Having just been away at the Bologna and London Book Fairs,
my queries have got a bit backed up, so I’ve just read quite a few and have
noticed some similar mistakes cropping up.
Molly and I analysed a lot of queries on our
regular Ask Agent column last year (
here,
here,
here,
here and
here) so for today’s blog post, I thought
I’d talk about things outside of the meat of the actual pitch.
You all know to avoid the basic errors like cc’ing multiple
agents, not personalising to the agent’s name, comparing your book to
Harry Potter or
The Hunger Games, etc. (check out
this post for a more detailed
list of these).
But there are other things that you can avoid to ensure you
make the best impression with your submission letter:
- Don’t apologise
for taking up an agent’s time. If they are open to submissions then they
are happy to hear from you. Reading submissions is an important part of
our job.
- Don’t put down
your own work or your writing skill. If you are negative, it’s going to
rub off on the agent and they will look at your work already expecting it to be
bad.
- Don’t be too
over-familiar – commenting on photos agents post on social media may seem like a
compliment, but it can come across creepy.
- Not attaching
massive files seems obvious. But don’t add in smiley faces and other small
images, either. These often look like they are embedded in the email when
you send, but come though as an attachment, so your email will be deleted
or get stuck in spam. (And also, don’t use smiley faces – this is a
business email).
- In an email,
there is no need to put the agency address at the top. It’s an email, not
a letter. You can put your own address under your name. We shouldn’t have
to scroll through a page of addresses to get to the actual query. Speed is
everything, so help us get to the best bit quickly!
- Make sure you
title your email – not just ‘A book,’ ‘Query’ etc. That isn’t very
descriptive. If I see a query come in while I’m at my desk and it has a
really snappy title, I’ll be more likely to take a look at the pages sooner.
‘My book’ says nothing to me, but
‘YA romance/REALLY AWESOME TITLE/Author Name’ will get me excited
without even reading a word.
- Don’t ignore
submission details – we all get a lot of queries with the words, ‘I know
your submission requirements are pasting the first 10 pages, but instead I
have...DONE SOMETHING ELSE.’ We
have to have a system, and it will immediately get an agent’s back up if
you can’t follow our first simple rule.
- Don’t give
extensive details of your availability to talk on the phone, with all your
holiday dates and hospital plans (yes, that has happened). Just give your
contact details and we’ll get in touch. It’s very rare we wouldn’t email
you first to arrange a call as we want you to be prepared with questions.
I always say that people over think query letters. Keep it
simple is my best advice.
Dear [Agent’s Name],
I am seeking representation for my [age - MG/YA etc.]
[genre] manuscript [title] complete at [word count rounded to nearest 1000
words].
[Insert Pitch - 1 or 2 paragraphs explaining your
plot. Introduce your main character. What does she want? What’s preventing her
from achieving those goals? And what are the stakes if she doesn’t achieve
them?]
According to your submission guidelines I have [consult the specific guidelines
for the agency, posted on its website. For the Bent Agency, you’d say, ‘pasted
the first ten pages of the manuscript below.’]
I am a member of [any writing organisations] and have won [any relevant writing
prizes]. [Then add anything relevant to your role as the best person to write
this book.] Thank you for your time.
All best,
[your name]
