A guide for all writers who want to pitch a book to an agent, but haven’t done it before.
All of this comes from my experience and shouldn’t be taken a firm rule.
Some important query lingo you should know when enterying this stage!
Partial Request = when an agent requests more material about your book, but not the full manuscript. It might be some more chapters.
Full Request = when an agent requests the whole manuscript.
YA/NA/MG/A = Young Adult, New Adult, Middle Grade, Adult. All age target acronyms.
Query Letter = the letter in which you pitch your book to an agent
Synopsis = a summary of all important events happening in the book in a max of 1-2 pages (depending on what the agent requires)
Finding agents is pretty simple!
You can either use Google (type “[genre] [age target] [country] agents”, i.e. “fantasy ya american agents” and you should find some already!
QueryTracker (I have the Pro version where I can see how long agents take to reply and what kind of replies they give) –> here you can find agents, use the filter to find those who take your genre and age target
Manuscript Wish List –> a website where you can see what kind of books agents want to read, from the very specific to the broader
Twitter –> use hashtags like #mswl #amagenting to find more wish lists and agents talking about their job and queries.
I’d advise only querying those agents that
fit your filters perfectly.
Choose carefully, and make sure to follow them on Twitter for updates! Sometimes they post about their progress in reading queries, so you might know something about your pitch early.
- When your book sounds like a published book to you, your beta readers, and/or your Critique Partner.
- When you can’t find errors you’d find in a printed book on a shelf.
- When it’s as done and perfect as you can get it!
“I’m not American, but I want to query an American agent! Can I do it?
Yes! Don’t worry about your nationality too much. Just make sure you write the query following the standard American rules for courtesy in emails (“sincerely,” before your signature, “Dear ms/mr/mx” at the beginning, etc.)
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