Your Query Toolbox

I am into my fourth week of sending out queries. I have sent out more than twenty. So far I have received four rejections. The experience has not killed me.

I have noticed some trends in the types of things agents ask to see as part of the query package. My tactic is to maintain a folder in my computer containing these stardard packages. When I query an agent, I can go into the folder and grab what I need. Here is a rundown of some of those items.

Query letter—My standard query letter is 250 words. Whenever possible I personalize it, based on what I discover in agent interviews and bios. One agent has been the power forward on the local mom’s basketball league for nine years. Another spent time—like me—as an advertising copywriter. I mentioned those things. I never let the letter get any longer than 300 words, and the closer to 250 the better.

One piece of advice is to have a query letter that you can downsize quickly. I have a paragraph in my standard query that serves as color commentary. If I cut it out, I drop seventy-five words and it still reads well. Try looking at QueryShark for tips on how to write a query.

Synopsis—I hate writing a synopsis, but after about twenty rewrites, mine sounds okay. The majority of agents ask for a two-page or three-page synopsis. Mine is two pages, and that’s what I give them. I have never read a synopsis that knocked my socks off.

The purpose of the synopsis, as I understand it, is to basically tell the plot. The agent, having read the synopsis, can go on to read the novel and there are no surprises. If someone is going to turn into a vampire at the end, or the person you though was a good guy turns into a bad guy, the synopsis should reveal this (someone tell me if I have this wrong).

Summary—This one got thrown at me today. The agent, on their website, asked for all queries to be accompanied by a one-page summary. My interpretation of a summary is not the same as a synopsis. What I did was take some paragraphs from my query, a few more from my synopsis, and then molded them into a description of the novel that does not give you a complete resolution of the plot. I hope I am right on this one.

Chapters from your novel—Not all agents ask for a sample of the novel. Some only ask for a synopsis, and some ask for the synopsis and a sample chapter. In all, I have received four or five different requests:

• First three to five to ten pages.
• First chapter.
• First two chapters.
• First three chapters.
• First 50 pages.
• One agent asked, on her website, that I send her an electronic file of the entire novel.

A good tip when you are writing your novel is to try and get the first chapter to ten pages or less. When the agent asks for the first ten pages, you send them the first chapter.

Attachments vs. pasted into the body of the email—Most agents ask for whatever you send them to be embedded in the body of the email. This obviously prevents viruses from attached files. Some agents do not specify this, but unless otherwise indicated, I consider it industry standard. I have queried some agents who indicated on their website that attachments were okay, and in these cases, that is what I did.

Every agent is different, and I expect I will encounter other requests, too, but this is what I have come up against so far.

See ya’ later.

WhatIfYouCouldNotFail.com by Tim Sunderland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Photo by JM http://www.logodesignweb.com/stockphoto

Comments

[Steve]

Tim, you've sent out 20 queries? Any particular reason why you're being so selective?

[Tim Sunderland]

I am sending out multiple queries, but in order to research each submission properly it takes at least 45 minutes to an hour. I look on the web for interviews the agent might have given (lots of them have) and peruse their website for any insight. One agent plays power forward in a local moms' basketball league. Another used to read Encyclopedia Brown under the covers with her flashlight after the lights went out (so did I). Many agents admit that someone who takes the time to research them will make them pay more attention.

Any edge I can get.

One agent query a day is about all I can do and still write, work at my day job, and be a husband and a father.