Interview Series: Publishing 101: The Query
in which I intend to crack open the industry in small digestible pieces but you'll probably get indigestion anyway
I’ve decided to start including some short interviews with other writers about the business of publishing. There are so many pathways, experiences, success stories, (and burns!) that I thought it would be fun for you to hear from some other folks besides me all the time! These will come out every second Thursday of the month and I have some great guests lined up!
To kick off this little series, I thought the best place to start was at The [Formidable] Query. If you have a completed manuscript that you think is ready for publication, then this is where you begin your journey! If you have a manuscript that you’re unsure if it’s ready or not, then one of the best steps you can take is to have others read it and give you feedback. Once you’ve done that, taken into consideration any serious errors, questions or inconsistencies, and can sum up what your story is about in a sentence or two, then you might be ready to proceed! Querying is also a great way to receive feedback and see if your story is hitting the way you want it to. But just be sure to make that story shine as best you possibly can before you start sending it out to people in the industry.
Let me begin by introducing my friend Christa Martin whom I met when I first started teaching at what’s now called UNR: Lake Tahoe Low-Res Creative Writing MFA. Christa writes middle grade, young adult, picture books, and adult fiction and she earned an MFA from the aforementioned program. She was a stellar student and one of the best researchers I’ve met, so I figured she’d be a great one to walk us through what a query is, why it’s important, and how to craft a good one.
Welcome, Christa!
So, let’s start with the most basic definition for anyone who hasn’t heard of a query letter before: what is a query anyway?
A query is a one-page letter you send to an agent when you’re ready to seek representation. It should include the word count of your novel, the genre and category, and comps (comparative titles in books or film). Include a one or two sentence “elevator pitch" that captures someone’s attention and explains what your book is about. Also include a brief bio including any relevant writing-related notable things about yourself.
Great! I’d only add that if you are afraid you don’t have any writing or publishing credits to your name yet, dig deep. Don’t make things up, but use what you got to the best of your advantage! When I was first querying agents, a long time ago (it involved stamps and SASEs, if that give you an idea of how long) I included that I was an “award winning essayist” because I’d won an essay contest sponsored by eBay that landed me a several page spread about interior decorating in Family Circle Magazine. I didn’t write the magazine article, nor was my essay printed, but I did win!
Also, scholarships, writing contests, and any kind of special recognition related to writing are all things you can use in your query. And try to think of it like a cover letter for a job. You want to stand out from the crowd, while also sticking to the general rules the industry expects.
Back to you, Christa. What does an agent do anyway?
An agent is the middle-person between you and the publishing world. Essentially, they open doors for you. Certain agents will work with you on an editorial basis to tighten up your manuscript. Once they feel the manuscript is solid enough, they’ll then do their own querying to editors at publishing houses. They’ll pitch your novel and send it along in a process that’s called “being on submission” or “going out on sub.” If an editor is interested, the agent will make introductions, have you talk to the editor, and if an offer is made, an agent will handle all the legal stuff (contracts and business), among other things.
Does a writer have to have an agent?
It depends on what type of publishing path you’re on. If you want to be traditionally published, it’s highly recommended to have an agent. It’s very hard to get your work in front of editors at reputable publishing houses without an agent. There are a few like Holiday House and Chronicle (among others) that accept un-agented submissions. If you’re self-publishing or hybrid publishing, you won’t need an agent.
I’ll add, as someone who has published both traditionally and independently (self-pub), good agents do a tremendous amount of legwork for you and they do not get paid unless your book sells. The industry is highly competitive, so if you dream of traditional publishing, I suggest trying for an agent first. Something else to consider is that agents negotiate advances and plethora of complex details that come with a publishing contract so either learn all about publishing contracts or try to get an agent who will do it for you. Either way—querying an agent or going directly to an editor—you need to do a LOT of research before you send your letter. This is why I recruited Christa…
Where do you even start? What resources are out there?
I suggest starting your own database of some sort to keep track of all the research you’ll do on agents. One way to look for agents is to read the acknowledgments section of books/authors you admire. They almost always give a big shout out to their agent. Once you have that info, Google search the agent and investigate their website. Most agents and agencies will have a submissions tab on their websites that will tell you what they’re currently looking for from querying authors. You’ll be able to see if your work matches up with what they’re interested in.
Additional resources include Publisher’s Marketplace (a $25/month fee) and Query Tracker (a $25/year fee). These platforms allow you to dive deeper. On Publisher’s Marketplace, you can look up reported deals. Keep in mind that not all agents report all their deals all the time. Here, you get a feel for what types of things they have sold. Many agents also have a Publisher’s Marketplace personal page where they talk about what kinds of projects they’re looking for. On Query Tracker, you can learn a lot from the comments section, and see what types of queries are getting “full requests.” You can also keep track of your queries there.
Such good advice! I’ll add that I shared a PM subscription with a bunch of other writers once—that’s a great way to go if you have writing friends who are also seeking publication. Also, to date myself again, you can go to the library and check out a Writer’s Market book. (Or at least use it in the library if it’s not a checkout-type book, since it’s reference) There’s one for every market in publishing and it’s important to research agents or editors who represent what you write. In reality, however, just about everything you need to know is online. All reputable agents have websites and details about who they work with and what they are looking for.
Can you query more than one at a time?
You can query as many agents as you want as often as you want! However, it’s recommended to not query more than one agent at the same agency. If that first agent passes, sometimes an agency has a policy that it’s okay to query another agent at their agency. Some agencies have “A pass from one is a pass from all” policy. There are various strategies out there with querying. Some people say to query up to 100 agents and then shelve your book. Others say to query in small batches of five or so and wait to hear back…see if you get any actionable feedback. Some people just query everyone on their wishlist at the same time.
What happens after you query?
You check your email every day, all day. Kidding. Sort of. The query sits in a queue in the agent’s inbox and eventually they will read it and just maybe they’ll respond to it. I know a writer who queried 85 agents. Fifty agents responded. Seven asked to read the full manuscript. Forty-three said, “No.” Thirty agents didn’t respond at all. Those “no responses” mean “no.” Sometimes agents will request to read the full manuscript, so you send it to them and wait to hear their response, which could take days, weeks, months, or even up to a year. Some agents ghost on fulls.
What do you do if an agent makes an offer? Or more than one agent makes an offer?
This is often known as “The Call.” An agent who had your full manuscript will request to have a phone call with you. Often during that phone call, they will offer representation. But don’t assume that’s what’s going to happen. Sometimes they ask for a “revise and resubmit” of your manuscript. Sometimes they want to discuss other details and might not offer representation. The Call can go any which way. If your full manuscript is out to other agents, the protocol is to tell the offering agent that you need to let the other agents with it know that you’ve received an offer of representation, and you’ll need two weeks to get back to this offering agent. You then reach out to all the other agents who have your full manuscript and tell them about the offer of representation. Some will pass immediately as they don’t have time to read your novel. Others will read it and from that batch, you might get a second (or third!) offer of representation. If you have multiple offers of representation, then it’s prudent to make your decision within that two-week window.
Then what?!
Then you sign with your new agent and it’s very exciting! They might ask you to make editorial changes to your book which could take anywhere from a week to a year or more. Once they feel the manuscript is solid, they’ll begin the submission process. Also to note: Sometimes agent/author relationships don’t work out for myriad reasons, and then there’s a break-up with your agent, which is actually not uncommon.
Definitely not uncommon and, readers, you may remember I left my agent at the end of 2024, but it was fortunately not because of anything bad in our working relationship. Sometimes as your career moves forward, you just start to think about your work, the industry, and your future in new ways. Sometimes change is a great impetus to opportunities you didn’t even know were out there.
Thanks so much for your insight, Christa. It’s clear you have done your homework! And I encourage all aspiring authors out there to do the same.
Make 2025 the Year of the Agent! YOUR agent!
If anyone is interested in more hands-on query knowledge and experience, check out this online Query Letter Workshop offered by the Highlights Foundation!