How to Query Your Book Like a Pro

Okay, so...on Facebook, I asked all of you what you'd like to chat about in this month's "Editor's Corner." The consensus seemed to be how to outline efficiently. I almost think that may need to be a little presentation that I put together for all of you because I have a LOT I could say about effective outlining and why it's useful for those of you who ARE plotters. I'll be working on that in my free time for you guys, because I <3 you. 

I also had a client of mine want to know more about how to QUERY potential agents or best practices for query'ing said potential agents. I came up with a quick list of my personal best practices, although this is another subject I could go on and on about!

1. Research and VET your potential agents: There is such a thing as a bad agent. There ARE people out there who will try to scam you. Don't fall into that trap. I'd advise you to stick to sites like Query Tracker and Manuscript Wish List so you don't end up on some rando's fake agent site. Aside from vetting, you should be researching. Do NOT send your QUERY letter to a children's lit agent if you write adult thrillers. That's an immediate no and that agent will know you didn't give enough of a sh*t to research them. And agents DO talk. Do you write in a genre that you read? I hope so You should take a look at some of your favorite authors or books and see who they are represented by and research those agents and see if you think you'd be a good fit!

2. Utilize a Spreadsheet: Keep track of the agents you're submitting to by utilizing a detailed spreadsheet! Start listing all of the agents you've found that you think you'd be a good fit with in a spreadsheet. Make sure to detail things like when you reached out to them, when and if they respond, if they requested a partial or full manuscript, if they rejected you (which is okay!), etc. You don't want to have so many agents on your radar that you end up sending QUERY letters to the same person multiple times, especially if they've rejected you. Keeping a spreadsheet will also help you to know when it's time to move on from an agent. It is VERY typical/normal for agents to take weeks, and even months to reply to you—but some you never hear from at all. Set a time limit and move on from agents if you haven't heard from them in X months—a year. 

3. Opening Your QUERY: Always, always, always address your agent by their name and not things like Ms. or To Whom It May Concern...this is a quick way to make an agent think you're sending out mass emails. When you use their name, you're showing them that you are sending it to only them and you have done your research. *Especially if you add in reasons why they would be a great fit for your book (I saw you talking about the book X on social media, and this book is X meets Y, so I think you'd be a wonderful fit!). Also, writing a good hook to open up your QUERY letter is a great way to draw in your potential agent and keep them reading! You could say something like this...

Dear Ms. Emily Vaughn,

Who are you when no one is watching?

I mean, I know I'd keep reading that email!

4. EDIT, EDIT, EDIT...and then...RE-EDIT: When you reach out to potential agents, you'll be sending them a QUERY letter. There can never be too much editing with these. Seriously. When you are about to put your work in front of an agent, you want to have multiple pairs of eyes on whatever excerpt your sending (if they request) and even the QUERY letter. There should be absolutely ZERO spelling or grammatical issues because you should have run that baby into the ground with editing. This is your very first chance (and probably only chance) with that agent, and it's important to show them that you've taken the time to make your pitch as strong as possible.

5. Send out QUERY emails in small batches: Yes! You do not want to send your QUERY to one agent and sit on your hands waiting for the next six months. The best practice here is to send out emails in small batches (no more than 7-10 potential agents at a time). There are a bunch of reasons for this, but one of my favorites is the fact that you may have five of them say your hook needs to be tweaked. Maybe the premise is great, the hook is hookin', but your conflict in the summary that you wrote (and sent them) is lacking. You can tweak this and fix it before emailing more agents! Don't send out 50 QUERY emails only to find 35 of them respond with an issue that could have been avoided. *Do not QUERY more than one agent at the same agency, though. One agent per agency at a time, and you can move on to someone else in the same agency if you receive a rejection!

Okay, I could keep going and list out other best practices that I follow and that I recommend my clients follow, but I'll leave you with those five best practices for now. I hope you took something away from this if you are interested in finding an agent or publishing traditionally!

I'd love to hear about what you would all like to see me talk about next month! Please shoot me an email and let me know what you'd like help with OR utilize the form below to let me know what you're struggling with and I can talk about it in an upcoming newsletter or workshop/presentation! And like I mentioned above, I'll be working on a workshop or presentation abut outlining!