Query limits...?

Lannie · May 20, 2007

Okay, next question: Is there any advisable limit on the number of e-query letters? In my case, I started a week ago and as of this evening I've sent a total of 74. (I did NOT mass-mail them, but tailored each one to the individual agent's expressed preferences.) I was shooting for an even 100 because it's a nice round number and I can readily calculate outcome percentages, but I'm wondering if such carpet-bombing is desirable. It definitely wouldn't be if the agents have some sort of underground grapevine whereby they gleefully compare rejection stats. (What paranoia?)

Also, has anyone ever heard of or seen a success rate comparison of snail vs electronic submissions? In my illustrious past I've acquired two well-regarded agents, one by each method. Neither succeeded in selling my projects.
:Shrug:

britlitfantw · May 20, 2007

The one caution I would make is that if you have a good query letter, chances are you're going to get snowed under soon. For myself, I think I'm going to have a hard time keeping track of 13, let alone 74. If agents start asking for exclusives, you're going to have a tricky situation on your hands, not to mention the potential cost of sending all the requested material by snail mail (some agents will want it that way, some won't). I would stop right where you are for now and wait. Just my humble opinion. Good luck!

Lannie · May 20, 2007

britlitfantw said:
The one caution I would make is that if you have a good query letter, chances are you're going to get snowed under soon.

As my grandmother used to say: "From your mouth to God's ears!"

Of course, I've already gotten a hearty "NO!" from 16 of them, so it's really only 58.

britlitfantw · May 20, 2007

Well, I wish you well with them. I'm standing by with a shovel.

Lannie · May 21, 2007

Well, I had to send out one more, to an agent who represented me many years ago in a different life.

BTW, I discovered that it pays to check an agent's actual website rather than rely on Agent Query in order to determine whether or not e-queries are accepted. AQ says this agent doesn't accept them, when in fact she does. (Of course the opposite is occasionally true as well.)

Keep that shovel handy, girl. It's Monday morning, and I may need it.

ORION · May 21, 2007

Lannie I might suggest you slow down the numbers a bit. For example --sending them out in batches of 20 or so and gauge the response. You can then fine tune the query if you are not sucessful without "burning all your bridges" so to speak.
JMHO

victoriastrauss · May 21, 2007

ORION said:
Lannie I might suggest you slow down the numbers a bit. For example --sending them out in batches of 20 or so and gauge the response. You can then fine tune the query if you are not sucessful without "burning all your bridges" so to speak.

I agree--sending them out in batches and waiting a week or two in between makes it easier to track and manage both queries and responses.

- Victoria

Lannie · May 21, 2007

Sage counsel, Patricia and Victoria.

I'm holding the line at 76, with 16 nay votes and –Ta-da!– my first request for a partial this morning, from Ms. Kathryn Green.

Jamesaritchie · May 21, 2007

Number

Honestly, I think you are mass mailing. It takes a lot of time and effort to properly tailor a query letter, and there's no way on earth to send out as many as you have if each was properly tailored. I doubt it's possible to send more than four or five per week, tops, and this is really pushing it. Two to three per week is a more likely goal.

A properly tailored query is a lot more than changing names and the like. It takes research. A lot of it. At least a few hours per agent, and usually more.

But I don't think it's ever a good idea to have more than four or five queries out at any one time. All you're doing is emptying your magazine all at once. You already have 73 agents you can't submit to again, such as after rewrites and changes, and this is just not sound strategy.

joyce · May 21, 2007

I am no expert by any means but.......when I first started sending out querys for my manuscript I sent out about ten, then decided my query letter sucked and needed to be revised. Thanks to everyone that helped in the SYW section I was able to make it a bit better. I regretted jumping the gun and sending out the first one, because now I have to wait awhile to resubmit to those agents. After I revised it I instantly received a request for a partial and a full. The only problem I see it that you will use up all your resources at one time, and then have to wait to resubmit for fear they might remember your first contact. Personally I hope my first effort is long forgotten because it was really bad!

ccarver30 · May 21, 2007

Holy F*&^ that is A LOT. I thought sending out 16 was "pretty good"!!
I hope you have a plan devised to manage the responses! Good luck!

Lannie · May 21, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
It takes a lot of time and effort to properly tailor a query letter.

I couldn't agree more. That's why I did it before I started sending them out. And it doesn't take me hours of research to realize, for instance, that an agent who specializes in Christian ChickLit and YA fantasies isn't likely to be interested in my offering.

As for being able to re-query, I already had one gal invite me to do so after I cut the book in half! Uh... thanks, but no thanks. :ROFL:

Dollywagon · May 21, 2007

Lannie, I think what James meant was that it takes time to structure a query letter for a particular agent, not that it takes time to suss that you aren't going to query somebody - Things like researching who the agent represents and being able to draw analogies between their work and yours.
You know, the kind of stuff that proves you have done your research and aren't just throwing caution to the wind.

Lannie · May 21, 2007

Good point, Dolly.

The thing is, virtually all of the agents have books on their list that strike me as absolutely stupefying. Does that mean I shouldn't query them? Of course not. As the saying goes: "De gustibus non est disputandum".

As for throwing caution to the wind... well, even for a middle-aged ol' gal like me, it has its allure.

Dollywagon · May 21, 2007

Why on earth would you want to query agents who promote books that you don't admire?
Don't you want an agent who will do the best for your work?

I was enlightened the other week when we had a guest agent on who informed us that some agents have a policy whereby they will take on a lot of clients and throw their mss out to all and sundry in the hope that some of them stick.
Other agents are very selective in what work they take on and will only handle a relatively small number of mss knowing who they can send them out to and therefore getting the highest number of contracts.

I know what type of agent I would rather have.

Oh and when it comes to middle-aged women throwing caution to the wind - takes one to know one.

Elektra · May 22, 2007

Dollywagon said:
Why on earth would you want to query agents who promote books that you don't admire?
Don't you want an agent who will do the best for your work?

I was enlightened the other week when we had a guest agent on who informed us that some agents have a policy whereby they will take on a lot of clients and throw their mss out to all and sundry in the hope that some of them stick.
Other agents are very selective in what work they take on and will only handle a relatively small number of mss knowing who they can send them out to and therefore getting the highest number of contracts.

I know what type of agent I would rather have.

Oh and when it comes to middle-aged women throwing caution to the wind - takes one to know one.

Even with how selective most agents are, isn't it unlikely you're going to agree with their opinion on every book they represent?

Dollywagon · May 22, 2007

Of course, but we were talking about finding agents that were compatible with what you have produced.
Lannie finds some "virtually stupifying." Nope I wouldn't go with an agent/publisher whose promoted work I found to be that bad.

The whole point of the thread was based on whether you should place as many mss out there at once and when to stop. How in fact, to find the agents who suit you best. I don't find it to be the best policy to submit to agents who select the work of clients that you least admire.

I must admit that I went into a publishers website the other day and found some of the pb's they had published and it gave you a chance to actually read some of the text. Sorry, but I would have put them at the bottom of my list of people to sub to. It was very poor quality work.

Lannie did say that she had spent a week selecting agents and personalising query letters to them all based on how they met her criteria. James simply questioned how you could do that in a week.

Elektra · May 22, 2007

Makes sense.

Lannie · May 22, 2007

Dollywagon said:
Why on earth would you want to query agents who promote books that you don't admire? Don't you want an agent who will do the best for your work?

But, Dolly, if you think about it, any agent who can place lots of books -even books I might find stupefying- is obviously a capable professional. And that is the best for my work.

I guess I'd prefer my agent to be an excellent salesman rather than an astute critic.

Dollywagon · May 22, 2007

No, Lannie, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that some take on a lot of clients (or their mss if you prefer) I'm not saying that they actually place those mss with any publishers.
The highest proportion of successful sales go to agents who are selective and choose the editors to which they send mss very careful.
Anybody can take on a lot of clients and their work, absolutely anybody. This does not make them good salesmen, particularly if the mss are sent out to editors who they are not a good fit for.

Also bear in mind that if you had an agent that did this, and at a later date you decided to dispense with their services, then the avenues they have tried with that particular book are now closed to you.

Lannie · May 24, 2007

The highest proportion of successful sales go to agents who are selective and choose the editors to which they send mss very careful.(sic)

You mean the ones who play it safe and only pick sure winners? Well, sure. Great work, if you can get it.

Still, I'd like to find an agent who wasn't afraid to take a chance once in a while. (Actually, considering my outsized 150K book, I'll need to!)

rugcat · May 24, 2007

Lannie said:
You mean the ones who play it safe and only pick sure winners? Well, sure. Great work, if you can get it.

No, Dolly's saying that a good agent knows from experience what type of book will pique the interest of which editors--a very different thing than whether the book is good or not--and submits accordingly. If there's no connection, the agent will try other editors who might be interested, and so on down the line.

There's not much point in sending a literary work off to an editor who exclusively buys genre, or vice versa, or a brilliant coming of age story to an editor who hates that sort of thing.

Lannie · May 24, 2007

...what type of book will pique the interest of which editors--a very different thing than whether the book is good or not...

A-yuh... because whether it's good or not really doesn't matter much any more, does it? If your genre happens to be Unreadable Tripe, what's important is to sign with an agent who knows the editors who specialize in Unreadable Tripe, and you're off and running!

rugcat · May 24, 2007

Lannie said:
If your genre happens to be Unreadable Tripe, what's important is to sign with an agent who knows the editors who specialize in Unreadable Tripe, and you're off and running!

And if your genre happens to be Brilliant Literary Fiction, what's important is to sign with an agent who knows the editors who specialize in Brilliant Literary Fiction, and you're off and running!

Me, I specialize in readable tripe.

Lannie · May 24, 2007

Me, I specialize in readable tripe.

!!!!!!!!!! :roll:

Query limits...?

Lannie

britlitfantw

Lannie

britlitfantw

Lannie

ORION

Sailed away years ago

victoriastrauss

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Jamesaritchie

joyce

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ccarver30

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Dollywagon

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Dollywagon

Elektra

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Dollywagon

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rugcat

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