#query an agent

[archangelbelletti]

Guide to Queries

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.

Terminology

Some important query lingo you should know when enterying this stage!

MS = Manuscript

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)

Where to find agents

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!

Other tools:

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.

Who to query

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 to query

- 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!

Where to query

"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.)

[archangelbelletti]

What I learned after a year of querying

About my own experience. Things I'd tell the person I was 2 years ago.

Tag @archangelbelletti if sharing on Instagram.

Agents will reject you for a number of reasons that are, in all probability, 60% out of your control.

You'll often have no clue why they reject you because they won't personalize the rejection

However, according to videos, among the reasons why an agent could reject you, there are: they don't like the book enough to spend months revising it with you, they don't know many editors who they can submit it to, they have a similar book in their list already, they didn't like your writing because they don't vibe with it I guess

And in general most of them are linked to taste and personal opinions

Where you put the specifics of your book (word count etc.) doesn't really matter unless specified in guidelines, but do put it there

You're not a prodigy writer

You're also not a terrible one

Your work is actually professional.

Many people who do know about querying will tell you opposite things such as "don't personalize your query!" or "personalize your query!". Follow what you think it's best. I now personalize all my queries.

Shelving a book isn't going to destroy your career.

Don't shelf too fast, though. Don't stop giving chances when you know there are more out there.

That one book isn't your whole life. You'll write more books and you'll love them all.

No one really knows how many agents is too many agents to query. Some say 20. Some say 30. Some 50, some 100. It really just depends.

QueryTracker Pro helps especially if you're looking for agents that will send personalized rejections, and to see how long an agent takes to reply in general.

People will constantly ask you how querying is going and you will have to repeat a billion times that querying is a process too slow to be saying something new every time you meet them. You're sending out queries. That's what you're doing. And that's enough.

It will seem unfair. Some people who didn't do their research will get personalized queries such as "I don't take the genre you submitted", and you won't, even if you did do all things well. It happens.

Reading the posts and following other people who query will initially feel like part of the work but it's actually more for your spirit than for your work

Rewriting your query is really helpful. A story can be told in a lot of ways, and maybe you just need that one way that fits yours.

No one will teach you exactly how it works, but you'll learn a lot through videos by people who are in the industry!

I actually don't understand why research on Publisher Marketplace pro or what it's called it important. Maybe that's why I've been rejected all these times? No clue.

I don't really find PitMad helpful, but it made me want to read a lot of unpublished books. I find it more useful for self-pub than trad, absurdly enough.

More is just opinion in this field than you think. There are fewer rules than you can imagine. No, an info-dump won't kill your career, because many bestsellers are info-dumpy at the beginning.

It will be hard in the "I feel bad about myself" way, it really will. But you'll also have great people with you, that hold your hand through it, too, like @dallas-antonio-writes.