I’ve been spending a lot of time reading queries these last few weeks and even though I try to be objective and reasonable and give every query a fair chance there are little things that irk me. I don’t want them to but they do. I’m afraid they probably bias me from the outset. Here are some of my pet peeves:
1. When the query letter is addressed to Dear Agent or, even worse, to Whom It May Concern. Forgive my fragile ego, but I would just so much prefer to be addressed by name rather than instantly know that I am one of hundreds this query was sent to in an email blast. Even though we all know that you are querying multiple agents, I guess we all want to be made to feel a little special.
2. When there are fifty other email addresses in the address field. See above for why this irks me.
3. When the first paragraph begins with “so and so thought you’d be interested in my book” and I’ve never met so and so or even worse, I have no idea who so and so is.
4. Similarly, when the query writer claims to have met a client who urged him/her to send a query to me. Of course I immediately verify this with said client only to find out that the supposed encounter never happened.
5. Similarly, when the query writer tells me that someone I have had a falling out with (and yes this has happened to even a peace-loving soul like me) has referred them to me. This is probably not a guaranteed way to get your query read.
6. Grammar mistakes, spelling errors, typos. These induce anger, I don’t know why and I can’t help it. I know that many very wonderful writers do not spell well and so I still read the entire query but I do so while gritting my teeth.
7. Listing multiple projects in the same query. While I’m always eager to know what other projects authors are working on, I would like to be sent just one for consideration. If I like it, I will ask about the others.
8. Five query letters in a row for five different projects – from the same author. See above. While it is impressive to know an author has written multiple works, it’s not entirely confidence-inducing to know that none has as yet been published, so it’s better to keep this information to yourself until a dialog has been established.
9. No biographical data. I’d like to know a little bit about previous writing experience and what led the author to write this novel.
10. Queries sent to the wrong email address; queries sent without the five sample pages; queries for projects that are entirely outside my sphere of interest. I feel grateful and honored to receive so many queries but it puzzles me why someone would not do a simple check of my submission guidelines before sending. It’s a simple but effective way of ensuring that your query will be read.
11. Nasty vicious retorts to my standard rejection. I get hundreds of queries a week and while each one is read with great care it is truly impossible to respond to each one individually. While I am fully aware of the amount of work and commitment that has gone into writing an entire manuscript and into crafting the query letter, I believe it’s essential that that commitment extend to professional and courteous conduct throughout the querying process, painful though it may be.
Next week: What makes a query stand out.
My wonderful intern Vina Castillo attended the Agency Interns Networking Toolbox, sponsored by AAR and came back with this report:
Brimming with eager interns alert to any advice and words of encouragement, The Agency Interns Networking Toolbox consisted of a panel of top notch publishers including Amy Einhorn, Jonathan Karp, Sarah Crichton, Julie Strauss-Gabel, and was moderated by agent Gail Hochman. After the esteemed panel members provided an insight into their successful careers, agent Hochman was curious as to what is the best possible relationship publishers look for with agents. All four publishers agreed that the bond between agent and publisher can only truly come to fruition when both sides are passionate about the manuscript and when both are aware of the constant work that is required to get it published. After all, its a long journey from acquisition to publication and beyond.
As for authors looking for agents, they had this advice: familiarize yourself with who you would like to work with. Do not look for an easy yes. Does the agent represent work that is in some aspects similar to your manuscript? Either in style, overall message, audience? Alas, as Amy Eihorn (Penguin) pointed out, it isn’t necessarily attractive if a manuscript resembles a known hit. Agents and publishers are looking for innovate, unique material that will surprise and them and can surpass past bestsellers.
The conversation then turned to the hot issue of the moment: YA. Young Adult books are currently at their peak, from Vampires to Dystopia. Curiously enough Julie Strauss-Gabel, VP and Publisher of Dutton Children’s Books who is responsible for award winners John Green (who quite possibly changed my life) and Scott Westerfeld, has been resoundingly declining Vamps and dystopias for strictly literary YA. There is no guarantee that vamps will live on, at least not with The Big Six publishers.
As an intern for Ayesha Pande whose literary taste breaks the current mold of bestsellers, this panel reinforced my belief that trends are temporary and for a manuscript to truly succeed it must be timeless.
– Vina Castillo
Dear Readers,
Today it brings me great pleasure to introduce Ayanna Behin, a new literary agent who’s been working with me these last few weeks but is in the process of setting up her own shop. Look out for her, she’s smart and talented! She’s authored a guest blog on the art of query writing:
“I wish that I could say that there was a formula for writing a successful query, but there isn’t. There are, however, a few rules that you should follow if you are writing one.
First, please make sure that there are no typos in your query – read it twice, or three times if you need to before you send it out. If you think about it, I’m sure that you would agree that your query is often your first impression to your potential agent. Why not put your best foot forward? Something about typos smacks of laziness and an agent dreads that editing the manuscript will be a nightmare.
Second, please be professional. You don’t want be too familiar with the agent that you are writing to for the very first time. Maybe one day, you will become friends. But, the best way to get there is to show that you can be professional. Every agent has to think about how they will best present you to a publishing house and we want to know that you are someone that we can present to any editor from the stuffiest to the most laid back.
Third, if the agent that you are writing to has submission guidelines please read them and follow them. We all like to feel like you’ve chosen to ask us to represent you because you think that we will be a great fit and have a long and successful working relationship. Throw a quick line in there that suggests that you know our work and respect it or at least something that shows that you are thinking about what our ideal working relationship will be like.
I like to read a query that tells me the gist of the story right up front. I also want to know that you’ve given some thought to marketing your story. Who is your audience? Why will they want to read your novel, memoir or how-to? And finally, who are you? Have you published before? How long have you been writing? If this is your debut, that’s okay too.
Of course, there are exceptions to even these rules. To be honest, when a manuscript is truly engaging, I have overlooked a poorly edited or written query. But, every agent is not as forgiving as I am. And why place a hurdle in front of yourself if you don’t have to?
The bottom line is that we want to read and represent good books – books that are well written and books that other people will want to read. If you have a good book, send it in.
Good luck!
Ayanna Behin”
My question is a bit different. I have a crime thriller series published in ebook format via a small publishing house along with short stories, a novella and a mystery novella co-written w/my sister due for release (in print). All books have gotten rave reviews and I’d like to take the next step to a larger publisher. At this time all publishers have been smaller presses that are growing steadily and I do have unpublished manuscripts. My question is at this point would it be appropriate to approach an agent with the unpublished manuscripts and would an agent be interested in my level of publishing experience? It seems that agents are mostly interested in unpublished authors rather than those with some real experience.
Thanks.
P.I. Barrington
Dear P.I.,
In my opinion, agents would be very interested in someone with your publishing experience. You’ve shown that you’re serious about pursuing writing and that your novels have sufficient merit to get a publisher interested. I urge you to start querying agents, but only with one project. The others are best briefly referred to at the end of the query letter. Make sure you query agents who have experience and interest in crime thrillers. And good luck!
Hi, thanks for doing this! My question is about genre.
My (already written) story: girl meets boy, boy is an ass, girl ends up with worse boy, first boy works really hard to win her back, girl marries boy. (I promise, it’s a little more involved than that.) Girl is 19 going on 20, and much of the action takes place in and around a university.
I’m divided between romance and YA, or rather the post-YA category I’ve heard whispers about. I’m leaning towards romance because it’s from the heroine’s point of view, the plot is primarily a love story, and we’ve got the HEA (happily ever after). However, both a book seller and a former intern at a publishing house said YA almost immediately. What do you think? Is there yet a category for Post-YA Romance? I’d love to be a trail blazer and write the first one, but I gather a new author has a better chance of getting published if they are in an established genre.
And if this is post-YA, can that be a longer story than YA, say closer to 80k than 60k?
Thank you!
Deb
Dear Deb,
I don’t think you need to worry so much about what category your book falls into. The agent and publisher can advise you on that. A good publishing house would cross-promote to teen and adult readers and there are plenty of YA novels that could be considered romances. The final length of your manuscript will probably be a determining factor, since YAs do tend to be shorter, but even there publishers are being more flexible. Just write the best story you can possibly write and find an agent who loves it and he/she will guide you.
Hey Agent Awesome!
I was wondering what a good agent contract (or a fair contract) for a first time author would look like. From what I’ve researched the percentages vary with the agent, some take more while others take much less. What is your opinion?
Crzywritergrl
Dear Crzywritergrl,
The standard commission for literary agents is 15%. If they’re selling your foreign rights, the commission is 20%, with 10% going to the foreign co-agent. Some agents are now talking about the possibility of higher commissions, especially when they a considerable amount of editorial work beforehand. Agents are also increasingly involved in marketing and publicity, functions that publishing houses traditionally served, but are doing less and less. But for now, it’s 15%.
Am I ever nervous about asking this question!
I would like to know, how do you and other agents feel about repeat submissions? For example, if an author sent a query letter to you before, but was rejected, and the author fixes up their story a bit and sends it in again, is that a no-no? Does it result in an automatic re-rejection? Does it look bad?
C.H.
Dear C.H.,
If the agent requested the manuscript and passed on it, I would recommend you ask him/her if you could query them again and explain the changes you have made. If the agent passed on just the query, I would say it’s ok to query again, as long as you mention in the letter that you’ve queried the agent before for the same project. Honesty, in my opinion, is always the best policy.
That’s it for today, dear writers. I will post more answers to any new questions next week. Until then, practice your craft!
Agent Ayesha
Dear Aspiring Author:
While Ann Landers might be able to tell you exactly how to properly deal with a nosy step mother, when it comes to getting a book published, she’s not the person to ask. The internet has transformed all aspects of our life, but few industries have been as deeply affected as publishing. With Google, the advent of electronic readers, and doomsayers predicting the death of print, and the death of fiction, it’s a confusing time to be a writer, or even a reader for that matter. But take comfort, weary wordsmiths, Ayesha Pande Literary is here to offer shelter from the storm with our new advice column Ask Agent Ayesha. Have your questions answered by me, Ayesha Pande, a literary agent and an expert in the field. I have more than twenty years of experience in the publishing industry and have helped put many an author’s creation on bookshelves across the globe.
Please write your questions pertaining to all aspects of the business of writing in the comments section of this post and I will select three to respond to every week. Post your questions by Friday before 5pm and I will publish my answers on Monday. I’m really looking forward to receiving your questions!
All best
Agent Ayesha
