Text of Ken [Complete]

To Query or Not To Query

You may have noticed I haven't written any thing here in some time. There is a ton of good reasons for that, but the only two that really matter for this blog post are that I have been writing a book and sending out query letters to agents.

So let's talk about that (man can I transition a topic or what?)

First, let me say querying sucks. It's a long slow demoralizing process. You have to spend an awful lot of energy and time just to be mostly rejected. But, It is totally worth it, even if you don't get an agent to be excited about your project.

Why? Because if you actually take the time to do it right, you will learn a great many things about the industry and you work.

The first thing to know if you plan on shopping your novel out to agents is that you're going to need an account over at

I cannot even begin to tell you how important and helpful this is. There is a premium account you can get, but I use the free account and it works just fine. This lets you search for agents, create lists of one you do (or do not) want query.

Then, once you have your list, you can track: When you queried them, their average response time, and the status of your query.

Now, as for choosing agents to query, many people just do what is called a "blast", where they just send out a form query to everyone and everyone. While my studies of mathematical probability tell me this is the best way to guarantee you get an agent, I strongly advise against it.

Instead, what I do, I spend bare minimum 1 week researching an agent before sending my query. What do I do during this week?

1. I find out what genres they like to publish. Do they like horror? Fantasy? Would they be the slightest bit interested in my book? If they exclusively publish YA or Middle Grade fiction, then sending them one of my manuscripts would be a complete waste of time for both of us.

2. I look at their clients. If they are putting out a bunch of books about gardening tips, even if they say they are looking for the next Clive Barker, I'm not going to send them a query. You know who I think would be looking for the next Clive Barker? Clive Barker's agent, Anne Sibbald at Janklow and Nesbit.

3. I look at the other agents at the agency. You know who's supper busy? Anne Sibbald. Do you know who might be super interested in your novel? Someone further down the totem pole. Maybe that person who used to be Anne Sibbald's assistant, but now is taking on their own clients.

4. #MSWL. Go to twitter and see what is on the agent's Manuscript wish list. most of the younger agents do this. It can save a whole bunch of time. Also, they will me more excited about your manuscript if it is something they have been desperately wanting to read.

5. Read their stuff! This one is the most important. When I am interested in sending an agent my stuff, I read their stuff first. Maybe they have a blog, or they gave an interview, or one of their clients gave an interview about them, or maybe they wrote the forward in a book.

There is a wealth of information about any agent who's worth while. Do they have a pet peeve? It there something in my novel that I know they take one look and go, "nope"? Is there something I want to change in my manuscript before I send it to them? What is that thing in my query letter that is going to hook them?

6. Do I like this person? Having an agent is a commitment. You are going to have to spend the next 10 years talking to this person. Are they a player and a go-getter? I they going to bust their ass to get your book published? or are they going to blow smoke up your ass and let your novel sit on their desk for 5 years?

Sometimes I get through all of this and just decide not to send the query letter. But that doesn't mean that all that time was a waste. Either way, I spent the week looking at my novel through their eyes. That is a reward on it's own.