A Year Later, Reflecting On Novel Querying

I hit send on my first query to a literary agent in February of 2018. I remember the moment clearly.

It was late in the evening, mid-winter, and I was sitting on the couch next to my husband, Matt. I read the email draft about a dozen times and then asked Matt to hold my hand while I hit send.

And then I did a little celebratory dance!

I’d sent my first query. It was to an agent I’d met in person a couple years earlier who had requested I send my novel to her when it was done.

Although she didn’t think the project was a good fit for her list, I kept sending queries. I kept revising my query letter, I kept reworking my opening chapters.

And finally, after about seven or eight months and the same number of rejections, I decided to stop for a while.

I’d started a new novel in the middle of all that querying (honestly, it was because Lauren Groff told me to… but more on that in another blog post) and felt a little bummed that nobody wanted to see the novel I’d just spend four years working on.

Now, a year later, the sting of rejection has faded and I have some thoughts to share about the process.

Here are some of my top tips for novelists who are about to start querying a novel.

Wait Until Your Novel Is REALLY Ready… But Don’t Wait For Perfection

Here’s the weird, delicate line you have to walk as a hopeful novelist: you should work on your book until it’s as good as you can get it, but don’t sit on it so long you never send it into the world.

You shouldn’t query a manuscript you haven’t revised multiple times. There’s just no way it’ll be ready for an agent after one or maybe even two drafts. Respect your story enough to take your time writing and revising it, having beta readers give you feedback, and proofreading it carefully.

You might even want to work with a developmental editor to make sure the story works. Do what you have to do to make your story shine.

BUT.

Don’t spend your entire life tinkering with it in an attempt at perfection. It’ll never be perfect. And there will always be something you can change in your book. I’m sure that’s true even after books are published.

All you can do is make the manuscript as good as you can possibly make it at this point in time.

Maybe in five years, you’d write it differently, but do you want to sit with it for another five years and rewrite it? Or do you want to make it great right now and try to get it published?

Do A LOT Of Research

Before you query agents, you should do as much research as humanly possible on the following:

• How to write a query letter (there are zillions of resources online, but I got the most out of the Print Run podcast’s special episodes. You have to pay a small fee to access their query letter and first pages episodes, but it’s VERY worth it. Check out their regular free episodes too!)
• Comp book titles (or, books that are in some way similar to yours that are already on the market)
• Agents (don’t skimp on this. Carefully research the agents you want to query. Know what they already represent, what they’re seeking, how you might fit in, etc. Don’t pick random agents to query. Be as thoughtful as possible with this step.)

I spent months writing and rewriting my query letter, and even more time researching and making a list of the agents I wanted to query. It might be time-consuming, but it’s worth every minute!

Have A Support System

I don’t know what I’d do without my writing group and my writing friends who generously agree to read my work, give me feedback, workshop my pieces, and generally support my writing.

You absolutely must have at least one trusted writer in your life who is supportive, honest, and empathetic. 

This, to me, is non-negotiable. If you don’t have this person in your life yet, or you want more, reach out and let me know. I offer a writing coaching service that doubles as this exact thing!

Support is important because writing is solitary, rejection is tough, and sometimes the best way to keep going is knowing there’s someone in your corner.

And it’s just nice to talk to another writer sometimes! We get so caught up in our own minds and our own projects that we forget so many other writers deal with the same feelings.

We might write alone, but that doesn’t mean writing has to be lonely.

Writing is best when shared with other people who love it, too.

Work On Other Projects

Once you’ve polished your novel and your query letter and started sending them to agents, do yourself a favor and START SOMETHING NEW.

If you haven’t already, that is.

I literally had to hear this advice from Lauren Groff’s mouth at a book signing before I realized it’s what I needed to do. It was beyond helpful.

Starting a new novel meant I could focus on something besides the pending queries I’d sent out.

It also meant the rejections hurt a little less since I was working on a project that would likely be the next thing I’d query down the road. If the first book didn’t work out, I had another one in progress.

Always have something else simmering. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Insert other cliches. You get what I mean, though!

I would love to talk to you about how to start new projects, how to maintain existing projects, and how to stay consistent with your writing even when it feels like there’s no time. Click here to learn more!

Tell me about the project you’re working on and if you have any querying tips!