Do agents automatically reject with longer query letters?

SaveitForaRainyDay

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Just to make it clear, I'm not talking like 5 pages, or any length as extreme as that.

I've heard that they should be no longer than 250 words. But when looking at specific agencies I found that they just say 'one page query', not how many words it should be.

At that moment mine is around 400 words. But it still fits on one page with 12pt text and the correct margins. If I sent this off would they take into account the length of my query? Would they see it on their screen as too long and not take the time to read it? Or does it not necessarily matter?
 

mrsmig

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A 400-word query is pretty long. Have you gotten any feedback on it? You've got enough posts to put the query up at Query Letter Hell and get some opinions.
 

suki

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Just to make it clear, I'm not talking like 5 pages, or any length as extreme as that.

I've heard that they should be no longer than 250 words. But when looking at specific agencies I found that they just say 'one page query', not how many words it should be.

At that moment mine is around 400 words. But it still fits on one page with 12pt text and the correct margins. If I sent this off would they take into account the length of my query? Would they see it on their screen as too long and not take the time to read it? Or does it not necessarily matter?

It's not an auto pass, probably, no. But you need to understand that queries are a representation of your abilities to write skillfully, as well as clearly and concisely. So if it's long, and there are unnecessary things in it -- it rambles, it's wordy, etc. -- the agent may assume your book suffers the same issues.

There's a tension to query writing. And it's your first impression. Get in the right amount of information with the right amount of voice to draw an agent's interest. When an agent opens a query and it looks long, the agent may be immediately more skeptical, because it looks long. But if it's a great query, then it won't matter. If it works, it works.

But if you're going to send a longer looking query, make sure it really all is necessary. Have you put it through Query Letter Hell in Share Your Work? If not, get over there and read some queries, maybe critique a bunch, then take a second look at yours. Once you are satisfied that it is as good as you can make it, put it up for critique.

good luck!

~suki
 

SaveitForaRainyDay

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A 400-word query is pretty long. Have you gotten any feedback on it? You've got enough posts to put the query up at Query Letter Hell and get some opinions.

No, not yet. I'm still polishing it up. That was what I was planning to do anyway. But I just wanted to see if I'd have to drastically cut it down first.

I think the longest part is the short synopsis of the book. I have a hard time cutting it into smaller chunks.
 

SaveitForaRainyDay

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It's not an auto pass, probably, no. But you need to understand that queries are a representation of your abilities to write skillfully, as well as clearly and concisely. So if it's long, and there are unnecessary things in it -- it rambles, it's wordy, etc. -- the agent may assume your book suffers the same issues.

There's a tension to query writing. And it's your first impression. Get in the right amount of information with the right amount of voice to draw an agent's interest. When an agent opens a query and it looks long, the agent may be immediately more skeptical, because it looks long. But if it's a great query, then it won't matter. If it works, it works.

But if you're going to send a longer looking query, make sure it really all is necessary. Have you put it through Query Letter Hell in Share Your Work? If not, get over there and read some queries, maybe critique a bunch, then take a second look at yours. Once you are satisfied that it is as good as you can make it, put it up for critique.

good luck!

~suki

I actually think that is the case, to be honest. I always have a hard time cutting things down. But I'm hoping to get better at that with critique.

Yes, that's what I'm doing at the moment. I have looked at a lot of other queries and tallied up their word count, which was why I asked this question :')
 

Aggy B.

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I would think that one page means just that.

When I was querying, I had two letters - one that was just under 250 words, and one that was just over 150 (not counting my contact info at the end). For that particular book, I didn't feel I needed more words to pitch it. But not every book is as easily condensed.

I wouldn't expect an agent to dump a query just because it's 400 words instead of 250, but also consider that with email queries you may not want a query that forces the agent to scroll down to see the end of the query. This is one area where being succinct and on point is key; you want to show the agent that you can answer the question "So, what's your book about?" without spending 15 minutes flailing for an answer.

Aggy, still flails a bit on certain projects
 

mccardey

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No, not yet. I'm still polishing it up. That was what I was planning to do anyway. But I just wanted to see if I'd have to drastically cut it down first.

I think the longest part is the short synopsis of the book. I have a hard time cutting it into smaller chunks.

Be careful you're not conflating the synopsis with the query.
 

JulianneQJohnson

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I agree with other posters. Throw it up in Query Hell and get some real feedback. In my opinion, no, it doesn't have to be 250 words or less, but 400 seems long. Query Hell can help you shave it down a bit.
 

suki

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I actually think that is the case, to be honest. I always have a hard time cutting things down. But I'm hoping to get better at that with critique.

Yes, that's what I'm doing at the moment. I have looked at a lot of other queries and tallied up their word count, which was why I asked this question :')

To be honest, at this point, stop counting words. ;) You're focused on length and you should be focused on the words themselves.

Focus on getting the right words, in the right order, with none extra. Words that flow nicely together and give a sense of the voice of your book. Get it where you want it, then consider its length. Obsessing over length and trying to "cut it down" means you are focused on length, instead of what you should be -- like voice and clarity and flow of the words. Even if you cut it down, they still might not be the right words.

I really do urge you start critiquing other people's queries. When you get your query where you want it, stick it in a drawer for a week and critique as many queries for other people as you can. Then look at yours again. I'm sure you will find issues and will revise. Then do that again. And again. Until the query you take out of the drawer looks good. Then post it for critique. And by then you will have built up some good will, for others to pay back by critiquing your query. :)

~suki
 

SaveitForaRainyDay

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Be careful you're not conflating the synopsis with the query.

I hope not. I've already written a synopsis as well as this and they seem quite different.

To be honest, at this point, stop counting words. ;) You're focused on length and you should be focused on the words themselves.

Focus on getting the right words, in the right order, with none extra. Words that flow nicely together and give a sense of the voice of your book. Get it where you want it, then consider its length. Obsessing over length and trying to "cut it down" means you are focused on length, instead of what you should be -- like voice and clarity and flow of the words. Even if you cut it down, they still might not be the right words.

I really do urge you start critiquing other people's queries. When you get your query where you want it, stick it in a drawer for a week and critique as many queries for other people as you can. Then look at yours again. I'm sure you will find issues and will revise. Then do that again. And again. Until the query you take out of the drawer looks good. Then post it for critique. And by then you will have built up some good will, for others to pay back by critiquing your query. :)

~suki

Ha, I am so focused on word count mainly because I somehow managed to churn out a 500, 000 word mega-beast of a novel, like the first thing I'd ever seriously written, and found out that it'd never sell, so now I try to cut everything down.

Actually, I critiqued someone's query today, so I hope that's one step forward.

Thanks for the advice! :)

I agree with other posters. Throw it up in Query Hell and get some real feedback. In my opinion, no, it doesn't have to be 250 words or less, but 400 seems long. Query Hell can help you shave it down a bit.

I hope so!
 

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I agree that QLH is the place to go :) I have read a number of agents that imply they will simply move on if a query is too long. I strongly suspect this, like all things in the world of querying hell, depends on the agent. Some agents probably don't care (in fact I know I've read some letters posted by agents as "ideal" that were waaaay longer that 250 words) and some agents probably take a long query letter as a sign that your writing will ramble on.
 

SaveitForaRainyDay

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I agree that QLH is the place to go :) I have read a number of agents that imply they will simply move on if a query is too long. I strongly suspect this, like all things in the world of querying hell, depends on the agent. Some agents probably don't care (in fact I know I've read some letters posted by agents as "ideal" that were waaaay longer that 250 words) and some agents probably take a long query letter as a sign that your writing will ramble on.

Yeah, I have also read a few queries that have been successful and long, so I thought I'd ask for some opinions.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Just to make it clear, I'm not talking like 5 pages, or any length as extreme as that.

I've heard that they should be no longer than 250 words. But when looking at specific agencies I found that they just say 'one page query', not how many words it should be.

At that moment mine is around 400 words. But it still fits on one page with 12pt text and the correct margins. If I sent this off would they take into account the length of my query? Would they see it on their screen as too long and not take the time to read it? Or does it not necessarily matter?

One page traditionally equals 250 words, regardless of what your word processor count is. It was twenty-five lines of Pica type with sixty spaces per line. A word was counted as any combination of six paces, be it letters or white space. So sixty divided by six is ten, times twenty-five lines is 250.

Even if you had 350 actual words, or only a hundred actual words because of short dialogue, the page still had 250 words because the entire page had to be published, white space and all. It was about paper, not ink.

I suspect this is where the 250 rule got started. So when you're told 250 words, just think one page.

I would, however, say that almost all the really great queries I've seen get by with less than one hundred words, not counting a credits list, and/or info about you. The two best were under forty words.
 

SaveitForaRainyDay

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One page traditionally equals 250 words, regardless of what your word processor count is. It was twenty-five lines of Pica type with sixty spaces per line. A word was counted as any combination of six paces, be it letters or white space. So sixty divided by six is ten, times twenty-five lines is 250.

Even if you had 350 actual words, or only a hundred actual words because of short dialogue, the page still had 250 words because the entire page had to be published, white space and all. It was about paper, not ink.

I suspect this is where the 250 rule got started. So when you're told 250 words, just think one page.

I would, however, say that almost all the really great queries I've seen get by with less than one hundred words, not counting a credits list, and/or info about you. The two best were under forty words.

Ah okay, thanks. That makes sense :) I was already going to try and shred my work anyway.
 

MandyHubbard

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Um, definitely do not think 40 words is something to shoot for. That is way, WAY too short. I don't know what James' background is but I've gotta assume he's never been an agent.

And yes 250 words/page is from the dinosaur age but that doesn't mean if you can get 350 to fit on one page it's the same thing.

My eyes DO glaze over a little bit if I'm humming along, reviewing queries, and hit one that is 50% longer than everything else. I'll still read it, but more often then not, I realize very quickly WHY it is so long--it needs to be boiled down--and end up passing.

So if that was true in the last 99 longer-than-normal queries, it's impossible to read it as if I haven't noticed it's long.

Everyone gets a fair shake, but do you want an agent going into the query with that thought in the back of their mind?
 
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Critiquing queries, as you've already begun to do, is a great way to learn *why* certain query rules work. Occasionally one will break a rule and do well, which just goes to show you that what hooks hooks, regardless of the rules, but for the most part, you'll see why things in general work by reading more and more queries. Going towards length, see how long it takes you to get hooked by a great query, how long it takes for you to lose interest in others, and how wordiness or extra information can get in the way of what you want to know.

Another note is that when it comes to querying these days, it's not about "one page" as much as it's about what's going to show up on a screen without scrolling in the e-mail.
 

MandyHubbard

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Another note is that when it comes to querying these days, it's not about "one page" as much as it's about what's going to show up on a screen without scrolling in the e-mail.


That's how I tend to think of it (although sometimes emails arrive in different fonts/sizes), since I don't allow snail mail queries.
 

SaveitForaRainyDay

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Um, definitely do not think 40 words is something to shoot for. That is way, WAY too short. I don't know what James' background is but I've gotta assume he's never been an agent.

And yes 250 words/page is from the dinosaur age but that doesn't mean if you can get 350 to fit on one page it's the same thing.

My eyes DO glaze over a little bit if I'm humming along, reviewing queries, and hit one that is 50% longer than everything else. I'll still read it, but more often then not, I realize very quickly WHY it is so long--it needs to be boiled down--and end up passing.

So if that was true in the last 99 longer-than-normal queries, it's impossible to read it as if I haven't noticed it's long.

Everyone gets a fair shake, but do you want an agent going into the query with that thought in the back of their mind?

Yeah, I wasn't going to shoot for something that short. That would be impossible for me to do, anyhow. I'm having trouble shortening as it is :D

Critiquing queries, as you've already begun to do, is a great way to learn *why* certain query rules work. Occasionally one will break a rule and do well, which just goes to show you that what hooks hooks, regardless of the rules, but for the most part, you'll see why things in general work by reading more and more queries. Going towards length, see how long it takes you to get hooked by a great query, how long it takes for you to lose interest in others, and how wordiness or extra information can get in the way of what you want to know.

Another note is that when it comes to querying these days, it's not about "one page" as much as it's about what's going to show up on a screen without scrolling in the e-mail.

That's a good point. I might actually paste my query into an email and see how long it takes to get through it.
 

popgun62

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I hear this question a lot, so I checked out the word length on my query, which landed me a four-book deal with a large indie press and a contract with a major New York agency. I was surprised to find that it was approximately 700 words.

But I never really checked the word length; I simply included what most agents and publishers say they want - Length of the manuscript, target audience, comparable authors, a short synopsis like one you would read on the inside jacket of a book, a short bio, previously published books, blurbs from bestselling authors, award nominations, etc.

If they ask for a complete story synopsis, the first ten or fifty pages, etc., I include those, as well.

I think if it's interesting and it keeps them reading, length is not really an issue. No agent or publisher ever said my query was too long.
 

Cyia

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Another note is that when it comes to querying these days, it's not about "one page" as much as it's about what's going to show up on a screen without scrolling in the e-mail.


I'm thinking Query Shark puts it at something like 8-lines of text with a partially minimized window, meaning you get that much space to hook the agent's attention. (Also why you don't waste space by putting your personal information at the top.)

40 words is doable, but you need to make sure they're 40 words with a punch. Conversely, 400 words is also doable, but you need to make sure they're 400 necessary words.

You can boil the entire Harry Potter series down to a one sentence log-line, and a 2-3 sentence plot summary. That's 7 books and around a million words of text. If you can do that with a series, you should be able to hash out a shortish query for a single title.
 

SaveitForaRainyDay

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I hear this question a lot, so I checked out the word length on my query, which landed me a four-book deal with a large indie press and a contract with a major New York agency. I was surprised to find that it was approximately 700 words.

But I never really checked the word length; I simply included what most agents and publishers say they want - Length of the manuscript, target audience, comparable authors, a short synopsis like one you would read on the inside jacket of a book, a short bio, previously published books, blurbs from bestselling authors, award nominations, etc.

If they ask for a complete story synopsis, the first ten or fifty pages, etc., I include those, as well.

I think if it's interesting and it keeps them reading, length is not really an issue. No agent or publisher ever said my query was too long.

Well done for getting a book deal. That's great! Wow...700 words. This definitely gives me hope, even though I'll still try the cutting down approach :D
 

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....400 words is also doable, but you need to make sure they're 400 necessary words.
....

This.

I spend a lot of time in QLH and the first thing anyone should do is ditch any 'filler' phrases (read through enough and you'll see plenty of examples) and unnecessary detail.

And as others have said, a great way to learn is to critique others - many others. Not so sure how well it's worked for me, but it seems to for other people :D

I've also read of some agents who scroll right past the query letter to look at the opening pages - in that case, the shorter the better, I'd imagine.
 

robjvargas

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Let's think of this from the agent's side.

You're querying that agent, so it's safe to presume others do as well. Now we have an agent with a (literal or electronic) stack of queries to run through.

You (the agent) have all these, plus existing clients, publishers to schmooze, royalties to get out, and so on. Now, you have however-many queries under that 250-limit. Those queries are so big:

|<---------->|

In that stack is yours. 60% bigger:

|<------------------>|

Now what?

The agent may not automatically dump it, but where do you think that thing's going? I'd say into the "if I have time" pile. And when do agents have time?

I would imagine roughly the same sequence of events if you submit to a publisher as well.

That work is your baby. Do you really want to take that chance?
 

SaveitForaRainyDay

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Let's think of this from the agent's side.

You're querying that agent, so it's safe to presume others do as well. Now we have an agent with a (literal or electronic) stack of queries to run through.

You (the agent) have all these, plus existing clients, publishers to schmooze, royalties to get out, and so on. Now, you have however-many queries under that 250-limit. Those queries are so big:

|<---------->|

In that stack is yours. 60% bigger:

|<------------------>|

Now what?

The agent may not automatically dump it, but where do you think that thing's going? I'd say into the "if I have time" pile. And when do agents have time?

I would imagine roughly the same sequence of events if you submit to a publisher as well.

That work is your baby. Do you really want to take that chance?

Yeah, that's what I thought would happen too, which was why I asked the question. I'm definitely working on trimming it a bit.
 

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Um, definitely do not think 40 words is something to shoot for. That is way, WAY too short. I don't know what James' background is but I've gotta assume he's never been an agent.


No, forty words for the part of the query about the book itself is not way too short, if the words are the right ones. While I agree that it usually takes considerably more, I think it's because too many writers simply can't write well, or because far too many agents and editors ask for a long synopsis style query, and writers dutifully give it to them. And then wonder why a hundred agents said no.

My background is primarily a writer, and I've sold novels with shorter queries, considerably shorter, but I've also been an editor, and I've worked query slush for a couple of agents.

I've seen very good agents grab a manuscript from a single sentence more than once, but my favorite query consisted of two sentences that had a total of nine words. Two short sentences that said something brilliant in a wonderful way.

While slightly off topic, I know a top editor who grabbed a manuscript from an unsolicited query because the entire query consisted of five words. I'm the best there is. Turned out teh writer may have been exhaggerating a bit, but he was nonetheless very, very good, and the editor bought the novel.

I also know an editor who hired a staff writer because instead of sending clips, he sent just four words. I can flat write. Turned out he was underestimating his talent.

Not every agent or every editor likes the same old same old boring tell me all about your novel approach.

Frankly, an agent or editor who would rather read 2oo, or 250, or 300 words about a novel, rather than a few short sentences that show how good the writer is, wouldn't much interest me.

Really, don't you get tired of reading 250 words about this novel, and then 250 words about that novel? It takes about ten minutes for my eyes to blur, and for all of them to start sounding alike.

At this stage, I couldn't care less about plot, or about the chain of events that takes me from page one to page last. Any decent writer, and even a lot of lousy writers, can do this well.

A really good, talented writer will handle these things, so what I care about is finding writers who can flat write, who have something to say worth hearing, and who show me how good they are.

A decent to good writer can tell me all I need to know about a novel in a couple of hundred words. A really great writer, however, can show me how well they can write, and that they have something worth saying, in forty words or less. Often in one or two very short sentences. Given a choice, I'll take this writer each and every time.