Some of us wake up one day and realize we are meant to write. Others have been writing stories since they could put pencil to paper in first grade. However we got here, we are all writers and we’ve all dreamt of that day when we see our names on a published book, and if we’re lucky, the New York Times Best-Seller list. So, I am putting together a guide of “how-tos.” This edition will give you the 1, 2, 3s of querying agents.
I know when I first started out, I finished my first manuscript and thought, “Now what?” If this is you, without further ado, here’s your how-to guide on querying agents.
1. Find agents. There are many websites that offer agent searches. Here are some free sites: https://agentquery.com/publishing_mp.aspx, https://querytracker.net/. A paid source is https://duotrope.com/about/pricing.aspx. You can also buy a copy of Writer’s Market from Amazon, Books A Million, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org.
"...always go to the agency website and the agent’s page to make sure that you follow their submission instructions..."
2. Double check on the agency website. No matter what you see on any of these sites, always go to the agency website and the agent’s page to make sure that you follow their submission instructions and to make sure that they are even still open to submissions. Sometimes the website is not up to date and the agent is closed to submissions.
3. Search for the right agents. Yes, it is okay to submit to more than one agency at a time. It is common courtesy to let them know that you are submitting to more than one agency. But no matter what agency you submit to, always make sure you have chosen an agent that most closely matches your work. The publishing industry is subjective. If you submit a young adult fantasy to an agent to only accepts children’s picture books, then you have wasted both their time and yours.
4. Fashion a wonderful query letter. Your query letter should have an opening hook, the word count and title of your book, a book summary, and a short bio (what makes you qualified to write this book). Making it personal to the agent is something to strive for. Show them you have done your homework, such as “I think my 65,000-word young adult fantasy THE FALL OF EARTH AND SEA would be perfect for your list because of your love of YA fantasy, such as BLANK and BLANK. You will also want to fit in comparison titles. The best query resource I have found is by Jane Friedman: https://www.janefriedman.com/query-letters/
5. Send your query letter and however many pages they have asked for and wait. The query trenches are a waiting game. You send it and wait. Sometimes you get a request for a full manuscript, sometimes you get a request to edit and resubmit, sometimes you get a generic email back, and sometimes you don’t get any response and you assume they passed on it.
"It only takes one yes.”