15 Agents Looking for Memoir
Where to Query This Week (11.13.24) | Plus, why your query isn't working
Welcome to Sub Club’s Where to Query This Week!
This week, we welcome
to the column. Kristen is an editor who specializes in helping writers get published, so who better to ask about what to do when your query gets silence?In her essay below, she explains the importance of seeking professional editorial feedback, taking a strategic and scientific approach to querying, and ensuring your manuscript is polished and targeted for the right agents. And who doesn’t need ANOTHER reminder that patience and precision are a huge part of the query game? I think we all do.
» » If 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) « «
Why Your Query Isn’t Working
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, hoping for a different result.
This is the quote that plays in my mind when writers come to me and tell me they’ve queried 25, 50, 100 times and only heard silence or received form rejections.
The job of your submission package is to garner responses. If you’re only hearing silence or only receiving form rejections, then something isn’t working.
I have been a book editor since 2002. I started as an editorial assistant, moved into overseeing the legendary Mysterious Press, launched a dedicated crime fiction imprint at New American Library, and now work as a freelance editor. I have worked with thousands of authors on thousands of books over the course of my career. And let me tell you: something always isn’t working.
If you haven’t had your query or submission materials or query looked at by someone who can give you truly high-quality editorial advice and you just keep receiving form rejections or hearing only silence…agents aren’t the problem. You are.
But how can the average writer know this when you’ve given your query to a few beta readers and they tell you everything is fine? Or suggest just a few small tweaks?
Treat your querying like a science project and keep an open mind if it seems like you need more editorial help. The biggest problem with all the manuscripts that come to me for editing? They’re fine. Beta readers have caught all the typos and fixed a few plot points. But they’re missing the commercial drive professional editors like me look for. Agents aren’t looking for fine. They’re looking for spectacular. To me, that is the keeping-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat quality I specialize in adding to all of the manuscripts that come to me. The fire in your belly that keeps you reading until 2 am.
I suggest all writers query no more than five agents the first week they start querying and then give those agents at least three or four weeks to respond. And yes, I realize this makes the process very slow. But how long did it take you to write your manuscript? Don’t waste all that time and effort. The writing business is a marathon, not a sprint. Query and forget about it. Go work on your next book.
Depending on what you hear, tweak accordingly and try your next (very small) batch. Querying should really be a scientific and careful process. If you’re hearing nothing back on your query by itself, what can you fix? Run it by a friend and see what they think. Read it aloud. Check your comparison titles. Are the agents you’re trying still even at their agencies? Are they accepting what you’re offering? Are you querying with the right type of project? Do you know what your project even is? Once upon a time, a client told me the manuscript we shined to perfection was only getting rejections. “Are you trying crime fiction agents?” I asked. This seemed like a no-brainer to me, but she was shocked. She had been calling it women’s fiction. Once she made that switch and found agents in her true area, she landed an agent in a week!
If your query is as perfect as you can make it and you still aren’t getting partial or full manuscript requests, check your synopsis and sample pages. Once you start getting requests, if those aren’t going anywhere, check your manuscript. There’s always something to be tweaked.
Here’s the hard truth about writing: everything can always be tweaked. It is completely subjective. I tell my clients even if we make their manuscript perfect in our eyes, a future agent or editor will still have notes. They’re putting their own stamp/feelings/dreams/hopes into their notes and they are different from anyone else’s.
Tying into that, every rejection is also subjective. When you get a rejection, please know that agent is only saying this project isn’t right for me. They are not saying this project isn’t right for everyone in the world.
And one final caveat: I’m all for independent publishing. That is a true and valid and amazing choice with a ton of upsides. But don’t just press publish because you are mad the gatekeepers aren’t getting back to you. Make sure you confirm–ideally with an editor like me or other impartial readers–that your book is as amazing as you think it is and there isn’t something glaringly wrong. Once you do, go forth and start your own publishing empire.
Kristen Weber moved from New York to Los Angeles after a decade-long career as an editor in-house at several major publishing houses to follow her television writer husband. She has been freelance editing ever since and works on all commercial fiction, with a focus on crime fiction and romance. She has a Master’s Degree in Publishing from Pace University. You can learn more by visiting her website at wwww.kristenweber.com or by subscribing to her very popular weekly newsletter: Inside An Editor’s Brain.
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15 Agents Looking for Memoir
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