So you got rejected a lot, huh? So none of the feedback was glorious?

That’s okay, you can fix this. Check out how to write a query to get the basics. Now let’s get to it.

Figure out what your book is about.

Who is the main character, and what is his goal? Who/what is preventing him from obtaining that goal, and what now must he do to get back on track?

Go to writing websites and read query critique comments.

What information are they suggesting to change, add, delete?

Look at the first version of the query in question, and then the second version. Read every version until you get to the last. Whatever information didn’t make it is likely useless.

Come back to your query and apply those suggestions, while bearing in mind that some suggestions are genre and category specific (specifying age, gender, love interest, world/planet, race/species, religion…). Decide what’s pertinent and drop what isn’t.

Think about how much to give.

Find the sweet spot between vague and too specific. Immerse readers in the setting without building the world.

Consider the stakes and make us care.

It’s so easy to make the stakes SUPER HIGH. If Katniss doesn’t fight Snow, the districts will crumble. If the rest of the query worked its magic, I’d care about the districts. Or I’d think, “Oh, another save the world idea,” (and there’s nothing wrong with those if the mini synopsis works).

But why does the MC have to be everybody’s hero?

Consider.

1. If Katniss doesn’t fight Snow, she won’t get the satisfaction of seeing his defeat.
2. If Katniss doesn’t fight Snow, he’ll not only have wiped out her district, but he’ll get away with it.
3. With everything to lose, Katniss must decide if she’ll back down or take her chances.

Okay, those aren’t the best examples, but I care a little more when it’s personal. Think of the themes above. 1. Revenge. 2. I want to see someone stop him. 3. Personal risk.

Again, if yours is a save the world story, then let it be. But if and where you can, let the stakes affect the hero’s personal life. At this point, I don’t care about districts crumbling, I care about Katniss’s beef with Snow. Voldemort enslaves humanity? Don’t care. Can Harry escape his wrath? Intrigued.

Get eyes on the query.

Ask if people would read the book based on it, and ask people who’ve written one to critique it.

First, check out what is a query letter to get the basics.

These are pointers I’ve given in forums before. Without much further ado…

Check out other queries.

Do a search on successful queries and note which ones interested you. Note the pace, word choice, length, etc. Then apply that insight to your mini synopsis. Bear in mind that Your query is NOT those queries, your book is NOT those books, and your voice is NOT their voice. Be you on a page. Write in the voice of YOUR book.

There are a lot of writing websites with query critiques. It’s worth a glance to see what got flagged. Also, search for QueryShark and get VERY familiar with the site.

***When checking out “successful queries,” keep in mind that some agents hate the query but love the pages, or love the query but hate the pages. Just because a query was present in the letter that landed the agent doesn’t necessarily mean it worked. Therefore, to get a broader sense of a “working” query, read at least ten.***

Start with the first inciting incident.

Inciting incident is a fancy way of asking, what event throws the main character (protagonist) into action? Usually it happens within the first fifty pages. Depending on your book, it might start later.

Apply the formula.

First paragraph: the hook. Who is your MC and what happened to throw his/her life out of whack? Make it interesting.

Paragraph 2 (and/or 3): the development. Further explain the conflict/issue. You might introduce the antagonist here or in the hook, or not at all (not all queries have one). Keep in mind, this isn’t a place for backstory. Make it riveting.

Last paragraph: what I call the closing hook. AKA, the stakes. What is MC’s task, and what awful thing will happen to MC if MC does not complete his/her task? Make it powerful, make it intriguing.

Let it sit for a few days.

Then read it. If you pause to reread a sentence, then that sentence needs to be rewritten.

Have someone read it.

No, I don’t mean just anyone. Someone who knows queries intimately. Other writers, agents who’re offering, someone with expertise. Wait a day or two to mull it over, go back to their suggestions and apply which ones you agree with. In that day, you might find that you actually agree when you didn’t at first.

Send it to a few agents.

Then send it to a few more. If you get a certain number of rejections (how many is your choice), then either the pages are the problem, or the query. You might consider fixing your query.

 

This is just a little advice on where to start. Keep researching until you feel you’ve got a great grasp on the whole picture. And, READ QUERY CRITIQUES!!! Read the original query, read the comments, read the final query. Read everything. When you see how it transformed, what got flagged, and word choice, you’ll save precious time and avoid a self-induced head slap.

 

What is a query letter?

Only the most important ±250 words you’ll ever write for your book (if you’re trying to get an agent).

A “query” can be defined as “a question.” So a query letter is a letter that poses the question, “Would you like to read more?” By nature, the query letter implies the question, so you don’t have to ask it.

A query letter consists of a greeting, a mini synopsis (DO NOT CONFUSE THIS WITH A REGULAR SYNOPSIS), a relevant biography and a Title/Genre/Word count paragraph. Some writers also include target audience.

A lot of people think the query letter is just the mini synopsis and skip sending the relevant biography, so some agents specify they want the bio as well.

Some queries have a one paragraph mini synopsis. Other queries have a 3-5 paragraph mini synopsis.

What matters is that the protagonist (main character) and his problem are presented. Basically, the major plot point. Sometimes this means introducing the antagonist as well, but not all queries have them.

Pick up a book, look at the back. There’s a short description for the main crux of the story. Its only point in life is to make you want to read more. That’s what a query should do—give the agent just enough information to care, but not enough to know how it ends.

QUERIES DO NOT GIVE AWAY THE ENDING!

Visit how to write a query for a little advice.

You’ve found the appropriate agents for your work. Congratulations, but you’re not done. You’ve also got to find the agents that are good for you, especially if you can only query one within an agency.

How, you ask? You’ve looked at agents professionally and they all seem the same. Okay. Look at them personally. Read their blog/website/twitter if they have one and see which agent appeals to you most.

If they participate in #tenqueries, #querytip, #MSWL or others, read through the tweets. You’ll get a better idea of what they’re burned out on and what drives them.

Only query agents you REALLY want to work with. It’s okay to not query someone, despite how stellar the agent seems.

Sift through writing forums and see what other people have to say. Bear in mind, some anecdotes might be based on grudges and axes to grind, but when multiple people say the same thing, it’s worth knowing.

How does the agent… agent? How well does the agent agent? Are they approachable? Do they give any other sort of guidance? Do they push social media when you’d rather stay anonymous? Do they give feedback and let the author decide, or do they demand changes before shopping the book? (Keep in mind that agents rely on their reputation with publishers and won’t submit pieces they don’t believe in.)

Check out interviews. You’ll learn something new that makes them stand out.

Some agents will ignore you and hope you “get the picture.” Other agents believe in replying to all queries. A select few don’t reply personally, but will alert writers that they’re up to such and such date on twitter/facebook/blog. If you don’t feel comfortable with not getting a response, move on. If you’d hate to pass up the opportunity, query away.

Is this their only career? Some agents are teachers, professors and even doctors. A lot of agents are writers, themselves. Your job is to decide if this is a conflict of interest and if your book will suffer.

Some writers narrow the field based on query response times. Some agents take 6+ months to respond, some agents take 2 weeks. Decide if you’d rather wait 7 months before sending out another query, or 1 month. Long waits can be excruciating, but it stops you from querying other agents with a potentially bad query. A lot of writers drastically change their query after x number of rejections. On the other hand, quick responses help you evaluate the quality of your query much faster.

Some writers find out how long it takes the agent to start reading a requested manuscript. Some agents take 4 months to respond, but will read your book within two. Some agents take a month to respond, but might take up to a year (or more) to read your manuscript. Again, sift through forums because many authors post this information—especially in success stories.

Just because an agent takes a while to read or respond doesn’t mean they aren’t worth their weight in gold. Oftentimes, it means the opposite. Or, they’re inundated in queries after an agent highlight.

If you’ve got multiple offers, it is, however, prudent to do your research and decide which dream agent will respond, read, edit and shop your book in the most agreeable fashion. In a business where time means income, this is often overlooked (and regretted) by excited writers.

Who you choose is completely personal, but make sure it’s something you can live with.

Ah, the age old question: When to query an agent?

I’m not going to waste my virtual breath and say, “when your novel is finished,” because you wouldn’t DREAM of shopping a novel before it’s done and edited, would you?

I’m also not going to say, “when they’re open to unsolicited queries,” because you’d NEVER disrespect an agent’s closed status, and you’d do one last social media/website check just before hitting “send” to ensure they’re still open, won’t you?

So, other than those times, when do you query an agent?

When you’re emotionally ready for rejection. And lots of them.

Ehh, who am I kidding? No one’s ready for rejection when they first start querying. Everyone believes in their soul that the first agent they’ve chosen is going to love their book as much as they do. They’re such a PERFECT match, fate itself would blush for not having endorsed it first. How could it not work out?

Meh, agents are that way. They tell you what they want, you give it to them, then they decide it’s not good enough. Right?

Wrong. Because it’s not just you giving it to them—it’s another 100 people that month. Week. Day. So your stuff has to stand out.

Start querying after your query stands out.

If you can replace your protagonist’s name with the main character’s name of a similar book, and your query describes that similar book perfectly, then your query probably does not stand out enough. Your query needs to be unique to your book.

When you’re able to not lash out at the agent.

I will admit that I’ve seen agents respond inappropriately to writers. And I’ve seen a lot of writers take extremely unbiased rejections personally.

Whether or not their attitude is legitimate or if their words were taken the wrong way, don’t respond. If it irks you so, delete them from your future query list and move on because if you blow up at them, you’ll burn bridges and build a reputation.

Sometimes rejection gets easier, but it’s not always easy. Find a healthy way to deal with it. In the sage words of Cathleen Townsend, “If you must blow off steam, do it someplace that isn’t online. Heated words on the internet can haunt you forever.”

If you’re prepared to write more.

Some agents will only represent your one book, but most want to work with you long-term and represent most, if not all, of your future projects. Whether that be because “they see you as a gold mine,” or because they genuinely want to help you shape your career and be there the entire journey, most want you to have other projects in mind.

When you’re ready to succeed.

You’ll fail at getting an agent a ton of times. That’s just how it is. But when you’re ready to stop being scared of succeeding (what’s holding you back?), then query.

And when you’re ready to query an agent, check out choosing an appropriate agent to query.

Ah, so now you’re ready to query an agent. Congratulations! So, what’s the next step?

Blast querying! No. Finding the appropriate agent.

Start by knowing the genre of your book. YA is a category, not a genre. Is it thriller? Horror? Mystery? Fantasy? Science fiction? Then move on to the next step.

Choose an agent who fits your genre.

You will never get a request if you’re querying agents who don’t represent your genre. Usually it’s because either they don’t like the genre, or they don’t want to represent the genre. Or that’s just not the direction the agency is going.

Someone who solely represents nonfiction won’t have the same ties with someone who represents fantasy. Someone who loves children’s picture books or MG at the oldest probably won’t know a whole lot about New Adult erotica markets.

Just don’t do it. You’re wasting their time and yours.

Choose an agent who represents your book’s category/age group.

Even if Dream Agent represents fantasy, if s/he doesn’t represent YA and you’ve written a YA, then this agent is not right for this book.

Thoroughly research the potential agent’s tastes.

They represent your genre and age group, but are your elements the ones they enjoy? Not all agents who represent fantasy care for vampires and werewolves.

Note: if your book is a romance and you write romance and thriller and YA fantasy, don’t worry about finding an agent who represents them all. Query agents who represent this book’s genre and discuss the rest during The Call. Many agents have a plan to help your future books find a home.

If you research thoroughly, you may find stories of people who were in your shoes.

Visit the agent’s twitter, blog, website and agency website.

They’re going to google you to see if they like whatever comes up. You should do the same. This also gives you a better insight as to their tastes, response times and personality.

How many sales in your genre/category does this person have?

Unless they’re new, it speaks volumes.

Let’s say an agent represents women’s fiction and middle grade. You’ve written an MG, but less than 1% of his/her sales are in MG. Do you think this is the perfect agent for you? This agent very well may be, but these stats tell you a few things.

Either the agent doesn’t take on a whole lot of middle grade, or the agent hasn’t been as successful in selling MG. Or maybe the agent is now establishing him/herself in MG. Or the wonderful agent doesn’t normally represent MG, but will for his/her established clients.

Query if you like, but you should only query people you REALLY think would be a good fit.

Whatever the case may be, do yourself a favor—find someone who knows the market well for the book you’re querying.

Which books/authors do they represent?

Have you read any of the stories? How do yours compare?

Now that you’ve got a list of agents you want to query, it’s time to weed out appropriate agents.

Dragon Hoard is an easy-reading anthology that brings a modern twist to age-old tales, villains and heroes.

These stories don’t simply feature a character we all know about—they reinvent the character altogether. We fall in love with characters we were conditioned to “hate,” trust characters we were cautioned to “beware of,” and root for characters who were never supposed to win.

The author, Cathleen Townsend, excelled at creating a spin and making these stories her own.