WHAT I'VE LEARNED FROM THE QUERYING PROCESS
Querying a literary agent can be a daunting prospect, but it needn't be if you keep things in perspective. The fact of the matter is, there are a great many agents looking for suitable manuscripts and an author only needs to get lucky once. This, I suppose, is the reason why I never sweat on any submission at the initial query stage. Rejection is a fact of life and, for the reasons outlined below, an inevitable part of the process.
A great many agents, particularly those based in the United States, ask a prospective client to submit just a query letter. This is the most problematic as they will make a decision on whether to request further material based solely on this. You may have written a potential best seller but if the query letter doesn't grab them that won't count for anything.
A lot of first time authors shoot themselves in the foot by not researching agents throroughly enough or submitting query letters which don't conform to an accepted format. If an author fails to do either then rejection is probably going to be the only outcome.
I must admit that my first attempts at writing a query letter weren't anything to shout about. However by reading the advice readily available on the web, and by studying examples of those which have resulted in an offer of representation, I have slowly got more adept at writing them.
Which brings me to my next point. Once you have written a query letter which conforms to an agent's expectations you are only halfway there. Whether or not you get a request now depends purely on the agent's personal tastes. If they like the blurb they will give a positive response. If not, there isn't anything you can do but accept their decision or lack of response and move on.
Things get better when an agent asks for sample material as well as the query letter. The good thing about this is that there is now less emphasis on the query letter itself. That said, the same amount of care and attention needs to go into producing the best one you can.
The writing sample can vary. It might be just the first 5, 10 or 15 pages. Sometimes it's the first chapter or, in the UK in particular, the first three. Sometimes agents will ask for the first fifty pages and I have even come across a few agents who want the whole manuscript attached. I must admit that agents who stipulate 50 page samples or full manuscripts make my eyes light up.
During the last year I've had several agents read my query letter only submission and hold on to it for a very long time. One agent got back to me after six months and declined, another after nine months and very recently I got a very nice email from an agent who had kept it on file for just under a year. I'm quite certain that it didn't take them that long to read the query, so I suppose it must have caught their initial interest.
One New York agent requested the first three chapters based on my query letter, but ultimately declined. The request came during the period when she was running her 500 Queries series on Twitter. During a six month period she received 5000 query letters. 1 in ten of these was mentioned on her Twitter Page. Of these 500 she requested further material from only 59 authors and signed only one. I was just pleased to be one of the 59.
Queries with sample material seem to have fared better. I received one request, last February, for a full manuscript based on a fifteen page sample and another based on a fifty page sample in December. The first agent (a new start up) never did give me a final decision and I'm patiently waiting to hear back from the other.
I've only scratched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to prospective agents. If I don't get an offer of representation this time round it isn't going to be the end of the world.
My top tips for querying are:
A great many agents, particularly those based in the United States, ask a prospective client to submit just a query letter. This is the most problematic as they will make a decision on whether to request further material based solely on this. You may have written a potential best seller but if the query letter doesn't grab them that won't count for anything.
A lot of first time authors shoot themselves in the foot by not researching agents throroughly enough or submitting query letters which don't conform to an accepted format. If an author fails to do either then rejection is probably going to be the only outcome.
I must admit that my first attempts at writing a query letter weren't anything to shout about. However by reading the advice readily available on the web, and by studying examples of those which have resulted in an offer of representation, I have slowly got more adept at writing them.
Which brings me to my next point. Once you have written a query letter which conforms to an agent's expectations you are only halfway there. Whether or not you get a request now depends purely on the agent's personal tastes. If they like the blurb they will give a positive response. If not, there isn't anything you can do but accept their decision or lack of response and move on.
Things get better when an agent asks for sample material as well as the query letter. The good thing about this is that there is now less emphasis on the query letter itself. That said, the same amount of care and attention needs to go into producing the best one you can.
The writing sample can vary. It might be just the first 5, 10 or 15 pages. Sometimes it's the first chapter or, in the UK in particular, the first three. Sometimes agents will ask for the first fifty pages and I have even come across a few agents who want the whole manuscript attached. I must admit that agents who stipulate 50 page samples or full manuscripts make my eyes light up.
During the last year I've had several agents read my query letter only submission and hold on to it for a very long time. One agent got back to me after six months and declined, another after nine months and very recently I got a very nice email from an agent who had kept it on file for just under a year. I'm quite certain that it didn't take them that long to read the query, so I suppose it must have caught their initial interest.
One New York agent requested the first three chapters based on my query letter, but ultimately declined. The request came during the period when she was running her 500 Queries series on Twitter. During a six month period she received 5000 query letters. 1 in ten of these was mentioned on her Twitter Page. Of these 500 she requested further material from only 59 authors and signed only one. I was just pleased to be one of the 59.
Queries with sample material seem to have fared better. I received one request, last February, for a full manuscript based on a fifteen page sample and another based on a fifty page sample in December. The first agent (a new start up) never did give me a final decision and I'm patiently waiting to hear back from the other.
I've only scratched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to prospective agents. If I don't get an offer of representation this time round it isn't going to be the end of the world.
My top tips for querying are:
- Research the art of writing a query letter and practice it until you can write one in your sleep.
- Research agents thoroughly and follow all their guidelines to the letter.
- Don't assume the blurb in your query letter is crap if you receive a rejection. If you've got the basics right it might just boil down to personal taste.
- Don't submit sample material until you are absolutely sure it's the best if can be.
- Never give up. Remember, you only need ONE agent to represent you.
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