Category Archives: FAQ’s

I’m often asked writerly questions by writerly folk, and I’ve decided to try and answer a few of them here by way of two posts: the first one on query letters, and the second on novels. By the way, if you have a question that I didn’t address in this list and you’d like to email it to me, I’ll answer via a post on this blog. (Or, I’ll email you back personally, depending on how many submissions I get.)

Q: My query is more than one page, and I can’t seem to trim it. Is it too long?

A: Yes. Your query really needs to be one page. You don’t have to put everything about the book in the letter, and in fact the challenge is in condensing everything you’ve written to a paragraph — even a few sentences. I know it’s not easy. But it’s necessary. If you are struggling with your query letter, one of the best resources ever is Janet Reid’s queryshark blog.

Q: I’m not sure what qualifications I should put in my query letter. I’m not a published author and I don’t write for a living. What should I say?

A: Definitely highlight anything you do that’s related to your book. For example, if you’re a banker and you wrote a book about a bank heist, that’s great information to know. Similarly, any volunteer work you do with literacy groups, or any organizations you’re a member of (SCBWI for example), are great to list. For an agent query, it doesn’t hurt to pull out a few specific books you’ve read that they rep, and say how much you like them. You can do this for editors, too, highlighting books they’ve worked on. What you don’t want to do is waste your  query space showcasing irrelevant qualifications, so make sure everything you list is related to either your book, to writing and literature in general, or directly to the person you’re querying.

Q: Can I use the same query for multiple submissions?

It’s fine to use the bones of a good query letter for multiple submissions, but the more tailored a letter is, the better chance it has of standing out. If you can, find the (correctly spelled) name of an agent to address in the salutation. Tweak the letter to be specific to that agent or agency. These aren’t huge changes, but they might make a big difference. What you don’t want to do is forward your letter over and over in an electronic submission, or blanket-submit so widely you wind up sending a letter to an agent who doesn’t rep your genre.

Q: I queried an agent a long time ago and I haven’t heard back. What do I do?

Depending on what their website lists as their turnaround time, you might want to re-submit the query. If ultimately you hear crickets, then you might just need to move on. I thought this Huffington Post article by agent Nathan Bransford on how “silence is the new no” from agents was fascinating. Turnaround times for responses can be really, really long so perhaps to keep your sanity you want to have two or three queries out at any time.

I found these great tips from Carolyn Jewel on things to keep in mind about people reading your query:

The person reading your query is:

1. Busy;
2. Has more to get to after yours;
3. Knows BS when he/she reads it;
4. Wants to find a good story.
5. Knows that 99% of the material isn’t very good.

Her sound advice is that making your query stand out is the surest way to getting a response.

Q: I keep hearing no from agents, but my dream is to be a writer. And I think my novel is pretty good. What do I do?

My rule of thumb for rejections is 15. If 15 agents have told you “thanks but no thanks,” then it might be time to go back to the manuscript and re-work things. Edit your novel, work on your query letter, then resubmit the whole thing under a new title to your dream agent. It’s never, ever too late to make your novel better.