Query one agent at a time or many??

nancy sv · Jul 30, 2007

This question has probably been answered, but I couldn't find it... I know that for freelance work in magazines, sending out queries to a variety of magazines is a no-go. But what about when I am looking for an agent for a book? Do I send out the query to one agent at a time and wait for a rejection before sending it to another one? Or is it OK to send it out to 10 agents at a time? Thanks for any help you can give me!

MidnightMuse · Jul 30, 2007

You could die of old age related heart disease if you query them one at a time and wait for a rejection before moving to the next !

Most of us do them in batches, gauge the responses to the query, then tweak and adjust as necessary

Ziljon · Jul 30, 2007

It's okay to send it out to many at a time. Later, if and when they ask for partials or fulls, then some of them may request an exclusive, but until then, don't worry about it.

You have to get past the query letter circle of fire.

If you haven't already, check out this site: http://www.agentquery.com/

CreativityWorks · Jul 30, 2007

nancy sv said:
This question has probably been answered, but I couldn't find it... I know that for freelance work in magazines, sending out queries to a variety of magazines is a no-go. But what about when I am looking for an agent for a book? Do I send out the query to one agent at a time and wait for a rejection before sending it to another one? Or is it OK to send it out to 10 agents at a time? Thanks for any help you can give me!

Mail away. You never know when you will hear from them or if you will hear from them... However keep in mind that by sprinkling them out you catch people at different times instead of all at the same time.

Think about things like 911- you might not have heard from anyone after that and what think... Did they read it, didn't they read it? Did it get thrown away? Or think about summer vacations- is everyone taking them? Might not hurt to spread them around over a couple of months.

I just finished my first nonfiction book. I did research to figure out who were my best options as agents for my genre. I then started with those that seemed less likely but represented some books in my area only to see if I learned anything from the query before I approached the perfect right agents for my material...

But I usually do things rather methodically. I certainly have read people taking the shot gun approach and just blasting them out there...

Either way: ready, aim, fire! Good luck!

nancy sv · Jul 30, 2007

Thanks I suspected that was the case, but wanted to make sure before I royally put my foot in my mouth!!

Sohia Rose · Jul 30, 2007

I've always read on these forums, and other sources, to send them out in batches. I'll be sending mine out in groups of five, about four to six weeks apart.

nancy sv · Jul 30, 2007

Would you tell me why it wasn't smart? The amount of work involved or what?? Right now I am on summer vacation, and will be going back to work in a few weeks. For that reason, I think it would be better to send out lots now since it will be easier for me to find the time. Once school starts it's a lot harder...

James D. Macdonald · Jul 30, 2007

Query the world.

Do your homework on 'em first, though, so you don't have to come here to ask "Is this guy legit?" if one of them answers.

maestrowork · Jul 30, 2007

Query as many as you want... unless they say no simultaneous submission.

nancy sv · Jul 30, 2007

Thanks Barb! I've been trying to read through the websites, but it seems like they ALL say EVERYTHING!! It's frustrating when you know that they have to specialize in something...

stormie · Jul 30, 2007

As ziljon said, go to www.agentquery.com, do a search, and print out or write out all the agents who rep your type work. Make sure you know if they take e-queries or not. Many are going that route now.

Send 'em out, but make note of to whom you sent queries to, and what date. Check them off when you receive a response, and let's hope you get a lot of positive responses!

nancy sv · Jul 30, 2007

I've been muddling thorugh agentquery today. There are a LOT of agents listed in there! How do you keep track of everything?

Will Lavender · Jul 30, 2007

maestrowork said:
Query as many as you want... unless they say no simultaneous submission.

And if an agency did say that, I wouldn't query them.

Don't think I've ever seen an agency with that phrase in their submission guidelines, however.

Soccer Mom · Jul 30, 2007

I send them out in small batches. But first I ~~stalk the agent like a hungry lion on the savannah~~ thouroughly research the agent like the cautious soul I am.

I want to know what they represent and not just what they SAY they represent. What sort of books have they sold. Do they have a strong track record in my genre? Do they sell to just one or two houses or is there a variety.

nancy sv · Jul 30, 2007

That's the confusing thing about this - there aren't all that many books out in my genre, so I'm not at all surprised that they may not have any like it. But just because they haven't done it in the past, doesn't necessarily mean they wouldn't be interested... I guess it doesn't hurt to send an email! If they ask for a complete manuscript I'll really stalk them before spending all the money to send it out.

nancy sv · Jul 30, 2007

I'll see what I hear... I'm totally prepared for rejection after rejection after rejection after.....

Shadow_Ferret · Jul 30, 2007

MidnightMuse said:
You could die of old age related heart disease if you query them one at a time and wait for a rejection before moving to the next !

Most of us do them in batches, gauge the responses to the query, then tweak and adjust as necessary

I do it one at a time. That way I still have hope when that rejection comes in because I have another agent to immediately send it out to.

If I sent out all the my queries at once, and got all my rejections at once, then I'd have nothing else to live for.

Stijn Hommes · Jul 31, 2007

Query them in batches. If you query them one at a time it will take you ages. When they show interest in your query, they either ask for a partial or a full. That's the moment where the agent/editor might bring up the fact they'd like an exclusive. And that's the moment to consider it. Not a moment sooner.

nancy sv · Jul 31, 2007

Hopefully someone will request a manuscript soon!!

nancy sv · Jul 31, 2007

Hmmm... I wonder what happened? It seems to work fine for me. Oh well, I guess it doesn't really matter if it ended up working eventually....

Marian Perera · Aug 1, 2007

nancy sv said:
I've been muddling thorugh agentquery today. There are a LOT of agents listed in there! How do you keep track of everything?

I just jot potential agents down on a piece of paper beside my computer. Later on, once I've queried them, their names go into a simple table I created on Word. It has four columns - agent's name, date of query/equery, response, date of response. I update it as the replies come in.

Shadow_Ferret · Aug 1, 2007

Stijn Hommes said:
Query them in batches. If you query them one at a time it will take you ages.

Exactly.

That way I can pretend to think of myself as a writer so much longer. If I query them in batches and they all reject me, my dream will be over and I'll have to face the reality that I actually suck at this.

nancy sv · Aug 1, 2007

That's pretty much what I devised, except mine is just in a notebook, not typed... I figure they'll almost all be rejections anyway, so it shouldn't take all that much organizing. Just a simple NO will do.... (sigh...)

Query one agent at a time or many??

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