Querying Tips
Wednesday Writing Weekly #60
Manuscript Query
If you are ready to query your manuscript in pursuit of traditional publishing, I wanted to share a few tips that I haven’t been able to fit into my previous articles. These can help you stand out during the process and make it more manageable for you.
Query Your Manuscript in Batches
When you begin querying your manuscript, you will want to develop a list of literary agents to query. Before you start querying, I recommend coming up with a game plan. How many literary agents will you query, and how many at what time? It’s a good idea to break up your queries into batches. Maybe query 5 agents every week or aim for groups of 20 to 50 every three months. This allows you to break it up into manageable amounts while you wait for responses.
If you submit every query at the same time, what happens if you get a bunch of rejections that tell you your manuscript would have been better if one thing was different? That would have been great to know when you still had queries left to do! Space out your queries and make changes throughout the process as needed!
I think it’s obvious; but, spacing them out helps with burnout too!
Personalize Your Query Email
When querying many agents, never copy and paste the same email to every single person. Obviously, your author bio, hook, and other important information about your project can be the same, but you have an opportunity to stand out with a personal touch at the start of every email.
As you search for literary agents that are a good fit for your project, you will need to know what other books they have worked on, what genres they like, and more. Take this knowledge and personalize the first sentence in your email to them. Mention if they have worked on a book you enjoy. Tell them you know about their works and bring up a title that resonates with you. This shows them that you took the time to do your research and care about their expertise.
A bonus is if you have met them at an event, panel, or convention—bring this up!
Word-of-Mouth Connections
Just a side note… you will see some agents who are only open to new clients that are recommended by their current client list. Unless you know this person personally, move on. I sometimes hear about writers who still try to submit to these agents, but you are wasting your time as the agent is already letting you know the pool of work they are interested in.
Conclusion
These are just a few small tips, but I think they can make a big impact. Querying can be daunting, but following these tips and making a plan can save you a lot of grief. You will get a lot of rejections. Make sure your manuscript is clean and has been edited many times. Do not send in something you have rushed through, and try not to get discouraged as rejections start to come in. Next week, I want to talk about rejections. What a rejection can mean, how to handle them, and how they might nudge you in the right direction.