Queries and Agents and Research, oh my!

For so long, the task of locating an agent, much less querying one, was a daunting nightmare, like a black umbrella following me around. I had no clue what to do or where to start.

My degree, while in Creative Writing, had more of an emphasis on submitting to literary magazines since the fiction concentration was geared more towards writing short stories. It wasn't until I took a class called Writing the Young Adult Novel, taught by a professor who was a published YA author, that I even got a clue of where to start. He suggested some good database websites on where to find agents, but that still left me in the dark on the querying process, etc.

So began the need for a LOT of research; which I'm not very adept at, but none-the-less have slogged through for the nearly two years, post degree. However, recently, I was able to attend a writer's conference, Carolina Writing Workshop, which involved discussion and instruction on all things agents, queries, and platform. It was an eye-opener to say the least. It also helped me coalesce a lot of information that had been floating around in my head into useable material.

Everything from here on is a combination of that conference and my own research.

Finding an agent. First, my suggestion is to pick a method of organization. A friend of mine uses a spreadsheet. I started one of those, but it didn't feel fright. Even though I type my stories now, I used to write my novels out long-hand until my hand couldn't keep up with my brain. But I still find ways to manually write whenever I can. So, for my agent-tracker, I bought a notebook; one of those trade-back-novel-sized, spiral-bound ones from B&N that I can't seem to stop collecting because the covers are so pretty and they're sturdy. The process of this was cathartic and I felt closer to the material that I put inside. Then, make headers for the information you're going to want within easy reach so that you don't have to keep referencing back to the agent's website constantly; unless you just want to make sure you're all caught up on the recent news about them before you submit to them. To the right here, is an example of mine, if you need a place to start.

After that, Google is your friend. For example, I put "romance novel agents" into the search bar and started from there. Or you can use one fo the many databases out there to start with. No matter what links you click on, or lists you find, the main point is that you're just getting names: names of agents and names of agencies. After that, it's up to you to put those names into your preferred search engine and go straight to the source for accurate information about these people and their organizations. You want to go to their website and look at as much information on them as you can.

Look at each agency and see which agent fits your requirements best, even if it's not the agent you originally went to the site to research. You must know who your audience is; which translates into what your genre is. Therefore, this next step is very important: pick the agent that represents your genre the best since you can only query to one agent from an agency at a time. Yes, you can simultaneously submit to multiple agencies, but not simultaneously submit to multiple agents within one agency. If, for some reason, the agent that you reach out to likes your work but can't take it on, or thinks a co-worker would be a better choice for representing you, they will pass it on. If you receive a no from an agent, it's a no from the agency. Don't waste your time then reaching out to another agent at that agency, it will be an automatic no.

This is where you make your list. Agents don't hide. They're out there and they want you to find them. If you can't find them, then there's no way for them to make a living. An agent is your advocate to the publishing world. They're waiting for you to send them the next piece they'll be stoked to represent and sell.

The key is, once you've picked the agents you'd like to query, you have to pay attention to their requirements for how they want the query letter to be laid out and how they want it sent to them. They usually spell it out clearly in a 'submission guidelines' tab on their website so there's no confusion. For example, do they only take emailed queries or snail-mailed ones? Do they want a portion of the work to accompany the letter? What do they want in the subject line if the query is emailed? Follow their instructions. If you don't pay attention to this, then you're wasting your time because they will immediately disregard it. Not to be mean, but they see SO many queries in a given day, the ones that look they way they specify will be the ones to at least make it in the door. For example, if they ask that the agent's name be put in the subject line, and you don't do this, they will delete the email due to having no clue who it's supposed to get to; they don't have time to open it up and see who the salutation salutes. So, if you put valuable effort into a query, make it count. As Chuck Sambuchino said at CWW, "Don't give them a reason to reject you."

And yes, we all have that moment where we look up at the ceiling and rail about this being too difficult. Why can't every query letter be the same? Take that moment, complain to your muse, and then stop putting your effort into what you can't change. Set your sights on making the perfect query letter for each agent. To put it into perspective, if you're soliciting them for their time to make you a published author, the least you can do is make sure it's worth their time.

Here are some good guidelines to know and start with. There are three basic parts to a query: the introduction, the pitch, and the bio. The introduction should include a salutation, the title of your book, the genre, and a rough word count. Make sure to include the genre because it acts like a book cover for the agent. If you want to stand out, you can add a connection, if it applies. Such as, something you may have read if you follow their blog or twitter, or if you came across them in a special way other than a Google search. For example: Dear Ms. Smith, I would like to submit my novel, One Day at a Time, for your consideration. It is a Contemporary Romance novel, complete at just over 100,000 words. I read in your recent blog post that you've been craving daredevil heroines. I believe the one in my novel would fit your appatite.

You can compare yourself or your style to an already published author, but I wouldn't recommend it, simply because most agents then have extra expectations you've created for yourself that might be a detriment in the end. You want to stand out as your own artist, not be in the shadow of others. However, I've seen comparisons that have used fan-base be successful. For example, you could tack, "This novel would appeal to fans of X and Y" after your word count if you want.

Then comes your pitch. This is where you should write a back-cover version of your book. Here, research helps on deciding what it pertinent to include. This is where I had the most trouble. For some reason, once I'd written the story, I couldn't get it down under ten sentences, which is the most popular recommendation I keep coming across. Most agents want a pitch as opposed to a synopsis. The difference between the two is: a pitch is the back-cover-of-the-book type summary that doesn't give away the ending; where as, a synopsis is a cover-to-cover summary of the novel that does give away the ending and also touches on the important plot points so the agent knows exactly what's going to happen. An agent will specify which they want. Here are some good Examples of Successful Queries that really helped me craft mine. This is a blog Chuck posted and it was my first exposure to him. Just be sure to look at the genre of each example. This will help you to see which pieces of each query will be most beneficial to helping you write yours. Be sure to take everything as a suggestion for inspiring your own version. Don't just copy and paste.

For the bio, you'll want to include anything of value, such as education, profession, or previous publications, to conclude the letter. If you're trying to find representation for your debut novel and therefore have no previous publications or applicable avocations, you can simply say: Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you. However, don't include anything extremely personal unless you're connecting to the agent on something they've mentioned specifically. If, in their bio on their agency's site, they happen to mention a favorite something that's also a favorite of yours, you can mention that you're a fellow fan, but don't just say it to capture their attention. That kind of falsehood won't help you and will more than likely come back to bite you.

Strong writing, compelling story, and great characters is what most agents are looking for. I know it seems crazy that an agent could get a feel for your voice in just a one-page letter, but they can. Which is why it's so important for you to make sure your letter is as well-written and as tight as possible. And the biggest piece of advice I got form the agents at CWW, and also from agents I follow on Twitter: don't be vague! Vagueness isn't an enticement or a turn-on for agents, it's a turn-OFF. Be specific in your query and let your story handle the tension.

It's also been recommended to pick just a few agents to query first. Don't send your query to every agent on your list, because if something's wrong with it, then you've just wasted your shot at those agents. Pick 5-10 to start off with. If all 10 send a rejection, or you don't receive an answer within the time period they specify on their website (a.k.a. a rejection), you might be lucky enough that one will respond with why they said no. Sometimes it's the query letter, sometimes it's the story, the voice, or some other reason. You'll never be able to pinpoint the exact thing that every agent is going to connect to. And just because one agent says it's X or Y, don't take that as gospel and change both X and Y. That's just that one agent's opinion. You just have to do your best and keep trying to make your query as strong as possible. Don't let rejection discourage you. I have a pretty box on my desk specifically for my rejection letter to help me keep my moral up.

Once I researched what is supposed to be in a pitch, or in a synopsis, or in any piece of the query letter, the process became more that just that confusing, evil umbrella. Now that I've started, there's not enough time in the day to work on my letter and try to find agents to add to my notebook. I know it also helped to hear Chuck's confident tone at the conference on the material. I would highly recommend any workshop he is a part of. Visit his twitter, or even pick up his books. He specializes in helping others find the resources to get published. I would also recommend attending any professional event that involves writing in your area: conferences, join a writer's group, or a book club, just to keep you around other like-minded people and develop trusted opinions to help you. Helping others also keeps your skills up.

If you have any questions about the information in this blog, or my process, feel free to contact me. And best of luck with your query letter!