15 Agents Looking for YA Novels
Where to Query This Week (1.29.25) | Plus an agent assistant weighs in on how to query agents and submit to magazines successfully
Welcome to Sub Club’s Where to Query This Week!
Today, I’m excited to welcome Sasha Landauer to the column! I’ve always been curious about the agent assistant’s perspective when it comes to the querying process, and Sasha of Writers House was down to give us her input.
Below, you will find her advice on navigating the querying process for agents and submissions to literary magazines. She covers best practices for timing, research, personalization, and handling rejection, offering insider tips to increase your chances of success. Umm, yes, please!
How to Query Agents and Submit to Magazines Successfully
I assist Susan Golomb at Writers House. This means that I read all of her submissions in addition to editing clients and managing business logistics. We work on literary and genre fiction as well as non-fiction projects. I also co-founded a literary and arts magazine called Notch.
I want to help put you in an agent and editor’s shoes to demystify the querying process. I’ll be covering when, who, and how to query, as well as what to do if you’re rejected.
When Submitting to an Agency
When to query
It’s very difficult to resubmit to an agent once you’ve been rejected, so take your time before submitting.
The agent should not be the first person to read your book. Before querying, ask yourself a few questions. Have you gotten the manuscript to the best possible place? Have you asked readers to look at multiple drafts? This goes for the query letter as well. Be sure to put your best foot forward!
Who to query
You should not start by submitting to every single agent under the sun, nor to your top 20, in case you discover revisions you’d like to make based on agent feedback. Instead, narrow down your list. Start by looking at Publishers Marketplace and the acknowledgments of your favorite books. Pro tip: Look up acknowledged assistants of years past. They may now be acquiring their own projects!
I also recommend batching your queries, mixing more and less experienced agents with demonstrated interest and recent deals in your genre. Some senior agents won’t read your manuscript until they hear you have another offer, so it’s good to include eager junior agents in your list to leverage interest. But be mindful of agency rules: At some agencies, like Writers House, you can only query one agent at a time.
Lastly, ask writers in your network for introductions to their agents. A recommendation email from a client goes a long way.
How to query
Once you have compiled your initial list of agents to approach, do some research. Do they have a manuscript wish list online? What are their favorite books on X or Goodreads that you might be able to use as comps?
Personalize each agent’s query letter. Address them by name, double-check their submission guidelines (for example, whether they want pages attached as a document or included in the body of the email), and mention their existing clients or recent deals that make you think they are a good fit for you. You’d be surprised how effectively these simple steps can set you apart.
For comps, look for books from the last five years that have sold well to convince the agent that your book has commercial promise. Query with a logline and a real pitch letter, not just a summary of your project. Finally, blurb commitments are very helpful to mention when applicable.
A lot of writers want to know when to follow up. It’s true that a squeaky wheel gets the grease, but within reason: Agents have to want to work with you. I recommend following up if you haven’t heard from them within their promised window of response, if you have a new blurb or a new story published, and—most importantly—if you’re having conversations with other agents. Remember that agents and their assistants are reading thousands of queries. Things can fall through the cracks.
If you’re rejected…
Pause and evaluate if there is a common thread in feedback that you might be able to use for edits. Then proceed to your next batch of agents, again targeting a mix of seniority.
When Submitting to a Magazine
Unlike with agents, it is super normal to resubmit many times to a magazine (though not the same story) so you can be slightly less of a perfectionist here.
When to query
Submit once you have a polished short story and one of your target magazines is open for submissions.
Where to query
Reading magazines will help you understand where to submit to and give you a sense of various editors’ tastes. Consult the database on Chill Subs to filter by genre and submission window.
How to query
Check the submission guidelines. Most magazines will want you to include a brief bio, how you heard of them, and your previous publications. A great way to stand out here is to mention some work you’ve liked from their previous issues that make you think your story would be a good fit. Double-check whether they accept simultaneous submissions and previously published work.
If rejected…
Magazines are unlikely to share substantive feedback, so don’t read a ton into the rejection. Editors need to think about how the work fits with the theme and the other stories in the issue, so a rejection does not necessarily reflect the quality of your writing. Try again with a new story!
Sasha Landauer is an editor in New York City where she works as an agent assistant at Writers House. She is a founding editor at Notch Magazine. When not reading first drafts, she enjoys climbing mountains and searching for the perfect dirty martini.
» Ready to self-publish like a pro? Join bestselling author
for Book It, Babe: Your Guide to Self-Publishing Success on Substack, a high-energy workshop with Write or Die on February 9 that will equip you with the strategies, mindset, and tools to launch, market, and monetize your book with confidence <3. Sign up here. «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 ««
15 Agents Looking for YA Novels
This part of the column is for paid subscribers only. Paid subscriptions are the only way we fund this newsletter. We are 100% human-made and paid. So if you have the means, please consider signing up for more content like today’s column.
 | A guest post by
|