#querying agents

[novlr]

I've often seen many publications and publishers often require a cover letter for submissions along side the work itself. Do you have any advice on how to make a decent cover letter when submitting fiction?

Query letters can be intimidating, but they’re completely manageable if you approach them in three easy steps. We’ll walk you through each one:

1: The introduction

This part’s pretty simple. You say hi to the agent; you get their name right (v. important!), you scatter in some personalisation, and you state your cause: to secure representation for your book. 

A few important things to remember:

Address the agent by their first name — not by “Sir or Madam,” and definitely never as “Sirs.”

If you open your query letter with “Dear Sirs” and send it to an all-female agency, your letter’s going to get chucked in the shredder. If the women of this agency are particularly vindictive, they may then take the shreds and make them into a voodoo doll.

Open with a quick note about why you chose this agent in particular. It might be that you heard them speak at a conference, you loved the books they listed as influences on their website, or you noted that they represent one of your favourite authors. Even though agents know that you’re querying several dozen others, they want to feel like you’ve chosen them for a reason.

2: The pitch

So now you’ve got their attention and made them feel special; it’s time to introduce them to the headliner. In this section, you state the novel’s word count and genre. Then you describe, in just two or three sentences, what the book’s about. Finally, you throw down a few comparison titles or authors that encompass your target audience. 

This is the trickiest part, because these are the lines that’s going to make the agent interested in reading your book. You may find it helpful to get some feedback on your pitch from other writers before writing your query. In your pitch, you’ll need to strike a delicate balance between writing in a literary tradition and writing something new. If your book is too weird and progressive, the agent might not feel confident it will find an audience. But if it’s too similar to titles that are already out, the agent won’t feel like you’re offering anything fresh. 

3: The humblebrag

Now that you’ve sold the agent on your book, the next and final step is to sell them on you. At this point, you can mention any writing you’ve published in the past (including short stories or related articles), any training you’ve undergone as a writer, and any biographical trivia that directly relates to the book you’re pitching. 

You may not have a huge amount of professional history to share at this point, and that’s okay. The agent just wants to see that you’re serious about embarking on a career as a writer.

Then, you thank them for their time and sign off. See? Easy!

Want some more detail? You can read the full post in the Reading Room at the link below!

[hayatheauthor]

Update Regarding My Sudden Hiatus + Author/Publishing News

Guess who's back from the dead!

Jokes aside, I truly do feel terrible for going on hiatus without saying anything, and then I come back and see that I've hit 2k (which btw is absolutely amazing and left me shell-shocked) and that just made me feel worse for leaving unannounced. So, here's everything that's been going on:

(click read more if you want to learn about my experience at my first writer's workshop & pitching to an agent ++ publishing updates for The Traitor's Throne)

If you DON'T want to read more: long story short I'm back and will revamp this blog Monday onwards.

Would you look at that I'm finally getting the hang of Tumblr etiquette!

Anyways, I know if I took the liberty of casually explaining everything we would just be here all day and I would ramble endlessly SO, I'm going to summarise everything into a list:

One of the biggest reasons for my departure was because *insert drum roll* I graduated! That's right, your girl is officially a diploma holder and ready to conquer college! Although I've seen the 'finals week or my final week' meme enough times to start questioning what I signed up for.

My writing life has been a little...disappointing. There's no other way to break it to you folks, but when I started this blog, I was knee-deep in the query trenches, and now, I'm still there. Does that suck? Yes. Am I going to give up? Absolutely not! BUT I do have some changes planned:

I've officially decided if this final shot at traditional publishing doesn't do well, I'm going to give in and self-publish The Traitor's Throne in May-June 2024. Which means you might potentially be able to purchase my baby pretty soon!

BUT I decided to give querying one last shot and actually joined a writer's workshop (which is going on as we speak btw). I joined the online Boston Writing Workshop, I'll drop a review on that on Sunday, but so far I've actually learned A LOT from it, and have decided to give querying another go while implementing what I've learned. Dw I'll also be putting out a review about the workshop on Sunday.

So, here's a summary: I've created a self-publishing deadline for my current project while also giving traditional publishing a final shot. I also joined my first ever writer's workshop this weekend and will be pitching to agents for the first time.

Overall, I think my lack of success in the querying scene kind of made me feel like a fraud when giving writing advice. I'm the type of author who does A LOT of research when I write, which is why I have so many tips on so many topics, but that doesn't make me an expert.

This workshop especially made me realise I've been making some rookie mistakes and focused so much on my story that I forgot the query and synopsis are just as important. Maybe this realisation came too late and I've lost my chance of traditionally publishing The Traitor's Throne, but I am grateful for everything it's taught me.

ANYWAYS—see what I meant by we'd be here the whole day if I didn't use a list??

Let's get back to the important stuff; yes, I will start putting out blogs again, and answering my asks. I'm also thinking of launching a beta reader project where I'll beta read some of your works for free! Stay tuned to see that announcement since it'll come soon.

Thank you so much for supporting this silly little blog of mine, and I hope you have a good weekend! As always, I'll see you on Monday! 💕✨

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

I love your posts, it’s so interesting to read your opinions and summaries!

Any updates on the books you’re writing?

Hi, thanks so much! I’m so glad you enjoy my posts, and thanks for your interest in my book too!

I’m currently in the process of querying agents to see if they’d be interested in representing my book and trying to sell it to publishers, and to be entirely honest it’s not going great. Publishing is a tough business to break into, but I’m holding out hope and by and large I’ve had kind and polite responses even when agents aren’t interested in my work. When something so personal to you is on the line it can be difficult to remind yourself that agents are very busy people and by not responding to you they don’t intend to be rude or to ignore you, they simply have a lot of submissions to look through and only a very small percentage of them will be offered representation.

In terms of the actual writing itself I’ve finished the detailed outline of the second book in the trilogy and begun writing my first full draft. I’m hoping to write my initial rough draft by hand to stop me from editing as I go, and then type everything up to create my second draft. I’m really excited about the progress and I’m looking forward to getting deeper into this book and pushing my characters to new limits as well as further expanding on my worldbuilding.

I’m waiting on response from another 6 agents right now, so hopefully I will be able to share some positive news with you all some time soon, but if not I hope to find another way to share my writing! Thanks for your interest, and I’m so glad you enjoy my posts ❤️

[jennadevillierwrites]

I don’t want to jinx anything, but it’s been a ✨good week✨ for querying 😌

[author-mandi-bean]

On another year older ...

I'm another year older and instead of believing I'm another year farther from the life I imagined, I'm working on embracing the belief I'm another year closer to a life beyond my wildest dreams.

Apologies; the post is later than scheduled this week because Wednesday was my 36th birthday. I had a wonderful time celebrating with friends, and it helped keep the existential dread that accompanies turning another year older at bay. At least for a little while. But inevitably, the fear that I’m falling behind creeps up on me. Being completely vulnerable and almost completely honest, by this…

[barryfox]

Tips for Writing a Query Letter for a Non-Fiction Book

Through the years, many people have asked me how to write a query letter for their non-fiction books. (I’m a ghostwriter.)

The query letter is the “pitch note” that you send to literary agents you hope will represent you and your manuscript. 

Here’s a brief summary of things to consider when writing your letter. If you like, you can read more at "How To Write A Query Letter.” 

#1 - Keep it short and sweet!

Keep your query letter to a page, a page and a half at the most. Any longer and you risk boring the agent, while proving that you cannot present your idea and its key selling points quickly and concisely.

#2 - Begin with the proper salutation

The query should always open with a salutation, as in “Dear Ms. Smith” or “Dear John Smith.” Address your query letter to a specific agent at a specific literary agency – and spell the name properly

#3 - Give the book’s hook

The hook, also known as the handle or elevator pitch, is an intriguing statement that answers three important questions: “Why?” “Who cares?” and “What will it do for me?”

#4 - State your purpose and give the basic details

Explain what you’re looking for, as in “I’m seeking representation...” Then, give the basic information: title, subtitle (if any), word count, genre, and the target readership (who will buy your book and why).

#5 - Tell the agent why you picked her or him

Mention why you sent your query letter to this particular agent. Perhaps she represents books similar to yours, or you saw that she requested books like yours on her WishList.

#6 - Identify the target audience

In other words, briefly explain who the book is written for.

#7 - Show them your platform

Mention some of the highlights of your author platform in your query letter. Learn more about the author platform by reading “How to Build Your Author Platform - 8 Key Steps.”

#8 - Explain how you will help sell the book

Briefly detail what you will do to promote and sell your book.

#9 - Tell the agent who you are

Briefly mention who you are and why you’re qualified to write this book.

#10 - Give them a taste of your writing style

Although you should write the letter in a professional manner, you can take the opportunity to demonstrate your writing style. But don’t go to extremes. Remember, the query is a business letter.

#11 - Close properly

End your letter by thanking the agent for reading your query.

#12 – A Few Things to Avoid

Submit a query letter with typos, brag about or belittle yourself, disparage other authors, misrepresent anything about your book or yourself, say that everyone tells you that your book idea is fabulous, use imaginative fonts or layouts, or ramble on.

Good luck with your query letter! 

[adastra-sf]

Bad news for those querying agents: "AI" is ruining this, too

Sending your book manuscript off to agents in hopes of selling it? Be aware that at least some of them have taken the lazy route and are now using "artificial intelligence" to process submissions, thereby wrecking the author/ agent process.

If an agent doesn't read your manuscript themselves, don't trust them to be able to sell it to a publisher, either. Any agents doing this have made themselves irrelevant and unnecessary, and aren't worth paying agenting fees, as they only slow submission to publishers.

[raineandsky]

Imagine a hero x villain where the villain is kind of inept, and he basically has one last attempt to convince supervillain he's worthy of his job (and possibly life tbh), and he comes across a badly injured hero. This starts a long con where he ingratiates himself with her, slowly learning details to her powers (think Black Canary's scream), only to sell her out to supervillain. But it turns out he ... might have grown a little fond of her.

Probably a really basic idea. 😅

there's no basic ideas in this house - we like what we like!! thank you for the request as always :)

His whole plan was leading up to this moment. Why is he stalling?

The villain stands outside the supervillain’s door. He should be in there, should be explaining his master plan the he knows the supervillain will love, but no—here he is, lingering outside like a wimp.

He knows why he’s lingering. Of course he does, it’s been pretty hard to avoid.

He found a hero. Injured, weak, vulnerable. He took her in and helped her recover, all under the guise of some concerned civilian who just so happened to know emergency first aid. She was unsure at first; closed off, speaking only to thank him for the food he brought her and the bandages he wound around her injuries.

Then she got comfortable. Talked about her work, the other heroes, how her power worked—her sonic blast, to give it a name. She demonstrated on his poor mug, his favourite, and beamed when the villain showered her in praise and amazement. As heroes do.

She got better, returned to the agency, but not without the stab of affection the villain had managed to plant in her.

The hero returned, of course. Talks of heroism turned into talks of life—her cat was probably eating all her food, heroism made her awful lonely, his sofa was cosy with a blanket over her lap and the fireplace crackling in front of her, could he draw her, please? The villain had tried to play his pad of notes—notes on her—off as a sketchbook before, and was suddenly deeply regretting it.

The drawing’s still in there. He’s been looking at it, with all its wonky lines and uneven pen marks, as he pieced together his plan. Maybe too much. It’s clearly had an effect.

Dammit, now he’s thinking about it again—thinking about her. All he should be thinking about is how he can manipulate the information out of her for the supervillain’s gain. All he can think about is the movie night they’ve planned for this evening.

The supervillain appears at the end of the corridor. He eyes the villain for an awkward moment before he says, “Everything alright, [Villain]?”

Come on, do it. No, don’t. The villain shuffles on his feet. “Yeah. Could I grab you for a meeting quickly?”

The supervillan’s expression only gets more quizzical but he doesn’t say no. He opens his office door and ushers the villain inside with a sigh.

He flops down in his chair, gesturing idly for the villain to start. The villain flips his notepad open, his speech laid out in his mind. I’ve integrated myself into [Hero]’s life. With a little pushing, think of what we could find out! He glances down at the page for inspiration.

The notepad has been open on this page too much recently. It flips itself, irritatingly, to that godawful 30 second drawing, and any words the villain was gearing up to say die on his tongue.

He showed it to the hero with a grimace and she laughed. Loud, unabashed. Like someone who isn’t afraid of who she is. “Looks just like me!” she cried. “It’s no Picasso, sure, but it was by you, so that must count for something!”

The lines are even more crooked than he remembered. Jesus, why did he keep this? It doesn’t do her justice.

“[Villain]?”

The villain looks back up like he just remembered where he is. He did, honestly. He was more than a little lost in his own thoughts. Thinking about her like some irritating fly that just won’t take the hint away no matter how much you swat it.

“Yeah, I, uh, yeah.” Flawless start. The villain clears his throat and flips the pad closed. “I just, uh, thought I’d say that whatever you’ve done with the light bulbs is good. It’s, uh, brighter. In here. In all the rooms.”

The supervillain stares at him blankly. “Is that… what this was about?”

No! “Yeah.”

The supervillain has never had less emotion on his face than right now. “Okay.”

“Okay,” the villain echoes, and with a quick nod he turns on his heel and gets the hell out of there.

The halls are quiet, thankfully. The villain lobs the notepad in the first bin he finds, and after taking three steps he grumbles to himself and pulls it back out and tears the drawing out and replaces the pad in the bin.

He might as well just go home. He has a movie night to set up anyway, and he needs to rob the corner store of all the popcorn they have.

[friendamedes]

submitted my first ever manuscript to a literary agent a couple months ago and got my first ever rejection today!! this is so huge for me

[novlr]

Lots of people have told me I should self publish, but I think I still want to try to go through traditionally publishing my book first. I've got a finished manuscript, so how do I go about querying agents to find the best fit?

Pitching your manuscript to literary agents is a length process that requires lots of dedication, and a great deal of research. To get the most out of your querying, you definitely need to go in prepared.

We've put together this walk through for how to pitch your novel to literary agents, including some helpful do's and don'ts at the link below!

[hayatheauthor]

I had a dream yesterday night that I got two full requests and was really happy, woke up today and thought nothing of it then came back from school, checked my email, and guess what I saw- a full request!

I was honestly really bummed out about starting another round of queries at the end of August because in the previous round I got 3 fulls that ultimately ended in rejections. Even now I'm scared to post this because what if this full ends up as a rejection too?

But tbh any progress is still progress, and I'm trying my best to look at this whole thing positively. How is everyone else's writing/publishing coming along?

[thebroccolination]

Just because I haven't talked about him in a while, this is my favorite son Win Phawin. He's a good boy. The best boy. Let's let him sleep for a while until I need him to suffer again. ♡

[yunisverse]

For the fandom art meme: EBA

break cmon ooh!!

[author-mandi-bean]

How Much Rejection is Too Much?

I’ve been thinking A LOT about rejection lately; generally because I haven’t landed a literary agent yet, and specifically because I recently received the tersest, apathetic rejection I have ever received. It was one line. All it said was, “Not for me–thanks anyway.” I suppose I should be grateful I even received a response, but it felt like a punch in the gut after all the work I spent in not…

[roach-works]

There is word going around that tumblr is moving to be a legacy project and will eventually be sunsetted. Ive been following your work for probably close to a decade, and id hate to lose track of you if tumblr goes down eventually. Is there anywhere else i can continue to follow and support you?

the sky has been falling on tumblr since forever, and yet i stick around. i don't know where else i'd actually enjoy, and im not interested in having a flood of people pitch me new alternatives. i know what i like, and i like tumblr, so ill probably ride this bizarre hellsite to the very last stop.

i might get a bluesky or a pillowfort eventually--if i do, i'll announce it. im finally going to have more time for creative work this winter, so it's possible i'll finally haul myself bitching and moaning on to instagram.

the boat boys series is getting another novel-length installment; in fact, the sequel to after the storm turned out to be three novels long, and so now the focus is on editing book two act one into publishing shape. it's probably going to be published like After the Storm, as a wordpress serial.

i've also recently finished the rough draft of my first solo novel, a coming of age superhero romcom. it's been pretty funny watching everyone start nano just as i typed The End on a story that took me a year and a half. anyway my goal this winter is to get the manuscript into decent shape and then hunt down an agent. if any agents have also been following my tumblr for a decade, hi, i love you, please save me.

after all that, im thinking ill either learn rug tufting or get really into furry porn. possibly both! gigantic neon monster penis could be a very fun subject for throw rugs.

anyway, i have a lot of cool stuff in motion im very excited to share, and ill find a way to let people know about it. thanks for sticking around!

[aritany]

hi! i saw your posts about being not being thrilled with your previous agent -- it seems to me like you were saying you didn't feel like they really understood/appreciated queer stories, and also felt like they were relying on the author-as-influencer phenomenon for marketing. these are both hurdles i anticipate with querying/publishing; do you have any advice? red flags to look out for, questions to ask?

yeah! we outgrew each other professionally and creatively since the time i signed with her. i came out publicly and gave myself the freedom to start telling primarily queer stories, and that just wasn't where her passion and expertise lay (and that's fine!), so parting was was less of a dramatic breakup and more of a natural end to this chapter.

i think the author-as-influencer phenomenon is becoming more and more common as publishing accelerates the way it has been the past few years, and since i haven't started querying again yet, i haven't had the opportunity to speak with other agents about it. i just couldn't get behind the almost frantic time to hustle energy - i really don't need more things to panic about.

in terms of advice: see if you can speak to other authors about their experiences with agents. all people change, and all agents will shift perspectives as they gain experience, but writers are usually more than happy to share their stories. i've heard rumour of a blacklist going around, but i haven't seen it myself, so i can't speak to its credibility.

here are a few examples of questions you can ask when you get to the stage of querying where you've got an offer and are having an interview:

why do you think this story is important?

why do you think queer stories are important in general?

do you believe that social media presence is essential in traditional publishing? is the onus for marketing on the author?

would you ever encourage an author to push past their comfort zone for the sake of selling books? if so, why?

further reading that might interest you:

Red Flag Warnings: How to Spot a Shady Literary Agent

r/PubTips: agent vetting

writer beware: literary agents