10 Agents Looking for Horror Writers

Where to Query This Week (12.11.24) | Plus, answers for your querying concerns from our Query Hotline

Dec 11, 2024

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Welcome to Sub Club’s Where to Query This Week!

Today, you’ve just got lil’ old me, and I’m combing through a bunch of your questions from our Query Hotline! A lot of you have similar concerns, so I figured I’d break it down in one post. We are going to talk about querying strategy, nontraditional manuscripts, and submission anxiety, so let’s get into it!

Querying Agents: Strategy and Etiquette

Question topics we received:

Re-querying agents who rejected previous projects
Querying agents at the same agency after a rejection
Timing queries during the holiday season

While there are always exceptions to many querying rules, most agents stand by one in particular: querying one agent at a time.

Pretty much every agency I looked up while querying said that they didn’t want queries sent to multiple agents at their agency. If you get a rejection from one agent, you can then query another agent at that agency. This is part of why tracking your submissions is so important—a topic I gave some advice on in a previous column, which you can revisit here.

On the other hand, if you took your manuscript out of the querying game to spend some time revising it and are now ready to query again, you can re-query an agent. Make sure you acknowledge that you previously queried them in your letter. And while you’re at it, let them know that you have revised, what significant changes you’ve made, and that you’re querying them a second time. It never hurts to be open and honest with the agent.

If you’ve been querying but you’re getting all rejections and no requests for partials or full after a number of weeks, it might be best to pause and revise your letter or your opening pages. As Kristen Weber mentioned in an essay a few weeks ago, querying should be a scientific and careful process. There’s always something to be tweaked!

Lastly, as far as querying times, I’d say yes: maybe stay away from querying in November and December during the holidays. But then again, my writer friend received a rejection on Thanksgiving, so honestly, who's to say? I also had heard that summer was a terrible time to query, but that’s what I did, and I got my agent by September.

See what I mean about exceptions? Unfortunately, they’re everywhere, so use your best judgment.

P.S. It could be helpful to think of your first few queries as a test run. Don’t query your top agents right out the gate!

Genre-Bending and Non-Traditional Formats

Question topics we received:

YA suspense novel with adult POVs
Literary fiction with integrated art but not in graphic novel format
Experimental literary fiction with low word count

I will preface this by saying that I’m not an expert when it comes to querying experimental work (although now I need to find someone who is to write an essay for us!). But I think most querying advice can be extended to cover all genres.

Whether you are querying a YA novel with adult POV chapters or a literary fiction novel with integrated art or short experimental fiction, your success is all in the way you sell your story in your query. Find comparison titles with similar themes, even if they aren’t the perfect match. Comps show agents that something similar has sold before and that you know where on a bookstore shelf your book should be. Do your best and utilize that first paragraph of your query to briefly show how your book relates to other books (or TV or film).

But also—more exceptions!—remember that if you aren’t 100%, that’s okay. If you recall from one of my previous columns, I queried my book as upmarket and literary to a number of agents, hoping to find out what would stick. In the end, the agent I went with—who I pitched my book to as literary—said she saw it as more of an upmarket novel. She didn’t reject me because I wasn’t completely clear on my novel’s genre, but it helped that I was in the ballpark. Do your research as best you can.

Overcoming Query and Submission Anxiety

Question topics we received:

Addressing agent silence (e.g., 140+ days with no response)
Concerns about manuscript errors discovered post-submission
Querying when self-published or with no prior experience

Let me just say that agent silence is part of the process. PART OF THE PROCESS! There will be agents who never answer your query letter, who ask for your partial and won’t read it, or who ghost you after having your full manuscript for 3 months (this last one I find particularly cruel!). This is why everyone suggests that you start working on your next project while you’re querying: because the waiting is so grueling.

With that being said, there are average time frames you can use to determine when it's okay to kindly “nudge” an agent whom you haven’t heard from. Some agencies will tell you when they aim to respond to queries, so use those guidelines. The average wait time for a query letter response is 8–12 weeks. An eight-week follow-up is customary for a partial request, and you typically shouldn’t nudge an agent who has your full manuscript until after the four-month mark.

Keep in mind that some agents have a “no response means no policy,” so don’t nudge those after the time frame is up.

If you sent over a submission with a major error, I believe it would be okay to email the agent with a professional apology and resubmit. Errors happen. But definitely do your best to edit (and edit again and then one more time) before sending!

As far as querying when you are self-published or feel as though you don’t have any prior publications or experience to add to your bio paragraph, remember this: agents focus on the quality of the project more than prior experience. They honestly don’t really care whether you’ve been published in a bunch of lit mags or not. They want a good manuscript and an author who they can see representing more projects to come. So don’t focus on what you don’t have in your letter. Let the writing do the talking!

I hope you have found this helpful. Keep your questions coming, and I’ll do my best to answer as many as possible. Keep the faith, friends, and remember: it only takes one yes!

P.S. If you are looking for expert help with your query letter, check out Query Letter Bootcamp with Haley Swanson, a January workshop with Write or Die! Learn the nitty-gritty of how to query an agent best and leave with confidence in your ability to pull together a query quickly.

» » If you want to ask a question in our Query Hotline, fill out the form here with any questions you might have about querying—whether that’s around agents, indie presses, book contests, formatting, genres, or if you just need someone to tell you you’re doing just fine. (Submit your question here) « «

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