If you want to get your finished novel to a traditional publisher, you’re going to need an agent. Getting an agent involves writing what is called a “query letter” to entice the agent to read part of your work and ask for the rest. I think one of the best ways to know how to write your query letter, and one of the first tasks you should undertake, is to look at what others are writing.
There are three main parts to your query letter: the intro and meta data of the story, the summary of your story, and your bio. The summary of your story is, I think, the hardest part. How do you know if your summary is working to interest the agent? Before sending your query out to others for critique, take a look at other query letters to make sure you are on the right track. When you read a good query, you should get a solid sense of what the story will be. You’re not looking so much for what the story is about (love, greed, grief, redemption, saving the world) but what the story is. What is the crux of the story?
If you can’t get the crux from reading the query, the writer has gone wrong somewhere. Analyze the other query. What was it that confused or bored you? Too many names? Too much world building and not enough plot? Were you confused about what the main character wanted? Can you re-write the query so that it makes more sense?
But where can you go to read other people’s query letters? There are a multitude of sources. If you are in a writing group, you can see what others in the group have written. Other sources include Facebook writing groups like Writers Helping Writers or Sub It Club, where members regularly submit their queries for critique. Another great opportunity to read other writers’ queries is on Query Shark. This is an old blog that used to be written by an agent, Janet Reid. Writers sent her their queries, and she critiqued them. Mercilessly. The archives of this blog are gold for looking at others’ queries and seeing what The Shark thought of them, what was working and what was not. Apply those comments to your own query.
If you are querying, you probably know about Query Tracker, https://querytracker.net (if you don’t, wait for a later blog, which is all about using Query Tracker). But did you know that Query Tracker has a site called qtCritique where writers submit pages and queries for critique? This is another gold mine of queries for you to read and critique yourself to see what is working for these writers and what is not. The Manuscript Academy often hosts a webinar on which an agent will critique randomly drawn queries submitted by writers. Even if you are not a member of The Manuscript Academy, you can participate in some of these critique nights for a small fee. See what other writers are doing and what is working for their queries.
Before you send your own query out for critique, make sure you have done everything possible to polish it and revise it. Part of this process can include looking at others’ queries and taking notes on what worked and what didn’t.
Querying: Query Tracker
If you have a novel you want to submit to a traditional publisher, (generally) you need an agent. To get an agent, you need to send a fabulous query letter. To send a fabulous query letter, you need to identify the agents you want to submit to. Keeping track of agents and your querying status with agents is what the tool QueryTracker.net does.
Query Tracker is sort of a one-stop shop for your querying needs. It helps you find an agent representing your genre. It lets you know if the agent is open to submissions. Many agents now require writers to submit their queries on a form in “Query Manager,” part of Query Tracker. Once you submit your query for a project, Query Tracker keeps track of the agents (and agencies) you query, how many days it has been since you queried the agent, and the outcome of your query (pass, request for full or partial manuscript, or revise and resubmit). It is an organized way to see the status of all your queries in one place.
You can make notes about an agent or agency on Query Tracker, both for yourself and for others. This helps you remember why you queried the agent in the first place or remember something special that needs to be included in the query. Leaving a note for others on when you queried an agent and when you received a response (if you did receive one) helps other writers know what to expect from the agent.
Query Tracker also keeps track of the projects you are querying. You can create a list of agents to query for each project. So for those who have more than one story to query, you can separate the queries by project or story. If you pitched a different book to an agent previously, you can check your old project to see whom you queried and the outcome. This is helpful in knowing to whom to submit your query for your next project.
Using Query Tracker to organize and monitor your queries is a great way to stay on top of the query process.
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