by Charlee Vale
"You only need one yes."
I can't tell you how many times I've heard this. It's one of those platitudes that gets splattered all over querying writers, or writers thinking about querying, or anyone who has even even thought about trying to get published. In the face of the vast enormity of trying to find an agent, and then an editor, this phrase does us the favor of shrinking down something daunting to a manageable size.
Back in 2011, when I was querying for the very first time, this was my mantra. I did everything I was supposed to do--I compiled a list of agents, worked on my query, started querying in batches. I was waiting, I was ready. After all, I only needed one yes, right?
Through a quirky situation (and a miracle) I got a full request on my very first query. Naturally, I did what every brand new writer does on a full request an fantasized about getting and offer of representation. Which was when I discovered something troubling: I wasn't necessarily excited about the thought of accepting that offer. I was nervous, and frankly kind of queasy.
I spoke to an author friend about my imaginary offer, and she said something to me so simple that I felt stupid for not realizing it sooner. 'Why would you query someone you wouldn't want to work with?'
I had made a list of every person I could possibly find that repped YA, and they were all on my list to query. Because in my mind, each of those agents was a potential yes. A potential chance at representation and the road to publication. However, I hadn't even considered that quantity in querying isn't necessarily the same as quality. It's true that you do only need one yes, but that's not the important part. You need the right yes.
So do your research. Find the agents you think you would want to work with, using whatever qualifications you're looking for, and make a list. Do you want an agent who is very editorial? Someone who is a newer agent trying to build their list? Someone who's a veteran and seen everything that can possible happen?
That final list may be twenty agents, five, or fifty. But every agent should be one you want to work with. After all, if they aren't, then why would you put yourself through that?
Keep trying to get that one yes, but just make sure it's the right one.
Charlee Vale is a Young Adult writer, bookseller, photographer, and tea lover living in New York City. You can also find her at her website, on Novel Thoughts, on Twitter, and doing research for her next round of queries.
Showing posts with label querying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label querying. Show all posts
Monday, January 19, 2015
Monday, June 24, 2013
The Nice Rejection Vs. The Honest Rejection
Hooray! A rejection!
OK, so that might not be realistic. I used to get rejections that had the inevitable initial sting, but after that I would get past my despair and actually read the rejection. It would say something like:
After careful consideration I decided that while your concept is fresh and interesting, I just wasn't as pulled into those first few critical pages as I would've liked to be. Understand that this is a subjective business, and another agent may feel differently.
Ouch - my first few pages aren't that great. Hooray - I've got a fresh and interesting concept! That's a seriously big hurdle cleared! So I get my e-self over to QueryTracker to record my latest failure and see that another user has posted their rejection in full and it reads:
After careful consideration I decided that while your concept is fresh and interesting, I just wasn't as pulled into those first few critical pages as I would've liked to be. Understand that this is a subjective business, and another agent may feel differently.
Oh... so my concept isn't fresh and interesting. And maybe this means my first few pages aren't that bad... So what do I do?
If you're me (and I know you're not, but let's play) you obsess about it for a bit. So, somebody that sent a query about a girl torn between her love for a vampire and her buddy a werewolf would've had the same "fresh concept" form rejection I did. It also means that someone who sent a badly written query for a 500 page biography of a field mouse named TukkaBobba did too.
What do I deduce from this? The very real possibility that I suck, and no one has bothered to tell me yet.
I'm not saying that agents need to tell every single author exactly why they are rejecting them - that's an impossibility. From the other side of the fence as an agented author, I don't want my agent spending her time responding personally to stranger's emails. I want her focusing on me, and my latest neurotic missive.
But the query trenches aren't that far behind me, and I remember the pain - I have ten years worth of scars because of them. When I was in them I wished that agents used a "You really need to do more work on your sentence structure and grammar use before considering being a writer," and a, "Hey nice try, keep working at it - you might have something here," form rejection.
Do you obsess over every word in the query, like I do? Or do you just notch the bedpost and keep going?
______________________________________________
Mindy McGinnis is a YA author and librarian. Her debut, NOT A DROP TO DRINK, is a post-apocalyptic survival tale set in a world where freshwater is almost non-existent, available from Katherine Tegen / Harper Collins September 24, 2013. She blogs at Writer, Writer Pants on Fire and contributes to the group blogs Book Pregnant, Friday the Thirteeners, From the Write Angle, The Class of 2k13, The Lucky 13s & The League of Extraordinary Writers. You can also find her on Twitter, Tumblr & Facebook.
OK, so that might not be realistic. I used to get rejections that had the inevitable initial sting, but after that I would get past my despair and actually read the rejection. It would say something like:
After careful consideration I decided that while your concept is fresh and interesting, I just wasn't as pulled into those first few critical pages as I would've liked to be. Understand that this is a subjective business, and another agent may feel differently.
Ouch - my first few pages aren't that great. Hooray - I've got a fresh and interesting concept! That's a seriously big hurdle cleared! So I get my e-self over to QueryTracker to record my latest failure and see that another user has posted their rejection in full and it reads:
After careful consideration I decided that while your concept is fresh and interesting, I just wasn't as pulled into those first few critical pages as I would've liked to be. Understand that this is a subjective business, and another agent may feel differently.
Oh... so my concept isn't fresh and interesting. And maybe this means my first few pages aren't that bad... So what do I do?
If you're me (and I know you're not, but let's play) you obsess about it for a bit. So, somebody that sent a query about a girl torn between her love for a vampire and her buddy a werewolf would've had the same "fresh concept" form rejection I did. It also means that someone who sent a badly written query for a 500 page biography of a field mouse named TukkaBobba did too.
What do I deduce from this? The very real possibility that I suck, and no one has bothered to tell me yet.
I'm not saying that agents need to tell every single author exactly why they are rejecting them - that's an impossibility. From the other side of the fence as an agented author, I don't want my agent spending her time responding personally to stranger's emails. I want her focusing on me, and my latest neurotic missive.
But the query trenches aren't that far behind me, and I remember the pain - I have ten years worth of scars because of them. When I was in them I wished that agents used a "You really need to do more work on your sentence structure and grammar use before considering being a writer," and a, "Hey nice try, keep working at it - you might have something here," form rejection.
Do you obsess over every word in the query, like I do? Or do you just notch the bedpost and keep going?
______________________________________________
Mindy McGinnis is a YA author and librarian. Her debut, NOT A DROP TO DRINK, is a post-apocalyptic survival tale set in a world where freshwater is almost non-existent, available from Katherine Tegen / Harper Collins September 24, 2013. She blogs at Writer, Writer Pants on Fire and contributes to the group blogs Book Pregnant, Friday the Thirteeners, From the Write Angle, The Class of 2k13, The Lucky 13s & The League of Extraordinary Writers. You can also find her on Twitter, Tumblr & Facebook.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Don't Stop Believing
by MarcyKate Connolly
If hope is the thing with feathers, then publishing is the
cat that swallows it whole.
Writers face rejection at every single stage of the game, from
crit partners and early readers to agents and editors. And even when they’ve surpassed all those
hurdles, they still face it from readers. Sometimes it’s hard not to feel like
you just can’t win. Discouragement can easily tint your rose-colored glasses
black.
But hope is important. It fuels our writing and our
drive to keep teasing those words out of brains and onto the page. Without hope of success, what’s the point in attempting
publication? There's some evidence of a correlation between hope and good health--I like to think there's a connection between hope and publishing success, too. Often the ones who make it are the ones who refuse to give up.
So sometimes, when the rejections seem to be piling up
everywhere we look, we need to step back and recharge that hope. Everyone is
different of course, but these are a few things that have always helped me keep hope alive:
2) Join a critique
group or writing community. Might I
suggest AgentQueryConnect.com? The non-writers in our lives can't fully understand the highs and
lows of this business, no matter how hard they try. But others writers will. Just
knowing you’re not alone can go a long way to lifting you out of the pits of
despair. For me, finding like-minded writers to commiserate with along the
journey has been critical factor in keeping me sane.
3) Write the next
book. It’s never fun to think the book you love and are sending out to
agents and editors right now won’t be The One. But getting excited about a new
story and knowing that it will be there even if the active project doesn’t pan
out is one of the best ways I've found to keep myself going.
4) Do something
completely different. Go for a walk. Go to the museum. Spend the night with
your best friends eating ice cream and laughing. Pursue those other hobbies that
you love and that inspire you. Refreshing yourself can bring new ideas (and a
better outlook) to your writing.
MarcyKate Connolly writes young adult fiction and becomes a superhero when sufficiently caffeinated. When earthbound, she blogs at her website and ferrets out contests on Twitter.
Got tips for staying hopeful? Share them in the comments!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Haste Makes Waste
by Sophie Perinot
I am not ordinarily the bible-quoting type. This bit of Ecclesiastes, however, addresses a problem I’ve been seeing a lot lately. On-line writing communities have been overrun by the hasty. Perhaps it was always this way and I just failed to notice it. Perhaps technology has made us less patient even as it makes it easier to act instantly on our impulse to share what we’ve written. Whatever the reason, most of the advice I’ve doled out in the last couple of weeks can be boiled down to this—“slow down!”
I remember completing my first manuscript. It was a spectacular feeling. As you type your last words you can’t imagine any better feeling. But there ARE better feelings to come—like the feeling of signing with an agent, and the feeling of inking your name on a publishing contract. If you rush to take a newly minted manuscript to market you will not get to feel those bigger highs. You may turn your beloved tome (the one you’ve poured your heart and months or years of your life into) into nothing more than a pile of waste-paper.
Here are a few things to remember in your heady rush to share what you’ve written:
1) If your manuscript is not done agents don’t want to hear about it. You’d think this would go without saying. You’d be wrong. Just last week someone asked about querying an unfinished manuscript in an on-line forum. Fact: getting an agent is a long shot—as in single-digit percentage long shot. Why would an agent who receives hundreds of query letters a week EVER ask to see an incomplete manuscript? Even if the premise is brilliant there is no guarantee—until the book is done and the agent can read it—that the execution will live up to it. “Ah,” you say, “but the agent won’t know my book isn’t finished. Querying takes a while and while my letter is sitting on all those laptops I’ll wrap up the writing and editing.”
ACK! If you were here I would stab you with my letter opener (yes, I still have one.). First off, it is not uncommon to get a quick response to a gripping query pitching a concept that seems highly saleable. Second ...
2) The first time you think you are done with your book you are SO NOT DONE! In fact, the second time you think you are “done” you probably aren’t either. It’s not just YOU, it’s every debut writer. I could have sworn my first manuscript was done after I’d edited it twice and received feedback from a couple of beta readers. Boy was I wrong. It took three additional critique partner reviews, the removal of several sub-plots and the clipping of over 30,000 words (yeah that’s right 30k+) before I was actually done. In this market—with publishing in flux and publishers feeling risk adverse—your manuscript had better be spit-shined and nearly flawless before anyone who matters has a look at it. Every time you send out your manuscript prematurely you are wasting an agent name from your list.
“But,” you say, “I thought my agent would offer editorial suggestions and, eventually, the editor at my publishing house will as well.” Very true (notice how I am putting the letter opener back in the pencil cup). When you sign with an agent you are often standing on the tip of the revisions iceberg. But cutting corners in your personal edits on the theory you can make all the improvements at once is a mistake. You can’t get to the next round of edits without this one. Editing is a part of writing—often the biggest part. Your attitude towards it needs to be “early and often.”
When you finally have your manuscript edited to perfection, you are set to query. But again, hold your horses ...
3) Easing into the query process gives you the best chance of querying successfully. Remember how you thought you were done with your manuscript and you weren’t (see last point)? Well, chances are when you mail/email those first query letters out you’ll discover your letter isn’t ready either. There is really only one way to gauge whether your query letter is in good shape—see if it gets requests. If your letter isn’t up to the job it is better to find that out after you’ve sent twenty letters than two hundred. Send a couple of ten-letter trial batches out to a mix of agents from your A & B lists. Wait until you’ve got responses (or 2-3 weeks have passed at which point you count the non-responders as “not interested”) and if your rate-of-request isn’t in the 10% to 20% range revise your query. Repeat. The time to send out query letters as quickly as your mouse-hand can click is once your letter is topping the 20% request-rate mark.
You are going to meet with a lot of rejection on the way to being agented and/or published. Everybody does. If rejection makes you impatient, you stand a good chance of selling yourself and your manuscript short. Remind yourself again and again ...
4) How quickly people can read your book is NOT the ONLY goal to consider. As writers we want an audience. As writers with completed, polished manuscripts we want an audience NOW (now, now, now! do you hear me?). After months of editing and weeks (or months) of querying nearly every writer has the following thought: “I don’t care who publishes my book or how many people read it, I just want somebody other than my mother to see it.” Before the rise of self-publishing this thought wasn’t particularly dangerous because, unless you were going the vanity route, there was no easy way to just “get the book out there.” Now you (the writer) need to impose your own cooling off period and make certain you understand your personal goals for your book. Ask yourself, HOW BIG do you want your audience to be? Will you be content if two-dozen people read your book in the first year? If two hundred people do? How about two thousand? Ten thousand?
If you want thousands of people to read your book then you probably want to pursue the sometimes glacially slow agent-to-major-publisher route. Now before everyone attacks me, I am not saying that self-published or small-press published books can’t reach thousands of people, I am just saying the odds are longer. If you rush to self-publish or publish with a small press and then are disappointed with the number of readers your book gets, there isn’t much you can do. You can “start over” and try for an agent and a deal with one of the big 6, but you will need a new manuscript to do that.
Let’s say you do decide to self-publish ...
5) Professional looking self-published books take time. You can decide to self-publish your book today and have it available on the internet tomorrow, but chances are it wouldn’t be well presented. Nor well promoted. If you are going to do everything yourself—editing, cover-design, layout, promotion, advertising—you are going to need a plan, and good plans take time. You will also want to invest time in the pre-publication process (design, editing) to maximize you chances of success.
Getting back to Ecclesiastes (I do like things tidy) people run races to WIN. The ultimate prize in writing is a published book with a significant fan-base—significant enough that you have pecuniary reasons for writing your next book. It takes slow, deliberative thought and action to reach that goal. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Behave accordingly.
Sophie Perinot is an author with Penguin’s New American Library (NAL). Her debut novel, The Sister Queens, is on sale now at bookstores (brick-and-mortar and virtual) everywhere. You can connect with Sophie at http://www.sophieperinot.com/, on Facebook, or on Twitter.
“... the race is not to the swift”
Ecclesiastes 9:11
I am not ordinarily the bible-quoting type. This bit of Ecclesiastes, however, addresses a problem I’ve been seeing a lot lately. On-line writing communities have been overrun by the hasty. Perhaps it was always this way and I just failed to notice it. Perhaps technology has made us less patient even as it makes it easier to act instantly on our impulse to share what we’ve written. Whatever the reason, most of the advice I’ve doled out in the last couple of weeks can be boiled down to this—“slow down!”
I remember completing my first manuscript. It was a spectacular feeling. As you type your last words you can’t imagine any better feeling. But there ARE better feelings to come—like the feeling of signing with an agent, and the feeling of inking your name on a publishing contract. If you rush to take a newly minted manuscript to market you will not get to feel those bigger highs. You may turn your beloved tome (the one you’ve poured your heart and months or years of your life into) into nothing more than a pile of waste-paper.
Here are a few things to remember in your heady rush to share what you’ve written:
1) If your manuscript is not done agents don’t want to hear about it. You’d think this would go without saying. You’d be wrong. Just last week someone asked about querying an unfinished manuscript in an on-line forum. Fact: getting an agent is a long shot—as in single-digit percentage long shot. Why would an agent who receives hundreds of query letters a week EVER ask to see an incomplete manuscript? Even if the premise is brilliant there is no guarantee—until the book is done and the agent can read it—that the execution will live up to it. “Ah,” you say, “but the agent won’t know my book isn’t finished. Querying takes a while and while my letter is sitting on all those laptops I’ll wrap up the writing and editing.”
ACK! If you were here I would stab you with my letter opener (yes, I still have one.). First off, it is not uncommon to get a quick response to a gripping query pitching a concept that seems highly saleable. Second ...
2) The first time you think you are done with your book you are SO NOT DONE! In fact, the second time you think you are “done” you probably aren’t either. It’s not just YOU, it’s every debut writer. I could have sworn my first manuscript was done after I’d edited it twice and received feedback from a couple of beta readers. Boy was I wrong. It took three additional critique partner reviews, the removal of several sub-plots and the clipping of over 30,000 words (yeah that’s right 30k+) before I was actually done. In this market—with publishing in flux and publishers feeling risk adverse—your manuscript had better be spit-shined and nearly flawless before anyone who matters has a look at it. Every time you send out your manuscript prematurely you are wasting an agent name from your list.
“But,” you say, “I thought my agent would offer editorial suggestions and, eventually, the editor at my publishing house will as well.” Very true (notice how I am putting the letter opener back in the pencil cup). When you sign with an agent you are often standing on the tip of the revisions iceberg. But cutting corners in your personal edits on the theory you can make all the improvements at once is a mistake. You can’t get to the next round of edits without this one. Editing is a part of writing—often the biggest part. Your attitude towards it needs to be “early and often.”
When you finally have your manuscript edited to perfection, you are set to query. But again, hold your horses ...
3) Easing into the query process gives you the best chance of querying successfully. Remember how you thought you were done with your manuscript and you weren’t (see last point)? Well, chances are when you mail/email those first query letters out you’ll discover your letter isn’t ready either. There is really only one way to gauge whether your query letter is in good shape—see if it gets requests. If your letter isn’t up to the job it is better to find that out after you’ve sent twenty letters than two hundred. Send a couple of ten-letter trial batches out to a mix of agents from your A & B lists. Wait until you’ve got responses (or 2-3 weeks have passed at which point you count the non-responders as “not interested”) and if your rate-of-request isn’t in the 10% to 20% range revise your query. Repeat. The time to send out query letters as quickly as your mouse-hand can click is once your letter is topping the 20% request-rate mark.
You are going to meet with a lot of rejection on the way to being agented and/or published. Everybody does. If rejection makes you impatient, you stand a good chance of selling yourself and your manuscript short. Remind yourself again and again ...
4) How quickly people can read your book is NOT the ONLY goal to consider. As writers we want an audience. As writers with completed, polished manuscripts we want an audience NOW (now, now, now! do you hear me?). After months of editing and weeks (or months) of querying nearly every writer has the following thought: “I don’t care who publishes my book or how many people read it, I just want somebody other than my mother to see it.” Before the rise of self-publishing this thought wasn’t particularly dangerous because, unless you were going the vanity route, there was no easy way to just “get the book out there.” Now you (the writer) need to impose your own cooling off period and make certain you understand your personal goals for your book. Ask yourself, HOW BIG do you want your audience to be? Will you be content if two-dozen people read your book in the first year? If two hundred people do? How about two thousand? Ten thousand?
If you want thousands of people to read your book then you probably want to pursue the sometimes glacially slow agent-to-major-publisher route. Now before everyone attacks me, I am not saying that self-published or small-press published books can’t reach thousands of people, I am just saying the odds are longer. If you rush to self-publish or publish with a small press and then are disappointed with the number of readers your book gets, there isn’t much you can do. You can “start over” and try for an agent and a deal with one of the big 6, but you will need a new manuscript to do that.
Let’s say you do decide to self-publish ...
5) Professional looking self-published books take time. You can decide to self-publish your book today and have it available on the internet tomorrow, but chances are it wouldn’t be well presented. Nor well promoted. If you are going to do everything yourself—editing, cover-design, layout, promotion, advertising—you are going to need a plan, and good plans take time. You will also want to invest time in the pre-publication process (design, editing) to maximize you chances of success.
Getting back to Ecclesiastes (I do like things tidy) people run races to WIN. The ultimate prize in writing is a published book with a significant fan-base—significant enough that you have pecuniary reasons for writing your next book. It takes slow, deliberative thought and action to reach that goal. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Behave accordingly.
Sophie Perinot is an author with Penguin’s New American Library (NAL). Her debut novel, The Sister Queens, is on sale now at bookstores (brick-and-mortar and virtual) everywhere. You can connect with Sophie at http://www.sophieperinot.com/, on Facebook, or on Twitter.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Agent Research: QueryTracker
by Jemi Fraser
I'm getting closer to finishing up my WIP. I'm still in the polishing and shining stage, so I won't be querying for a while yet, but I've started researching agents. It's a fairly involved process, so I thought I'd take you through my procedure—which of course won't work for everyone—but it might give you some ideas of where to start.
There are a lot of fabulous agents out there. Many of them will be the perfect choice for you. How do you find them? In this post I talked a bit in general about AgentQuery, QueryTracker (QT) and Preditors and Editors. Today I'm going to focus a bit more specifically on QT and their searchable agent database today. Last time I checked, there were over 1000 agents listed. Obviously you need to narrow your search. QT allows you to narrow down the list by choosing the genre(s) of your story/stories. You can choose multiple categories to narrow down your search further.
I'll use my recent searches as an example. My story is a romance with a strong subplot of suspense/mystery. So, I chose fiction–romance, then fiction–mystery, fiction–suspense. I had 114 agents to search. When I searched romance only, I had 189 agents. Not a huge difference for me, but if you're planning on writing fantasy and thrillers for instance, it would be nice to know which agents rep both.
QT lists the agents in alphabetical order by last names. It shows if they accept email or snail mail queries or if there's an online form. Once you click on an agent's name, it gives you more information.
Speaking of that premium membership, it's $25/year. The basic membership allows you to track your querying process for one project. Among other perks, the premium membership allows you to track 20 projects. When you're tracking project 2, it reminds you if you queried each agent with project 1 and how that turned out.
Now, as good as QT is, it's not enough. Once you've narrowed down the list of agents you're interested in querying, I'd suggest a few more steps.
Click through to the agency website and the agent's personal blog if she/he has one. You can find out a LOT of information this way. The lists of genres is sometimes a bit deceiving. As I said, I'm looking for agents who represent romance. By visiting the websites I eliminated at least a dozen agents who only want to see historical or paranormal romance and one who wants only multi-generational stories. Agents are busy people. I'd rather not waste their time querying for something they're not interested in. I'd rather focus on those agents who state they're looking for contemporary stories.
QT has a 'Notes' space where you can keep track of your thoughts about the agent. I use it to track those tidbits I might use to personalize my query when I do get to that stage.
There are a LOT more features on QT that I didn't mention. I'll do that in another post.
Any questions? Anything you'd like to see in that post? Have you used QT? What's your favourite part of it? Any other tips?
Jemi Fraser is an aspiring author of romantic mysteries. She blogs and tweets while searching for those HEAs.
I'm getting closer to finishing up my WIP. I'm still in the polishing and shining stage, so I won't be querying for a while yet, but I've started researching agents. It's a fairly involved process, so I thought I'd take you through my procedure—which of course won't work for everyone—but it might give you some ideas of where to start.
There are a lot of fabulous agents out there. Many of them will be the perfect choice for you. How do you find them? In this post I talked a bit in general about AgentQuery, QueryTracker (QT) and Preditors and Editors. Today I'm going to focus a bit more specifically on QT and their searchable agent database today. Last time I checked, there were over 1000 agents listed. Obviously you need to narrow your search. QT allows you to narrow down the list by choosing the genre(s) of your story/stories. You can choose multiple categories to narrow down your search further.
I'll use my recent searches as an example. My story is a romance with a strong subplot of suspense/mystery. So, I chose fiction–romance, then fiction–mystery, fiction–suspense. I had 114 agents to search. When I searched romance only, I had 189 agents. Not a huge difference for me, but if you're planning on writing fantasy and thrillers for instance, it would be nice to know which agents rep both.
QT lists the agents in alphabetical order by last names. It shows if they accept email or snail mail queries or if there's an online form. Once you click on an agent's name, it gives you more information.
- The overview tab lists the agency's website and the agent's personal blog and twitter if applicable. It also links to their information on AgentQuery, Preditors & Editors, Publishers Marketplace, AAR and sometimes interviews as well. There are a few agencies without an online presence, but these are included in the listings as well.
- The comments tab shows comments by QT members who are willing to share who they queried and what the response was. It's easy to find out from this tab if the agent only responds if interested and what their form letters are like.
- One tab shows the clients of the agent. This is really handy. Even though the agent might rep a wide variety of genres, you'll see quickly what they have sold. Some of the agents in my search sold almost exclusively nonfiction books. I would assume that's where their best contacts in the publishing world are. By checking out the clients, I also find out if the agent already reps someone who sells stories similar to the one I'm querying. That all helps me decide where the agent fits on my wishlist.
- There is another tab for reports. This can show you how many queries the agent has received, in what genre, how they've responded ... Some of these features are exclusive to the premium membership.
Speaking of that premium membership, it's $25/year. The basic membership allows you to track your querying process for one project. Among other perks, the premium membership allows you to track 20 projects. When you're tracking project 2, it reminds you if you queried each agent with project 1 and how that turned out.
Now, as good as QT is, it's not enough. Once you've narrowed down the list of agents you're interested in querying, I'd suggest a few more steps.
Click through to the agency website and the agent's personal blog if she/he has one. You can find out a LOT of information this way. The lists of genres is sometimes a bit deceiving. As I said, I'm looking for agents who represent romance. By visiting the websites I eliminated at least a dozen agents who only want to see historical or paranormal romance and one who wants only multi-generational stories. Agents are busy people. I'd rather not waste their time querying for something they're not interested in. I'd rather focus on those agents who state they're looking for contemporary stories.
QT has a 'Notes' space where you can keep track of your thoughts about the agent. I use it to track those tidbits I might use to personalize my query when I do get to that stage.
There are a LOT more features on QT that I didn't mention. I'll do that in another post.
Any questions? Anything you'd like to see in that post? Have you used QT? What's your favourite part of it? Any other tips?
Jemi Fraser is an aspiring author of romantic mysteries. She blogs and tweets while searching for those HEAs.
Friday, January 27, 2012
There's No Relaxation in R&R
by R.C. Lewis
Last week on my blog, I did a post breaking down the various responses we get in the wonderful roller coaster known as querying. For most of the possible responses, my advice was not to agonize over it.
No response means no? Move on. Form rejection? Don't bother dissecting every syllable.
One of the exceptions to the "don't agonize" rule is the R&R—the Revise & Resubmit.
Technically, this is still a rejection. But it is (or can be) the best and scariest rejection. It's a rejection that leaves the door open. One that says, "I can't take you to dinner as-is, but if you lose ten pounds, clean up a little, and stop wearing those acid-wash jeans ... then maybe."
(Good grief, if anyone in the dating world ever says anything like that, do humanity a favor and smack him/her. But you get the idea.)
This is definitely a time when at least a little agonizing is warranted. Do the revision notes resonate with you, giving you ideas that you're confident can make your story better? If not, maybe a "Thanks, but no thanks" is in order. Was the feedback so vague you're not sure how to address it? Maybe a brief, polite follow-up email to clarify would be all right—but only to make sure you understand the agent clearly, not like you expect said-agent to hold your hand through the revision process. (If someone has a differing opinion on whether this is an appropriate time to email the agent back, please speak up. I'm making this up as I go.)
Or maybe you're like me in the first twenty minutes after I got my R&R email. After taking a moment to get over the stab to the gut ("Another no! And so close! But wait...!"), you realize the feedback totally makes sense. You wonder why you didn't see those issues before.
And you have no idea if you can fix it.
Critique partners to the rescue!
If ever there was a time to be glad for solid critique partners who will re-read your manuscript at the drop of a hat, tell you to your face that you need to stop using clichés like "drop of a hat," and hold marathon brainstorming sessions with you by email, this is that time.
I don't know yet if my R&R was successful. I know I made the story better, but this particular agent may still feel it's not for her. But in the end—I learned new things about writing and improved my work. So either way, this non-relaxing, very scary and nerve-racking R&R has been worthwhile.
Have you had an agent request revisions? What tips do you have for getting through the process?
Last week on my blog, I did a post breaking down the various responses we get in the wonderful roller coaster known as querying. For most of the possible responses, my advice was not to agonize over it.
No response means no? Move on. Form rejection? Don't bother dissecting every syllable.
One of the exceptions to the "don't agonize" rule is the R&R—the Revise & Resubmit.
Technically, this is still a rejection. But it is (or can be) the best and scariest rejection. It's a rejection that leaves the door open. One that says, "I can't take you to dinner as-is, but if you lose ten pounds, clean up a little, and stop wearing those acid-wash jeans ... then maybe."
(Good grief, if anyone in the dating world ever says anything like that, do humanity a favor and smack him/her. But you get the idea.)
This is definitely a time when at least a little agonizing is warranted. Do the revision notes resonate with you, giving you ideas that you're confident can make your story better? If not, maybe a "Thanks, but no thanks" is in order. Was the feedback so vague you're not sure how to address it? Maybe a brief, polite follow-up email to clarify would be all right—but only to make sure you understand the agent clearly, not like you expect said-agent to hold your hand through the revision process. (If someone has a differing opinion on whether this is an appropriate time to email the agent back, please speak up. I'm making this up as I go.)
Or maybe you're like me in the first twenty minutes after I got my R&R email. After taking a moment to get over the stab to the gut ("Another no! And so close! But wait...!"), you realize the feedback totally makes sense. You wonder why you didn't see those issues before.
And you have no idea if you can fix it.
Critique partners to the rescue!
If ever there was a time to be glad for solid critique partners who will re-read your manuscript at the drop of a hat, tell you to your face that you need to stop using clichés like "drop of a hat," and hold marathon brainstorming sessions with you by email, this is that time.
I don't know yet if my R&R was successful. I know I made the story better, but this particular agent may still feel it's not for her. But in the end—I learned new things about writing and improved my work. So either way, this non-relaxing, very scary and nerve-racking R&R has been worthwhile.
Have you had an agent request revisions? What tips do you have for getting through the process?
Friday, August 26, 2011
Just DO It (query that is)
by Sophie Perinot
I am a long time member and BIG time fan of AgentQuery Connect. For those aspiring writers who do not know AQ, run don’t walk to the website as it is a fantastic source for information on every step of the road to being repped and published, a very supportive writing community, and (most importantly for the purposes of this post) a good spot to get feedback on a query letter before you send one out.
Now anyone who’s ever drafted a query letter knows it takes time. The letter is a vital sales document. Write it well and you snag the interest of an agent and a coveted request for a partial or full. Write it poorly and you may never even warrant a form rejection. Writing a good query is not easy (there are hundreds if not thousands of articles and blog posts offering advice on how to compose a good letter). BUT should it really take months and drafts in the double-digits?
At the risk of aggravating many I say no. In fact I say, NO, NO, NO. What I’ve noticed, watching query critique threads over the months and years, is that many writers become paralyzed by fear and good intentions. Writing their query becomes a Sisyphean struggle (you remember, the guy who had to push the big rock up the hill over and over) and in the process time, enthusiasm and confidence can be lost. At some point the incremental improvements their letter is arguably making are not worth the agony. More than this, letters can lose voice (see my opinions on this topic in an earlier From the Write Angle post). Looking at critique threads with ten, twenty, thirty, even fifty versions of a single query, I want to scream GET ON WITH IT, or SEND THE DARN THING. But that kind of verbiage in individual critique threads would hardly be appropriate.
So I am saying it here. Just DO it. Query. I am not saying send your first draft. I am not saying don’t seek critique. I am saying all things in moderation. How many drafts of my letter did I do—maybe four. How many people did I show it to for review before it went out? Five (and two of them weren’t even writers). Did it work? More than uncommonly well (I had a very high request rate, snagged an agent I adore and now have a publishing contract). Could my letter have been better? Sure. But if I were still working on polishing it, then my book wouldn’t be coming out in March 2012 would it?
I am a long time member and BIG time fan of AgentQuery Connect. For those aspiring writers who do not know AQ, run don’t walk to the website as it is a fantastic source for information on every step of the road to being repped and published, a very supportive writing community, and (most importantly for the purposes of this post) a good spot to get feedback on a query letter before you send one out.
Now anyone who’s ever drafted a query letter knows it takes time. The letter is a vital sales document. Write it well and you snag the interest of an agent and a coveted request for a partial or full. Write it poorly and you may never even warrant a form rejection. Writing a good query is not easy (there are hundreds if not thousands of articles and blog posts offering advice on how to compose a good letter). BUT should it really take months and drafts in the double-digits?
At the risk of aggravating many I say no. In fact I say, NO, NO, NO. What I’ve noticed, watching query critique threads over the months and years, is that many writers become paralyzed by fear and good intentions. Writing their query becomes a Sisyphean struggle (you remember, the guy who had to push the big rock up the hill over and over) and in the process time, enthusiasm and confidence can be lost. At some point the incremental improvements their letter is arguably making are not worth the agony. More than this, letters can lose voice (see my opinions on this topic in an earlier From the Write Angle post). Looking at critique threads with ten, twenty, thirty, even fifty versions of a single query, I want to scream GET ON WITH IT, or SEND THE DARN THING. But that kind of verbiage in individual critique threads would hardly be appropriate.
So I am saying it here. Just DO it. Query. I am not saying send your first draft. I am not saying don’t seek critique. I am saying all things in moderation. How many drafts of my letter did I do—maybe four. How many people did I show it to for review before it went out? Five (and two of them weren’t even writers). Did it work? More than uncommonly well (I had a very high request rate, snagged an agent I adore and now have a publishing contract). Could my letter have been better? Sure. But if I were still working on polishing it, then my book wouldn’t be coming out in March 2012 would it?
Monday, June 27, 2011
Query Writing 101
by Calista Taylor
We've had some great posts written here at FTWA on queries and querying, but I thought it might be helpful to go back to the basics of a query. There are many formats out there, and the following is a good basic format, similar to that found on Agent Query. I've found it to be very successful, hooking the reader, and giving just enough information for them to want to request more.
I will preface this by saying the format below is for fiction queries you plan on sending via email. You can still use the query for snail mail, but you'll want to follow traditional letter writing guidelines for your format.
General Guidelines:
Format:
A few notes and helpful hints:
Querying is never easy, but I hope this helps clarify things. Do you have any favorite tricks that makes querying easier for you?
We've had some great posts written here at FTWA on queries and querying, but I thought it might be helpful to go back to the basics of a query. There are many formats out there, and the following is a good basic format, similar to that found on Agent Query. I've found it to be very successful, hooking the reader, and giving just enough information for them to want to request more.
I will preface this by saying the format below is for fiction queries you plan on sending via email. You can still use the query for snail mail, but you'll want to follow traditional letter writing guidelines for your format.
General Guidelines:
- You want your letter to be at most one page in length, single spaced, with a hard return between paragraphs and no indentation at the start of each paragraph.
- Make sure your letter is written in third person, present tense.
- VOICE!!! The voice of your manuscript should be evident in your query letter—if your manuscript is funny and light or dark and mysterious, the voice of your query letter should reflect that. Your query MUST have voice, or you're putting yourself at a huge disadvantage.
- Your query should be customized to each agent—no mass mailings unless you want to have your query letter deleted without ever being read.
- Put your title in caps. You do not, however, put the character names in caps (that's your synopsis).
Format:
- In the subject line, type: Query: Title of your manuscript (the title should be in all caps)
- Address the agent in the following format—Dear Mr./Ms. (Insert agent's First and Last Name):
- First Paragraph—Your Hook: Your hook should be one sentence—two at the most, and is essentially your pitch or tagline. The key is to really grab the reader and make them want to read the book. It should capture what makes your story unique. Do NOT use rhetorical questions! That's a big no-no.
- Second Paragraph (or a BRIEF second and third paragraph)—This is a summary of the first third of your story. It should show the conflict and what's at stake for the main character. Only use two to three character names. Why just the first third of your story? You want to include enough to grab your reader's imagination, but only give them enough to hook them, so they want to request the manuscript in order to find out what happens. You do not want to include your ending (that's also your synopsis).
- Third Paragraph (or fourth, depending on your summary)—Your bio. Only include writing related accomplishments. If you don't have any, don't worry—just skip the bio. And please don't tell the agent you've been writing since kindergarten.
- Final Paragraph—Your closing. Include the title, genre and word count. If you're querying this agent for a specific reason (other than the obvious), I'd include that here. Also summarize what you've included, based on the agent's preferences (First chapter? First five pages and a synopsis?), and then a brief thank you.
- Your closing information—End the letter with: Sincerely, (hard return) your first and last name. Use another hard return and then include your contact information (address, phone, email). Optional: include your pen name, blog, and/or website.
A few notes and helpful hints:
- Test your query format by sending the email to yourself. Do not use italics—it will usually come across as jumbled nonsense once sent.
- Save your query letter and any included pages as a draft in your email. When you're ready to query, copy the query (and pages if needed) and paste it into a new email. This will ensure you have fewer email formatting issues. Before you send, make sure to customize your query letter for the agent you are sending it to.
- To avoid any mistakes, put the agent's email address in as the final step, only after you have double checked to make sure you've made all your changes.
- When you do respond to a request, the first thing you should do is delete the "m" off of the ".com" on the agent's email address. Then you can make sure you've included and attached and double checked everything, without accidentally sending a response before you're ready. When you're good to go, just type the "m" back onto the end of the email address and hit send.
Querying is never easy, but I hope this helps clarify things. Do you have any favorite tricks that makes querying easier for you?
Monday, May 23, 2011
Voice—It's not just for manuscripts anymore (actually, it never was)
by Sophie Perinot
Query letters (*sigh*). Most writers would rather gnaw off their own arm than write one. But, if you want to make a run at acquiring an agent and getting a traditional publishing deal, there is no escape—write one you must. There’s a lot of chatter out there in writer-land about “the rules” of querying. Don’t believe me? Peruse the archives for any of the dozens of excellent agent or author blogs, or head over to one of the on-line writing communities (AgentQuery Connect is my personal favorite) and count the number of threads/posts devoted to crafting, critiquing and editing query letters. But one of the most important elements of a successful query is often overlooked in those numerous and lengthy discussions—voice.
This is a major oversight. I would posit that snagging an agent with a good query is NOT merely about what you say but is equally about HOW you say it. For those of you who have seen “The King’s Speech” (and if you haven’t, forget reading my post and get yourself that DVD) think of the moment at Westminster Abbey when Geoffrey Rush (playing speech therapist Lionel Logue) asks Colin Firth’s George VI of England, “Why should I waste my time listening to you?’ The King’s answer. . . “Because I have a voice.” If you want agents to listen to you, to pay attention to the punchy mini-synopsis of your oh-so-clever plot that you spent a gazillion drafts perfecting, then you’d better let the voice that imbues your manuscript sing out from your query letter as well.
Why is voice the forgotten step-sister of the query letter discussion and, consequently, MIA in so many structurally sound query letters? I think there are a couple of reasons.
Voice is not easy to define. There is no nice little check-list of steps that I (or anyone) can give you to follow in order to make certain that your query letter has voice. But I think every writer can learn to recognize the presence or absence of voice. As Justice Stewart said (in his concurring opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio) “I know it when I see it”—okay, okay Justice Stewart was talking about obscenity not voice, but substitute the word and the point is the same. You can spot voice even if you can’t define it. You just need a little practice. Next time you sit down to read query letter examples (you can always head to the threads full of queries posted for critique at various writers’ sites for this exercise) don’t fall into line-edit mode. Don’t look for the flaws in the hook; point out the missing comma in the second sentence; or immediately notice that the writer has mentioned too many characters by name. Read the entire letter beginning to end rapidly to get a “feel” for it. Does the letter set a mood? Does it have a distinctive tone? Is the author’s style of writing consistent from beginning to end? Does the query create a world that you are sucked into (even if it is only for three brief paragraphs)? If the letter does any of those things, then—ding-ding-ding we have a winner—the letter has voice.
Voice is very individual. Once you’ve learned to sort query letters into “voiced” and “voiceless” piles you can’t merely use the queries that have a clear voice as a template for your own. Rats. You need to go back to the roots of the story you are trying to pitch—your manuscript. What tone and style of writing do you use to tell your story? If you were writing a blurb for the back cover of your novel how would it read? DON’T over think this (yes, I can see your brow furrowing already from my desk in cyberspace)! Just grab your keyboard and pound out one or two draft cover blurbs. Do they have voice? If so, imo, you are well on your way to a great query. All you have to do is massage those blurbs to make sure the critical information (hook, mini-synopsis, closing paragraph w/stats) agents expect in every query are all there. Remember, however, this “voice” approach does not mean writing your query in the same POV or tense as your book. Queries need to be third person present tense. It does mean creating the same ambiance.
Nothing kills voice like committee. Read that again. This is the most heartbreaking of my points. You’ve learned to spot voice. You’ve gotten back in sync with the voice that drove your manuscript and you’ve drafted a query letter that you believe employs that same voice. But you can still blow it by editing the voice out—often with the help of others.
Now it is wonderful (truly) that we writers have so many on-line resources today. Besides asking our faithful critique partners to take a look at our draft query, we can post it and get dozens of opinions from fellow writers. We can then re-post a newer version of our query and get opinions all over again. And somewhere along the way, in trying to incorporate all those suggestions (yes, even the excellent ones) we can stamp out all the voice our poor little query letter ever had. If you can bear one more quote, as Lady Bracknell says in The Importance of Being Earnest, “I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate, exotic fruit. Touch it, and the bloom is gone.” Now this time you need to substitute “voice” for ignorance. When improving your letter (and I am NOT suggesting that you cannot learn from others, or that you cannot edit a letter in a way that is beneficial) take care that voice is not trampled under foot.
Don’t let other writers re-write your query for you in their own style (I am sure I am oft guilty of this in my query critiques and I take this opportunity to publicly offer a mea culpa for such behavior). Err on the side of voice. Be prepared to ignore people. If you feel that making your letter fit a format or satisfy a majority of those who commented will destroy the voice of the letter step slowly away from the precipice. Thank everyone politely and then stop checking that darn comments thread. And remember that every comment should be “gut” checked. Trust your gut. Your gut (and your brain) wrote your manuscript. That puppy is probably 80k words so your gut and your brain can manage 200-300 words worth of query. I guess the position I am ultimately taking is: maybe a little feedback is better than a lot when you are trying to develop and project your author-voice. I would never have wanted 10 or 20 (let alone 30 or 50) opinions on my query. I got four. If that is heresy so be it.
What do you think—is voice as crucial an element in your query as in your manuscript? Is it as important as a clear synopsis of the plot? More important? Can voice alone can generate requests? Do you have a useful test/method to share for identifying writing with voice?
Query letters (*sigh*). Most writers would rather gnaw off their own arm than write one. But, if you want to make a run at acquiring an agent and getting a traditional publishing deal, there is no escape—write one you must. There’s a lot of chatter out there in writer-land about “the rules” of querying. Don’t believe me? Peruse the archives for any of the dozens of excellent agent or author blogs, or head over to one of the on-line writing communities (AgentQuery Connect is my personal favorite) and count the number of threads/posts devoted to crafting, critiquing and editing query letters. But one of the most important elements of a successful query is often overlooked in those numerous and lengthy discussions—voice.
This is a major oversight. I would posit that snagging an agent with a good query is NOT merely about what you say but is equally about HOW you say it. For those of you who have seen “The King’s Speech” (and if you haven’t, forget reading my post and get yourself that DVD) think of the moment at Westminster Abbey when Geoffrey Rush (playing speech therapist Lionel Logue) asks Colin Firth’s George VI of England, “Why should I waste my time listening to you?’ The King’s answer. . . “Because I have a voice.” If you want agents to listen to you, to pay attention to the punchy mini-synopsis of your oh-so-clever plot that you spent a gazillion drafts perfecting, then you’d better let the voice that imbues your manuscript sing out from your query letter as well.
Why is voice the forgotten step-sister of the query letter discussion and, consequently, MIA in so many structurally sound query letters? I think there are a couple of reasons.
Voice is not easy to define. There is no nice little check-list of steps that I (or anyone) can give you to follow in order to make certain that your query letter has voice. But I think every writer can learn to recognize the presence or absence of voice. As Justice Stewart said (in his concurring opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio) “I know it when I see it”—okay, okay Justice Stewart was talking about obscenity not voice, but substitute the word and the point is the same. You can spot voice even if you can’t define it. You just need a little practice. Next time you sit down to read query letter examples (you can always head to the threads full of queries posted for critique at various writers’ sites for this exercise) don’t fall into line-edit mode. Don’t look for the flaws in the hook; point out the missing comma in the second sentence; or immediately notice that the writer has mentioned too many characters by name. Read the entire letter beginning to end rapidly to get a “feel” for it. Does the letter set a mood? Does it have a distinctive tone? Is the author’s style of writing consistent from beginning to end? Does the query create a world that you are sucked into (even if it is only for three brief paragraphs)? If the letter does any of those things, then—ding-ding-ding we have a winner—the letter has voice.
Voice is very individual. Once you’ve learned to sort query letters into “voiced” and “voiceless” piles you can’t merely use the queries that have a clear voice as a template for your own. Rats. You need to go back to the roots of the story you are trying to pitch—your manuscript. What tone and style of writing do you use to tell your story? If you were writing a blurb for the back cover of your novel how would it read? DON’T over think this (yes, I can see your brow furrowing already from my desk in cyberspace)! Just grab your keyboard and pound out one or two draft cover blurbs. Do they have voice? If so, imo, you are well on your way to a great query. All you have to do is massage those blurbs to make sure the critical information (hook, mini-synopsis, closing paragraph w/stats) agents expect in every query are all there. Remember, however, this “voice” approach does not mean writing your query in the same POV or tense as your book. Queries need to be third person present tense. It does mean creating the same ambiance.
Nothing kills voice like committee. Read that again. This is the most heartbreaking of my points. You’ve learned to spot voice. You’ve gotten back in sync with the voice that drove your manuscript and you’ve drafted a query letter that you believe employs that same voice. But you can still blow it by editing the voice out—often with the help of others.
Now it is wonderful (truly) that we writers have so many on-line resources today. Besides asking our faithful critique partners to take a look at our draft query, we can post it and get dozens of opinions from fellow writers. We can then re-post a newer version of our query and get opinions all over again. And somewhere along the way, in trying to incorporate all those suggestions (yes, even the excellent ones) we can stamp out all the voice our poor little query letter ever had. If you can bear one more quote, as Lady Bracknell says in The Importance of Being Earnest, “I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate, exotic fruit. Touch it, and the bloom is gone.” Now this time you need to substitute “voice” for ignorance. When improving your letter (and I am NOT suggesting that you cannot learn from others, or that you cannot edit a letter in a way that is beneficial) take care that voice is not trampled under foot.
Don’t let other writers re-write your query for you in their own style (I am sure I am oft guilty of this in my query critiques and I take this opportunity to publicly offer a mea culpa for such behavior). Err on the side of voice. Be prepared to ignore people. If you feel that making your letter fit a format or satisfy a majority of those who commented will destroy the voice of the letter step slowly away from the precipice. Thank everyone politely and then stop checking that darn comments thread. And remember that every comment should be “gut” checked. Trust your gut. Your gut (and your brain) wrote your manuscript. That puppy is probably 80k words so your gut and your brain can manage 200-300 words worth of query. I guess the position I am ultimately taking is: maybe a little feedback is better than a lot when you are trying to develop and project your author-voice. I would never have wanted 10 or 20 (let alone 30 or 50) opinions on my query. I got four. If that is heresy so be it.
What do you think—is voice as crucial an element in your query as in your manuscript? Is it as important as a clear synopsis of the plot? More important? Can voice alone can generate requests? Do you have a useful test/method to share for identifying writing with voice?
Friday, April 1, 2011
BBC's Query Tips: Knowledge Gleaned From Years of Stalking Agent Blogs
by Mindy McGinnis
I've got a round of agent blogs that I check up on and read almost daily. From this I've learned a few things that should be basic starting points for anyone who is getting ready to jump into the world of querying, and also a good refresher for those of us who have been at it for years... and years.
I've got a round of agent blogs that I check up on and read almost daily. From this I've learned a few things that should be basic starting points for anyone who is getting ready to jump into the world of querying, and also a good refresher for those of us who have been at it for years... and years.
1) DON'T tell the agent how awesome you are. Every single agent I've read who comments upon this agrees: A modest writer is a better writer.2) DON'T mass email your query. Most agents won't even read a query that has multiple recipients or is not addressed to them specifically.
DO double check your spelling of the agent's name. Also, be sure of their gender.
3) DON'T tell the agent that your grandma and your son's friends love your book. Why? Your grandma won't tell you if you suck.
4) DON'T even send that query if your word count is over a certain number. That number can be played with according to genre, but basic
guidelines will tell you that any unpublished, unrepped writer querying their novel that is over 100,000 words is sunk before they leave the harbor.
5) DON'T be overly friendly with your tone. A query is a business letter. You're approaching a professional about your hope for establishing a professional relationship with them. Opening with, "What's up?" isn't how to get your foot in the door.
DO personalize in a professional manner. Do you follow their blog? Did they mention they're looking for a certain type of project
that your ms fits perfectly? Tell them that. The agent wants to know why you're querying THEM—and hopefully it's not just because
they're an agent and you're a writer.
6) DON'T make assumptions. Dear agent: I know your submission guidelines say that you only want a query, but my novel is so awesome I know you'll want the full right off. So to save time, I attached it to this email. This goes back to DON'T #1 as well.
DO follow their guidelines. Every agent has a different way they like to approach their slush pile. Some will want the query, some will want a synopsis as well, some will ask for sample pages. Always check the agency site, or agent blog to learn their preferences. Also, some agent's preferences do differ from the blanket preferences listed on their agency site. If in doubt, go with what the agent profile or blog specifies.
DO when sending sample pages be sure to check specifications. The vast majority of agents will not accept attachments. Cut and paste into the body of the email.
7) DON'T hassle an agent. Ever. Did they read your query yet? Wait and see. Emailing them to ask if they read it will only irritate them and add your name to their mental list of people that annoy them. Not where you want to be when they do read your stuff.
DO feel free to check in after a period of time if an agent has your partial or full. VERY basic timelines would be anywhere from four to six months on a partial, even longer on a full. Yes, that long. Also—a lot of agents post where they're at with their partial and full piles in their blogs. Check there before obsessing too much.
8) DON'T think that you're the exception. A query is one page. Period. A great query weighs in around 300 words. Yup, that little.
9) DON'T open up by saying that you're an author seeking representation. I have a hard time picturing an agent reading that line and dropping their coffee cup to yell over to the next office—"GUESS WHAT!!!! I've got an author here seeking representation!!!!"
DO open with your hook. There is a debate about whether or not an agent wants to see the genre, title, word count first off so that they know what they're looking at. I personally always open with the hook, and it's served me well.
DO make sure you include genre, title, word count in your query somewhere. I prefer mine at the end.
10) DON'T tease the agent. "Will Cheryl live to fight another day? Can Bob save Lucy from Mr. Villain Man?" The agent might wonder if you're writing a serial radio program from the 1940's, and that market is kind of over.
11) DON'T wear a scrunchie like the one the girl pictured here is wearing. That also, is kind of over.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Six Benefits of Agent Representation
by Cat Woods
I started my query journey differently than most of the Write Angle Crew. Before I focused on juvenile literature, I wrote for adults. I mostly penned and published short stories, poetry, essays and articles. I even had a monthly column in a fourteen county newsletter. For those projects, I submitted directly to editors.
When I began my juvenile lit journey, I continued this pattern and submitted my book manuscripts directly to editors. I’d heard that securing an agent was more difficult than securing a publishing deal. I also wanted to remain in control. Not to mention, a super-teeny part of me wanted closed publishing houses to lament their lost shot at my writing. Not my shining moment, I admit, but honesty isn’t often pretty.
At one point, I stumbled across AgentQuery Connect where several astute writers convinced me to check out the agent route. I did, liked what I saw and gained a whole new respect for agents, editors and even those stubbornly closed publishing houses.
So, what are the benefits of securing an agent versus subbing solo?
In my experience:
In your experience, what are the pros and cons to securing an agent? What can an agent do for you that you can’t accomplish on your own?
I started my query journey differently than most of the Write Angle Crew. Before I focused on juvenile literature, I wrote for adults. I mostly penned and published short stories, poetry, essays and articles. I even had a monthly column in a fourteen county newsletter. For those projects, I submitted directly to editors.
When I began my juvenile lit journey, I continued this pattern and submitted my book manuscripts directly to editors. I’d heard that securing an agent was more difficult than securing a publishing deal. I also wanted to remain in control. Not to mention, a super-teeny part of me wanted closed publishing houses to lament their lost shot at my writing. Not my shining moment, I admit, but honesty isn’t often pretty.
At one point, I stumbled across AgentQuery Connect where several astute writers convinced me to check out the agent route. I did, liked what I saw and gained a whole new respect for agents, editors and even those stubbornly closed publishing houses.
So, what are the benefits of securing an agent versus subbing solo?
In my experience:
- My agent is contract savvy. I’m not, and don’t pretend to be. Not unless we’re talking potty training or preschool curriculum.
- He has inside contacts. I don’t. The closest publishing “in” I have is sitting two pews away from the owner of the local newspaper.
- He’s industry savvy. What I know about the writing biz would fill one paragraph of a twenty-seven-chapter novel. In this rapidly changing climate, I can’t possibly advocate for my best interests.
- I’m still shocked by this, but my agent loves my writing. Okay, that makes two of us, but his support and enthusiasm are amazing and inspiring on many levels.
- He was an editor. Me? Not so much. While I’ve got a pretty good grasp of the mechanics, I love having my manuscripts perused with a keen eye toward plot, character and story arc. I’m a better writer for my agent’s suggestions and carefully posed questions.
- He has time to shop my writing. With my busy personal and professional life, I have precious few moments to devote to my craft. Having an agent frees up my time and allows me to be a writer.
In your experience, what are the pros and cons to securing an agent? What can an agent do for you that you can’t accomplish on your own?
Agent Research
(credit)
by Jemi Fraser
You’ve written your draft. You’ve rewritten it ... several times. You’ve edited, revised, tweaked, slashed & burned those adverbs, then polished your story so it gleams. You’ve read Calista’s Ready to Query post & Mindy’s BBC’s Query Tips. Now you’re ready to send out your query to those agents lucky enough to receive it. Right?
Wrong.
Willy-nilly querying doesn’t work. Agents are specialists. They each represent genres they feel passionately about. Do you want someone representing you who feels ‘meh’ about your genre? Do you want to annoy an agent by sending him or her a genre they don’t represent? Heck no!
Agent research is a necessary part of the querying process. Researching is time-consuming, but if you don’t do it, you’re wasting a lot of your time—and a lot of agents’ time as well. I use three sites in particular to help me research agents. There are more out there, but these are three I use the most.
Agent Query. AQ is the first site I stumbled upon when the thought of attempting to publish my work crossed my mind. It’s an awesome site. AQ has a searchable database of current agent information. Once you’ve clicked on the link, you’ll see a couple of pull down menus on the left. You can choose fiction or nonfiction then a whole slew of genres. Choose your genre and you’ll get a list of all the agents who represent it, along with more specifics about them & links to their sites. You can narrow the search by clicking on Full Search and selecting from the new choices. This is really helpful when looking for agents who represent more than one genre.
Query Tracker. QT has another searchable database of agents. A free membership will give you access to the database and will help you track your research. Once you’ve logged in, use the tool bar and hold your mouse over the Agents tab—click on Search Agents. Like AQ, you can narrow your choices by genre and other items. We’ll get into more details about more options at QT in another post!
Both AQ & QT will lead you straight to the agents’ websites and blogs (if they have them). These are invaluable resources—we’ll tackle this topic with more depth later on.
Preditors and Editors. AQ & QT are fabulous for checking the agents they list. If the agent is listed there, you know the person is legit. There are far too many scammers out there. The P&E website is another check. This site shows you if the name (agent, agency, publisher) you search is legit or not. Click on Agents & Attorneys or Book Publishers, then click on the first letter in the name (it’s an alphabetical listing). A $ indicates actual sales listed for the person or company. Warnings are usually written in red.
Obviously, researching agents and deciding which ones to query is a huge topic. Hopefully this will give you a good place to start. In other posts we’ll cover agent bios, websites, Publisher’s Marketplace and more!
Have you used any of these sites? Any others to suggest?
Are You Ready To Query?
by Calista Taylor
After slaving away for months—years even—you’ve finally completed your first novel. You’ve given it to your friends and family to read, and they all LOVE IT! You do a happy dance with visions of a massive advance on a multiple book deal and a movie—make that movies!—starring your favorite actors. Ready to get that contract, you put together that list of agents and get ready to query.
But are you REALLY ready? Maybe. Maybe not. And I won't even comment on the massive advance or the movies.
There are so many things that need to be done before you query, and it’s very easy to either overlook something or not even be aware that you’ve missed a crucial step. Like anything, it’s all a learning process. When I finished my very first manuscript, I didn’t even know what a query was, and was woefully unprepared for the reality of querying agents.
So before you query, here’s a checklist to help make sure you truly are ready.
• Have you edited your COMPLETED manuscript?—Yes, for fiction you need to have a completed manuscript. And by “edited” I don’t just mean doing a read through. Of course, you need to make sure you’ve checked spelling, grammar and tense. But have you edited for info dumps, unnecessary words, words and thoughts that echo. Does your first page grab the reader and keep them turning the page? Have you made sure your first page doesn’t start with a dream sequence? Does your plot capture the reader’s attention? Does your plot make sense? Are there holes in your plot? Has your point of view remained consistent? Does it have voice? Is there too much description? Not enough? Are you showing versus telling?
• Is your word count appropriate for your genre?—This is very important. You don’t want to stray too far outside the norm. Yes, there are books that break the rules, but I’d argue that for every agent willing to overlook word count, there are another ten that won’t. You don’t want word count to be the reason an agent rejects your query.
• Have you had your manuscript critiqued?—Family members and friends do NOT count. It’s like asking your husband if your arse looks fat in the jeans you’ve been gushing about. In addition, most non-writers won’t have the skills needed to figure out what is wrong (please see points in editing your manuscript). For me, finding good critique partners was crucial to my development as a writer. You’ll likely have to don some thick skin, but honesty is critical, and it’s also why your friends and family do not make good beta readers and critique partners. Need a crit partner? Find one HERE.
• Write a query—There are a ton of great sites that address how to write a good query letter. The forums on Agent Query Connect and Query Tracker are great. You may also want to have your query critiqued. However, you should be careful about editing the voice and character out of your query. Too often, over-revisions can lead to a query that’s technically perfect but bland as baby food. You’ll also need to make sure each query is individualized for the agent it’s going out to. No mass mailings!! When you’re ready to query, it’s wise to query in small batches, in case your query isn’t working and needs to be tweaked. You only get to query the agent once per project.
• Write a synopsis—Wait! Make that—“Write multiple synopses.” Some agents will request or require a synopsis of a certain length and that can vary from agent to agent. You’ll want to write a short one and a long one, though you may find you need an extra short one in addition to the other two.
• Edit again!—It’s best if you let your manuscript sit for a few weeks (or even months) between edits. This allows you to look at the manuscript with fresh eyes.
• Research agents— There are some great sites for this—see Jemi's post for more details. I like using Agent Query and Query Tracker. I’d recommend sorting agents into your A-list, B-list, etc. and then when you query, select a few from each group so that you don’t burn through your A-list only to find you have a query that doesn’t work.
• Prepare your manuscript, query, synopsis—Make sure any tracked changes and comments have been removed and your formatting is correct. It’s also a smart move to send yourself a test query to make sure things aren’t getting jumbled in translation.
NOW you’re ready to query. Or should be. There are a few more things you may want to consider. Do you have a dedicated email for querying? Please make sure the email you’re using sounds professional—your name is fine, but a humorous email that may turn off an agent is not. Also make sure you don't have any weird filters on your email, and that your email does indeed work. Do you have a website or blog? Not exactly necessary at this stage, but it might be a consideration in the near future since it’s important to start building a platform.
When you do start querying, make sure you track things—Note the agent, the agency and the date you sent it. Note the query version you sent. Did you send a synopsis? Did you send pages? How many? And then when (if) you hear back, make sure you note that also.
It may seem like a lot, but being prepared will help you get through querying, which is never easy. I wish you the best of luck!
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