a lot of other authors in your genre, or (bonus!) if they represent one of your comparable titles! (I queried the agent for A Fate Inked in Blood which is not one of my comps, but it was a runner-up. Still no response! Fingers crossed!)
Personalize Your Query: Here’s where that [REASON] part of my letter comes in. OBVIOUSLY, I don’t just leave that in there. I insert a reason for why I’m choosing that agent. For agents with very little info, it might just be that they’re looking for fantasy novels. If they include their list of clients, I’ll research them and include names of authors with similar novels in my query as well. They also might have a “wishlist,” and my favorites are those that say they’re looking for books set in a fictional world that challenge real-world issues. Because that’s my book on the nose. And that’s what I would put as my reason.
Include Supplemental Materials: On the submission website for an agent or agency, they’ll usually tell what other materials, like a synopsis or sample chapters, they want to see. They’ll also usually tell you whether or not they want them in the body of the email or as attachments. If they don’t include that, I default to “body of the email” because a lot of agencies say they are averse to attachments and delete those queries unread.
It’s also important to check the submissions tab because some agencies as a whole may not be willing to take a book like mine. For example, a common issue I’ve come across is UK-based agencies only being willing to represent UK authors. I mean, I would love to be UK-based, but alas I am here in the USA.
Double Check: Go back and make sure it’s perfect! Did I replace [NAME] with the name of the agent? Did I include the correct submission materials? Is the word [REASON] still there, or did I replace it with the reason? If yes, then I hit send!
Tools I Use
The most purposefully vague step above is the “Identify an Agent” step. I cannot imagine how people did this before the internet existed, but there are two particularly helpful tools for this.
Query Tracker
This tool is a godsend. It is a massive database of agents, their contact information, how they accept queries, and whether or not they are open for submission. Bonus, if you pay (a whopping $25) for the “premium” version, you can log all your queries and you can even save your query inputs. So when I go to query a new agent, I click a button that says “Restore answers,” and all my previous answers are filled in for me. I cannot say enough how much that $25 (again, it is only $25) is worth it. I hit that “Restore Answers” button, go through and add my personalization, and BOOM hit send.
Other hopeful authors also leave comments on agents’ profiles, which can provide helpful information about their status (for example, there was one who had not responded to a query in years, and the consensus was that they had retired). The website even helps you query an agent who isn’t using the platform by providing you with the details for their method (the little icons in the screenshot below). This software is possibly the most helpful tool I have ever used, although Scrivener is also up there.
Manuscript Wishlist
Another incredibly helpful resource is the Manuscript Wishlist, #MSWL. You can also filter your agent search list through this tool, with a lot more options like age range, type or seniority of agent, and of course genre. They even have a “smart search” feature where you just describe your book and it will recommend agents for you. Then, for agents who have an #MSWL profile, you get an incredibly detailed page of what they’re looking for.
This goes way beyond genre. An agent might say something like “I’m looking for the next Mexican Gothic,” or “I’d love anything akin to an Emily Henry romcom.”
They usually have a bio with likes and dislikes. I remember finding an agent once whose profile said, “I love hiking with my border collie,” and I was like, yes, okay, this is my person. They also often include their favorite authors, books, and TV shows.
I still think Query Tracker is a more extensive and more helpful tool, but this is a great supplement to your agent search.
My Tracker
I’ll admit, after about the 70th query, I realized that Query Tracker was logging all of this information for me, but I’ve come this far, and I can’t give up. Honestly, I find the format helpful too. Anyways… I have a spreadsheet where I track each query and what I feel is the most important information about it. I think the most helpful part is being able to easily look back and see if I’ve queried a particular agent or agency before and if that agency allows multiple queries after a rejection.
Alright, friends! I hope that was interesting and maybe even helpful! If nothing else, you now know why I won’t have drinks with you after 5 PM. I have to wake up and query agents! <3
This looks like hard work!