Query Letters: How Much is Too Much?

As I query agents, I wonder what I should include and what is too much information. For example, I research the market. I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but I know things. I know:

--That YA sales haven't suffered from the falling market like other genres have. Neither has fantasy. (Or romance, if that's what you write.)
--I know that the market is saturated with vampire novels. Although they're still selling well, their sales are predicted to drop.
--Werewolves are in the same boat.

I want to tell agents what I know, but I don't want to come off as desperately clamoring for attention. I want agents to know that I'm aiming to reach fans of Stephenie Meyer and Patrcia Briggs (and I've included that in some of my queries), but I don't want to sound like, "Look, I'm just as good as Stephenie Meyer and Patricia Briggs."
Because let's face it--I'm not. Stephenie Meyer is a young writer, but her characters are amazingly real. Their dialogue, the voice, it's all there. Patricia Briggs also has a great voice and characters. And her stories have such depth, so many layers... No, I don't think I'm that good yet. But I hope to be.

Shadow has avoided vampires and werewolves and has a (relatively) new kind of paranormal: ghosts. Okay, ghosts aren't new, but my story uses ghosts as a medium for original ideas. The premise is, as far as I know, original. I've looked for books like mine. Either it's a relatively new idea, or I suck at looking.

So how does one say, "I know the market. I'm avoiding trends. I want to be as good as the best someday." ?

How to Submit and Query Agents, Part 4

Since I'm really focusing on this at the moment, I've found a few extra tidbits on querying and finding an agent. (If you're interested in this, you can go back to Part 1 of this series.) Since I've already given you all I know on the subject, I'll just post what I've found during the last couple weeks or so.

Get Published Now has a mailing list you can sign up for. Several, in fact. You can choose what areas you're most interested in.

Molli Nickell does a lot for rising authors, especially when it comes to breaking in. Her blog, The Query Letter Wizard, focuses on--you guessed it--query letters. Everything from when to submit to how to craft and polish your letter.

Hope these help! I'm still submitting, but haven't heard back. The world of publishing works on a different clock. It could be several weeks before I even get a reply. I may start planning my next book a little early. :)

What Now? Life after the manuscript.

I think the manuscript is ready for submission. So right now, I'm nervous. I don't want to get my hopes up and then be let down, but I really think this one has a shot. It's ten times better than my last novel.

I've already sent 7 queries--my top picks. I'm on edge, expecting a reply any day, though it could take months. I'm still researching queries and agents and all that good stuff. I think I'll write another post on the subject, since I've found some good stuff.

So for the rest of the month, I'll submit my story to a few agents a day until I've exhausted my list of potentials. Starting October 1, I'll begin planning my phantom novel :) I'm excited about that. I may not be able to wait.

How to Submit and Query Agents, Part 3

First, Authorial, Agently and Personal Ramblings has a list of Query Dos and Don'ts that provides an excellent segue from Part 2 to Part 3.

So you know what agents you'd like to query. The big question: How do you query?
There's so much advice out there, I don't know where to begin.

Okay, first: be polite.
Second, get the agent's name right.
Third, make sure to include your contact information.
Fourth, include your book's title, genre, and word count.
Without these, you may as well bang your head against a wall.

Then try How to Get An Agent. Robert Gregory Browne gives a breakdown of the "logline". If you have a good logline (or The Sentence, as Holly Lisle calls it), you'll at least get your foot in the door.

Dame Devon from Deadline Dames says, "The most important thing is that it makes your book sound exciting, interesting, engaging. It’s a sales tool, not a dictionary entry." This is so true! I know it may seem obvious, but your job is to make the book sound interesting. Your job is NOT to list plot points. It's like the hook that you might read on the back cover of a book. They give you just enough that you know what kind of book it's going to be, and hopefully, the hook makes you ask enough questions that you want to read the book.

17 Reasons Manuscripts are Rejected is a list of what not to do. It has some pretty good tips.

And then you get to worry about all the other stuff, as listed in: What you can do: Twelve Easy Steps. Yeah, it's a long road. Hope you love what you do!

Dame Jackie of Deadline Dames wrote three articles about submitting to agents. The first is here.

Part 1 of Querying Agents here.
The next part, Querying Agents Part 4, is here.

How to Submit and Query Agents, Part 2

Now that you know the basics, how do you know who to submit to?

Honestly, a huge part is personality, which I can't help you with. Sorry.
BUT
I can help you narrow it down. Hopefully, you've done your research and have gone to the websites I gave you in Part 1. If not, I'd highly recommend you go back and do that.

After that, what I do is start pulling up the websites of literary agencies. That's right. One. At. A. Time. It's tedious. It takes forever. But I like to be thorough. Like I said before, I use QueryTracker to do this. I search their database for any and all agencies that take the genre of my current book (in this case, young adult fantasy) and I get a handful of pages of agencies.

I'll go to each agency's website. First impression: Is the website professional looking? Do they publish books similar to mine (at least somewhat)? If so, I keep going.

Usually, they have a page that lists the agents that work at that particular literary agency. Go there. I read each bio and try to get a feel for which agent is the best fit for my book. Things I consider: what genres they take, how much experience they have, what authors they've worked with, and overall gut feeling.

DO NOT submit to more than one agent at the same agency. Find the best one for you and if you think it's a good fit, query him or her. If it's not a good fit, move on to the next agency.

Here's why: Let's say you have the next Twilight novel and you go to Good Publishing Literary Agency. (not a great name, but hey--I'm winging it.) Agent A represents paranormal romance and Agent B at the same agency represents young adult urban fantasy (most likely, there'll be some overlap). If you submit to agent A at Good Publishing Literary Agency and they decide it's not right for them, but that the book has great publishing potential, they'll forward it to agent B. (Maybe Agent A has a full plate or doesn't connect to your character's voice or whatever.)

Next, try to find Submission Guidelines. Each agency has its own preferences. Some may want you to include the first five pages posted at the bottom of your query. Others may want you to have something specific in the subject line. If you don't do this, your query may be deleted without anyone reading it. And that's bad.

Part 3: Query Letters and other fun stuff to send to agents

How to Submit and Query Agents, Part 1

So, when you've written the best novel you possibly can, all tweaked to perfection, what do you do next? You submit.
My recommendation: query agents. You can query publishers, but it takes forever and you're less likely to get a sale. You can self-publish, but you lose a lot of credibility that way. (Quite frankly, I don't have enough knowledge to help you in these areas anyway.)

So this next series of articles is going to be about submitting your manuscript to agents.

First, an agent is someone who works with you, the writer, and publishers. They can negotiate contracts, they know all about what rights you're selling, they know editors, they know marketing. So where do you find a reputable agent?

The Association of Authors' Representatives (AAR) has a (very long) list of agents that are most likely reputable. Check to see if an agent is on their list before you sign anything. (If an agent asks for money from you, s/he's probably not reputable. Check out Writer Beware, a website that closely follows scam artists that target rising authors. This site in particular has a list of red flags to watch out for. ) AAR has a fantastic FAQ. Read it.

There are a number of sites that list good agents. Some more helpful than others. I use QueryTracker. This site has a slew of agents that you can search by genre, but better than that, it lets you tag agents you'd like to query in the future. You'll have your own list of agents you want to query, agents you have queried, and agents that have replied. QueryTracker also has a blog that posts useful information.

Similar sites include Query Shark and AgentQuery.

Seriously, if you haven't already, spend a couple of days on these sites. Get familiar with the basics of a good query letter and what an agent does. The next part of this series will cover how you find the right agent for your book.