Advanced Tips for Querying Agents

For some time, I've wanted to share tips for researching and querying agents based on my experience and what I've gleaned from friends, authors, mentors, and years of compiling articles for Kidlit411. For the basics, check out YA author Angie Thomas's recent Twitter thread and Kidlit411's Submissions: Agents & Editors and Query Letters.

Today I'll give some advanced tips for finding good agents, a smart query strategy, and due diligence once you get an offer. Three resources are especially helpful: Query Tracker (QT), Publishers Marketplace (PM), and Twitter. QT has a free version, but the paid subscription ($25/yr) gives you more powerful tools. PM is pricey, but it's worth paying the monthly fee ($25) once during the month you're researching agents. 


Be sure to enter my query + 10-page (or full PB ms under 1000 words) critique giveaway below! 


How to Find Agents to Query
1. Make an Initial List: Your first step is to identify agents who represent the types of stories you write. Some sources: Query Tracker (search by genre, category & who's open to subs); Manuscript Wish List (website that compiles agent wishlists); Literary Rambles (interviews with kid lit agents); my Twitter list of kid lit agents; Heather Ayris Burnell's Monster List of Picture Book Agents; market survey books (like Writer's Market 2020 or SCBWI's The Book); and more listed in Kidlit411's Submissions page.

 

• HOT TIP: to find out your favorite author's agent, check their website, Twitter profile, acknowledgements in their books, or PM or Publishers Weekly sale announcements

2. Narrow down the list: To find agents who might be a good fit, read interviews, search #MSWL on Twitter (agents post wishlists using this hashtag), follow agents on Twitter, attend conferences or workshops (if possible), and ask fellow authors. 

 

• HOT TIP: Narrow your #MSWL Twitter search with additional terms. For example, search #MSWL #MG to find agents looking for MG, or #MSWL #OWN to find agents looking for own voices work. Other hashtags: #A #YA #PB #BVM (Black voices matter),#SF #SFF #F #H #LGBT #DIS #ND #MH etc. 

 

• HOT TIP: In PM, look at an agent's sales to make sure they represent your genre and age category, and the types of books you admire.  

 

• HOT TIP: Attending workshops with agents is a great way to get professional feedback and make a personal connection. In addition to paid critiques at conferences, excellent venues include: Inked Voices (small classes where you receive feedback from classmates & agent/editor faculty); Andrea Brown Literary Agency's Big Sur Children's Writers Workshops (how I met my agent); Better Books Marin (MG & YA)

 

• SUPER COOL HOT TIP: if you didn't get many #Pitmad likes, or if you didn't even participate, Author Isabel L. recommends looking at successful tweets with similar themes or stories and using the likes to identify agents who might be interested in your story.

3. Weed out schmagents: Sometimes you'll run across an agent who is predatory (e.g.charges fees); does not adhere to acceptable practices (e.g. pitches clients in a mass email); or is simply not that good (e.g. at an agency that has a reputation for training agents poorly or worked many years with few sales). To find out whether an agent is legit: 

 

• HOT TIP: Check Writer's Beware (SFWA site warning of specific agents & agencies as well as general articles); Absolute Write Water Cooler; agent reviews on Query Tracker (the reviews also give a sense of how quickly agents respond and their form rejection language; available in the free version of QT).

 

• HOT TIP: On PM, look at how long an agent has been in business and how many sales they report (this is not a perfect metric because many agents don't report all sales; it's ok if an agent has few sales in the first couple years as it takes time to build up a list). Look at the publishers they sell to: if they are mostly smaller or digital publishers that accept un-agented submissions, that may be a sign the agent doesn't have the connections or ability to sell to larger publishers. (See Alexa Dunne's video: 7 Signs of a Bad Literary Agent)

 

• If the agent is newer, are they with an established and legitimate agency? If yes, they are likely getting good mentorship. Does the agent have prior industry (publishing, editing, agenting) experience? (See agent Jennifer Laughran's Q&A on identifying a schmagent)

 

• HOT TIP:   Check the whisper network: writers share intel. This is trickier if you aren't plugged in, but reach out to author networks to ask about specific agents/agencies to avoid. Many writer cohorts (like mentor programs or Sub It Club on FB) will share this kind of info. In the past few years, there have been a few high profile instances of bad actors.

A Smart Query Strategy Many have given this advice, and it works: query in small batches (7-10) agents at a time. Wait to hear (or not) from them and revise your query package accordingly. Radio silence means your query or first pages need work and champagne rejections can help you revise. Once you get requests for partials and fulls, be patient and wait for feedback to see if you need to revise your manuscript before the next round. The idea is to improve your query and manuscript until you land an agent. 

Specifically:

• HOT TIP: Send to a mix of your top and medium choices in each round. You don't want to blow your shot with all your favorite agents with an early, ineffective query.

 

• HOT TIP: Send your first round to a small group of quick responders to gauge the effectiveness of your query package (thanks Alexa Donne for this tip: The Best Way to Query Your Book).This is where a paid QT subscription comes in handy. For each agent, queriers track when they query & when they receive a reply. Logging your own query lets you know where it is in the queue and how soon the agent might get to it. For example, here's a timeline of a fast-responding agent (green=request):​

• HOT TIP: Author Britney S. Lewis recently compiled a list of agents who respond very quickly (1-7 days): Agents Who Respond OVERNIGHT

These QT timelines are also helpful to let you know where the agent is in their reading and if they go in order. Each of the entries is clickable and will show the submission date and agent response. For example, if you see agent responses stopping in August 2020, and you submitted in October, you know you have a bit to wait. If the agent has rejected every ms before and after yours but your entry has not been acted on, it might be under consideration. For example, this agent rejects fairly quickly but skips entries (#s 26, 38, 40, 44 are presumably maybes):

Premium QT has all sorts of other fun reports, like rejection rates by genre or a two-year chart showing responses:

(Note: QT only tracks queries self-reported by other QT users; as a result, it's a partial window into an agent's in box).

The point of this strategy is to not blow your chances by sending your first, possibly ineffective query to all of the agents on your list. If they all result in rejections or radio-silence, that manuscript is rendered effectively un-queryable and you won't know what needed work, your query or your manuscript. Bottom line:

If at first you don't succeed, at least fail smarter.

The key to this strategy is PATIENCE. I know how tempting it is to send a query out sooner than a manuscript is ready (I've done this!). By using this strategy and revising based on feedback, you will get to a point where your query package is strong enough to consistently get requests. At that point, you can query more widely (or at least make sure your top choices have your query, because it's bad form to send new queries once you receive an offer). While you're waiting to hear back, work on your next project.
 Due Diligence
When you get an offer, it's time to dig even deeper and do your due diligence.The first step is to have a call with the agent to get to know them better and find out if you might be compatible (e.g. Beyond the Basics for the Agent Call, 10 Questions to Ask When Offered Representation by a Literary Agent). As part of that call, ask for client references and contact them.  

• HOT TIP: It's worth reaching out to clients not specifically recommended by the agent. Since this is your long-term career, it's important to talk with a representative sample of clients. Most authors are amenable to answering questions when approached politely and if you're respectful of their time. 

 

• HOT TIP: You can find clients an agent represents through PM, and also through a Twitter search. Search the agent's handle, then click "People." This will list all the people whose Twitter bios include the agent's handle. You might even discover you're already mutuals with some of those authors.

 
FINAL NOTE: All of this takes time and patience and assumes your manuscript is ready to query (get critiques & revise!). The more carefully you research an agent at all stages, the more likely you'll get a positive outcome. 
 

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