Where to query this week (08.28.24)
Query help hotline, 5 featured indie presses, & 5 literary agents every week.
Welcome to Sub Club’s Where to query this week! This weekly report features:
5 indie presses looking for full-length collections or novels (free)
5 featured literary agents looking for books across genres (paid)
Paid subscribers will also get access to a spreadsheet download of all opportunities with the information beautifully and easily laid out!
Each indie press featured is open for submissions at the time we share them. Info includes all details on fees, payment, and submission guidelines.
Our five featured agents will include:
Where they work and what they’re looking for
Recently represented authors
Details on how to query
Favorite books/authors where we could find them
Please Note: We do our best to ensure that our data and details are correct; however, both presses and agents can often not update their portals or update them at random. For this reason, please make sure to double and triple-check on your own end prior to making any submissions.
This week from our Query Hotline:
How do I know if I’m “ready” to query my work? I have a 35,000 word semblance of a draft/short story collection which I am aware is too brief, and because it is a collection is likely a hard sell. I did meet briefly with agent though who said they were interested in taking a look but “only when I’m ready.” I worry that it will take a long time for me to feel this way, given my perfectionist nature. Should I give myself the year to work on it more deeply? I have been thinking that it will get better as I revisit and revise, but I also worry that I won’t harness the same agent’s attention if I take too long. Advice? I know there’s time and I’m afraid of losing agenting momentum. It seems as if all my writing friends are finding agents. I don’t want to rest on my laurels AND I want to feel it’s right.
» I got our in-house editor and query-your-novel wizard to answer this one: I completely understand the feeling of being behind or feeling as though an opportunity might expire if you don’t act now. However, I strongly encourage you NOT to submit your short story collection yet. If you are feeling its not ready, then I’m sure it isn’t. You only have one shot with an agent and thus you want to put your best work forward. I don’t know if an entire year is necessary to revise (only you as the writer can know that) but I would wait until your collection is complete before sending it to an agent.
Its a risk, of course, but all querying is. You never know which agent will align with your work and which will pass. But, there are so many agents out there; even if this one you spoke to says no, you have many, many more opportunities! If this agent is the right one for your work, they will wait and accept your manuscript enthusiastically whenever you are able to query them.
I encourage you to only begin querying when you feel confident that your manuscript is as polished as possible. Good luck!
In the post-COVID world, it seems like agents are flooded by more manuscripts than ever. At the moment, what’s a normal rate of encouraging responses (R&Rs/MS requests/personalised rejections) for a given number of queries? At what point would you stop querying? I’ve seen some conflicting stats and opinions on this, so thanks for your perspective.
» : I don’t think there is an exact metric to track this as all agents work differently. But if you are looking for some helpful stats, I would use the Submission Data option in Query Tracker. (You can find this in your Query List tab, under Data View ---> Submission Data)
There, you will see a filter where you can view last requested dates, request rates, positive submission replies and more. If you are in the middle of querying agents now, I would suggest setting your filter to “Last Request.” This will essentially show you which agents are actively rejecting or requesting manuscripts.
I found this very helpful when querying because there were some agents that, for example, hadn’t requested anything since 2023. That told me that I would most likely NOT be receiving a response from them anytime soon. If you are eager to receive some response right away (to know if your query letter and opening pages are working for instance!) try this feature.
Here are my thoughts on when to stop querying: If you send out 10 - 15 query letters to active agents and you get all rejections, odds are your letter or opening pages aren’t working. I would suggest pausing to do some serious revision.
If you simply aren’t hearing anything, positive or negative, it might be the time of year that you are querying when agents are on vacation or out of the office.
But other than that, I wouldn’t stop querying until you literally run out of agents to query. A lot of agencies allow you to query more than one agent in their agency beyond a certain time frame like after 30 - 90 days or after you receive a rejection from someone. Keep track of this so you can go back and continue to query an agency you are excited about.
Keep the faith. This process takes awhile but you only need one yes from one agent!
When providing a summary when Querying a memoir, should you employ a first person or third person description?
» For this answer, I’ve borrowed wisdom from my co-editor and good friend : If your memoir is written in the first person, then query it as first-person. :)
I am close to being ready to submit my novel-in-stories for submission. My first book, also a novel-in-stories, was published by a reputable but small press, to which I applied directly and therefore skipped the querying stage. To what extent are sales of my first book important? I believe that it did well, but are there any objective standards that an agent would be looking at for small press books? Given that most of the sales were directly from the publisher or through me at events, any Bookscan numbers would be vastly underreported. Any tips on how to handle this in my query letter? Thanks!
» You can get accurate figures from your small press publisher and note those in the query letter if you’d like to, but for a first query, you can also just mention the positive of it doing well with the small press (without specifics). Especially if the small press is considered “reputable”, this in itself will go a long way.
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. Myself and our cadre of helpful friends (many of whom happen to be experts in one or more of these fields!) will give you as good a response as we can. » (Submit your question here)
5 Indie Presses Accepting Submissions
Clare Songbirds Publishing House (Deadline: October 31)
Clare Songbirds Publishing House was established to provide a print forum for the creation of limited edition, fine art from poets and writers, both established and emerging.
Fee: $5-12 | Payment: Standard Royalties | Judge: Editors & Previous Winners
Clare Songbirds submissions are open from January 1 to October 31 each year. All submissions must be made through Submittable. Poetry manuscripts of up to 40 pages may be submitted as a chapbook. Manscripts of more than 40 pages must be sent as book length work.
Clare Songbirds is only accepting submissions of poetry at this time. Manuscripts must be uploaded in MS Word file format, no other file types will be accepted. They should be written in English using either New Times Roman or Arial font between 10 pt and 12 pt. We strongly discourage poems in a visual form (shaped like an animals or objects as they do not format well on a smaller book page). Manuscripts must have a Table of Contents.
Our novels and story collections have been raved about by the likes of NPR, the LA Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Buzzfeed, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and more.
Fee: $5 | Pay: Standard Royalties
We are currently taking submissions for publication in 2024. We welcome female, LGBTQ, and other marginalized voices. We're looking for novels and story collections between 45,000 and 100,000 words.
Please address your cover letter to the editor you're interested in working with.
Bell Press was founded in 2020 and publishes literary anthologies that embrace all forms of writing and genre. What we love most about anthologies is that they are a connection building space for authors. The are collaborative works that allow for a variety of perspectives within one book.
Fee: FREE | Pay: $100 + Standard Royalties | Judge: Editors
We’re now accepting pitches for new anthologies! If you have a great theme in mind and want to be an anthology editor, please email angela [at] bellpressbooks.com and include:
the subject line “Anthology pitch [proposed title]”
your theme pitch
a brief ~200 word statement on your preferred writing styles
a brief bio including any writing and/or editing experience
your social media handles and/or website
Black & White Publishing was founded in 1999 by Managing Director Campbell Brown and Publishing Director Alison McBride. Since then, the business has grown into one of Scotland’s leading publishers with over 300 books in print across a variety of genres and, in 2021, we became part of Bonnier Books UK. Committed to publishing the best books from the most talented writers in Scotland, the UK and beyond, some of our bestselling authors include Andrew Cotter, Estelle Maskame, Coinneach MacLeod, Peter Sawkins and Donna Ashworth.
Fee: Free | Pay: Standard Royalties
For non-fiction submissions, we currently accept one-page proposals. Please email submissions@blackandwhitepublishing.com. It is vital that you use the guidance below on suitable genres of work, please. Titles outwith these areas will not be considered.
We are pleased to receive proposals for the following genres of non-fiction:
celebrity memoirs
sports books (with a particular focus on the UK and Ireland)
lifestyle, humour, gift and activity books
food and drink titles
Scottish non-fiction
Irish non-fiction
nature and wild places
Yale University Press was founded in 1909. Currently, John Donatich serves as the director. The publish mainly nonfiction and translation but are also home to the famous Yale Series of Younger Poets.
Fee: FREE | Pay: Standard Royalties
If you would like to submit a book proposal or a manuscript to Yale University Press, please send it, along with the following information, by mail or e-mail to only one editor. Choose the editor most appropriate for the subject of your work.
5 Literary Agents Open to Queries
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