What is book querying? How to make an impression on literary agents.
Sage Kay
Writer, reader, outfit repeater.
The further you get into the publication process, the more mysterious and difficult the steps seem to become. I know this because, when I was a brand new writer, things like literary agents, publication deals, and book querying seemed like scary, far-off issues that I wouldn’t need to resolve for a long time. But if you’re a new writer with a book who’s itching to get published, these steps are not as far off as they might seem. And one of the first steps to finding an agent and eventually a publisher is book querying. Don’t worry, querying isn’t as scary as it seems, but there are definitely right and wrong ways to go about it.
What is book querying?
A book query is a letter to literary agents that pitches your book in a succinct, compelling way with the ultimate goal of an agent requesting your full manuscript. It's your opportunity to convince others that your book is not only worth reading but also worth investing in and publishing.
Book querying and finding a literary agent go hand in hand.
Think of a book query as an elevator pitch. Literary agents receive hundreds, if not thousands, of query letters, each with a pitch from an author who believes their book is the next big thing, ripe with opportunities for reprints, series and spin-off series, and adaptations. It's your job to make sure that your letter sticks out like real treasure in a pile of fool's gold, and you only have a page to do so. No pressure.
For specific tips on how to write a good query letter that does this, stick around to the end!
Why do I need to book query?
If you’re going the traditional route of publishing, you’re going to need a literary agent. They likely know the industry better than you and can get you connected to bigger publishing companies, which means more money for you and a wider reach for your new novel. But in order to find a literary agent, you need to query.
If this is not the route you’re interested in pursuing, that’s no problem at all. Plenty of authors have had success self-publishing their books. But the self-publishing process is much more reliant on the author (you). You’ll need to front the effort and costs of researching, marketing, editing, publishing, and pretty much everything else you can think of in the publishing process. Again, it is more than possible to find success this way. Book querying and literary agents are merely an avenue that takes some of this weight off your shoulders.
What should I do before book querying?
Decided you want to query? Great! Here are some things you should do before starting:
1. Finish your book.
Some of you just rolled your eyes, I can feel it. Though there is much more to do after finishing your book, this is the first step before moving onto querying and literary agents. You can’t exactly pitch a book to an agent and have nothing else to present should they request a manuscript. Lucky for you, $ NovelPad$ was designed to make this process easier. Plus, there are plenty of posts to help, like $ how to plan your novel$ , an $ editing checklist$ , and $ tips for keeping yourself focused$ .
2. Edit and polish your novel.
You don’t just want to have a finished novel but one that is polished and as error-free as possible. I’m talking edited to perfection, every plot hole patched up, ready to be published. Because even if your book has the most incredible plot and strongest characters the writing industry has ever seen, no literary agent is going to invest in a manuscript that is filled with typos or feels otherwise unfinished. Take the time to revise, re-revise, and re-re-revise. Make her look pretty, you’ll thank yourself later.
3. Do your research on literary agent backgrounds.
Book querying isn’t about sending your letter to every literary agent you can find. This would be a waste of your and the literary agent’s time if they gravitate toward representing romance novelists and you’re pitching a dark fantasy epic series. Look for literary agents that have historically represented books in the same genre as yours. This improves the chances that when your letter lands on their desk, the agent actually takes the time to read it instead of crumbling it up and wondering why someone thought a romance lit agent would be interested in a dark fantasy.
What does a good query letter look like?
There are plenty of query letter samples and templates online. $ This blog post$ from Reedsy has several good examples.
But generally, your query letter should hit several specific beats in order for it to have the best chance of not only being considered by a lit agent but of a manuscript request, too. Here are some tips keep in mind:
Get to the point.
You’re going to have a hard time finding a lit agent willing to read a query letter that is any longer than a page. This doesn’t give you a ton of space to work with, but it's plenty to get a lit agent excited for your novel.
Give a clear idea of your plot.
Basically, you want to make it sound like you’ve thought it all out (because you have). Show them that you have a concrete grasp on your story, characters, themes, and what makes your book special. This should be easy since this is your baby! You likely know every nook and cranny of your manuscript and this should show in your letter. That being said…
Don’t give your entire book away.
As tempting as it can be, you shouldn’t go into every twist and turn and piece of lore that you thought up for your story. Give enough to generate questions that can only be answered by reading your manuscript. Just as you as a reader don’t care to read exposition dumps of worlds you’re not invested in yet, your literary agent won’t care to know every little detail of your book… not until they request our manuscript, that is.
Relate your book to well-known works.
A comparison to a popular series or author is an easy way to give a literary agent a feel for your book's themes and tone. Of course, your work shouldn’t be a word-for-word rewrite of anything, but quick comparisons can save you some page space. You'll see most book pitches use two pieces of comparative work like The Hunger Games X Bridge to Terabithia. This is a great shorthand way to give someone an immediate understanding of your book's tone and content.
Tell literary agents why they’d be a good fit for you.
Detailing why you think your novel is a good fit for this particular literary agent can be a great way to show them that you’ve done your research. That you’re not just sending your letter to anyone who will read it, but that you sent it specifically for them. Make them blush a little.
List your writer credentials (if you have any).
That parenthetical was not me being rude. The fact of the matter is that not all authors will have many credentials to list, especially those looking to publish their debut novel. So, if you don’t have any credentials that you think could be helpful, that’s okay. But let them know about any relevant studies, awards, literary magazine publications—anything that you think may help legitimize your work and pique their interest.
Ultimately, it's up to what you think needs to be included to intrigue literary agents enough to send a manuscript request. Just remember to keep it short and sweet.
What comes after book querying?
So, you’ve made your novel the best it can be, you’ve done your research on literary agents, and drafted a killer query letter. Time to send it out! And after that? You wait. Response times from agents can vary greatly, so this could be a good time to focus on other projects, research more agents, or take some time for yourself.
Just keep in mind that this might not be the end of the book querying process. If none of your chosen literary agents bite, look for more. Don’t feel discouraged, as plenty of authors have spent years querying before they found the right agent. If (and when) they request a partial or full manuscript, expect to be waiting a month or two (or more, depending on your book size) for their subsequent decision.
Just like writing a novel, the publication process is ongoing. Unfortunately, writing a book isn’t all it takes to be a published author (if I could change that, I’d do it for you). Additional edits to your novel or query letter may be necessary if your queries don’t yield the results you were hoping for. But I trust you won’t give up. You wouldn’t be a writer if you gave up easily! Happy querying!
Further reading: