How many queries to send?

I probably queried over 100 agents over 5 years before I got representation.

Make a list of suitable agents, send out half a dozen queries and each time you get a rejection send another query.

Send out as many as you need to get an agent. Simple as that. Though I recommend doing it in small batches to test your query. If you send out 10 and get 10 form rejections, you know something's wrong with your query. Rewrite it, send another ten. If you get 6 requests, you know the query's fine and you keep going.

I sent about 250 both times. Did get an agent from it, though. I'm personally of the "send to anyone who takes the genre" mentality.

Sandsurfgirl said:

You are the stealth querier! (If querier is a word) Wow this is so encouraging. Thanks!

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That has been my tactic all along. But... we shall see what comes of it in time.

Can I be a ninja querier instead?

Totally agree with kaitie and becca C. Identify all who represent the genre and then send them in bathches. I plan to send 10 at a time, maybe once a week. I find the Publisher's Marketplace to be an excellent resource. US$20 well spent. If you do your homework well, a month's subscription is all you need. Good luck sandsurfgirl!!

Yeah, I should clarify that I didn't send those all at once. I sent in batches so I could judge the letter and see how it was working.

An author with a dozen novels on the NYT best seller list told me he send out 250 before getting his agent.

kaitie said:

Yeah, I should clarify that I didn't send those all at once. I sent in batches so I could judge the letter and see how it was working.

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Kaitie, did you individually tailor these (in terms of having a line or two saying why you were approaching the agent)?

as many as it takes.

that said, if you send 100 and you don't get any requests for patials or fulls then it's a sign that you need to rework the query

MikeGrant said:

...did you individually tailor these (in terms of having a line or two saying why you were approaching the agent)?

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I don't think that helps, not unless you can say that one of the agent's authors recommended you, or if you met the agent or something. A manufactured personalization is probably more annoying than helpful.

Julie Worth said:

I don't think that helps, not unless you can say that one of the agent's authors recommended you, or if you met the agent or something. A manufactured personalization is probably more annoying than helpful.

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But not saying anything just gives the impression that you've spammed the same query letter out to 50 agents on a whim.

MikeGrant said:

But not saying anything just gives the impression that you've spammed the same query letter out to 50 agents on a whim.

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No, it doesn't. Not personalising a query (other than the agent's name) is pretty much standard. Manufacturing some kind of personalisation where none legitimately exists is much more problemmatic than simply sending out a well-composed query, even if the same query goes out to any number of agents.

MikeGrant said:

But not saying anything just gives the impression that you've spammed the same query letter out to 50 agents on a whim.

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I always put the agent's name and address, and sometimes adjust the bio. And I often email it to myself first to make sure some odd formatting doesn't pop out. If the agent's name comes back in a different font, for instance, that will look copy and paste. Of the last five I sent out, three have responded with two full requests and one partial, so obviously they don't think they're being spammed.

I didn't personalize any of my queries and I got 4 requests out of 5 sent. But then, two of those were conference requests so I didn't have to personalize.

MikeGrant said:

Kaitie, did you individually tailor these (in terms of having a line or two saying why you were approaching the agent)?

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I addressed each to the agent's name, but I only personalized if I had good reason to. I feel inauthentic saying, "I think you'll like my book because you represent my genre" or something of that nature. If my book was similar in nature to something else said agent represented and that's why I chose him, then I would include that, but this only happened a couple of times. Otherwise, I always mentioned if I was a follower of a blog or something of that sort, but again only if it was a legitimate influence on my submission.

There were actually quite a few that I wanted to personalize, but the reason I didn't is because I've seen agents say that it doesn't really help unless you have a reason that's specific enough to be worthwhile. For instance, "I love your blog" might not get me very far because for all they know I'm just saying that, whereas if I can say specifically, "I read your blog often and comment under the name (whatever). I particularly found your post on (something) helpful." Actually, in this case I tended to make a joke, but that's just me. That's also why I didn't always personalize--because sometimes I didn't know if the person would get my humor or not.

So uh...yeah, long rambly way to say: generally speaking, no.

250 queries...that gives me hope and makes me cry at the same time.

I think the best thing to do is study the agent before sending the query. Read a bit of their blog, read what they like and what they represent, then "tailor fit" the query to them. Hasn't worked for me yet (just got started sending a new query) but I've heard from many authors who say it did.

mbowman said:

250 queries...that gives me hope and makes me cry at the same time.

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It's much like getting a home job licking envelopes, except email saves a lot of licking.

Sandsurfgirl said:

I do make sure I follow their submission guidelines exactly but I would never change my actual query letter for each agent. That would take me ten years to get all those queries out.

After this weekend, I'm nearly to 100. That's a total of over several months sending out in batches. I am getting pretty good at it and fast by now. I can find pertinent info on their websites quickly. I have files saved of 20 pages, 50 pages, 3 chapters, and so on. I have 3 synopsis, long, medium and short so I can send them what they want if they have a preference. Some say how many pages they want for your synopsis.

I'm going to be a crazy query woman this week.

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I don't mean to change the query book summary. I have two versions (I have two main characters, one male and one female, so if an agent wants a more "girl oriented" story, I send the one with the female voice, etc.) of the summary, but I mean change the "hello, please represent me" paragraph where you explain why you think this agent is perfect for you.

Agents like to be flattered and know you looked them up and chose them above all others, even if that's not true. Read a little bit about them and their recent sales that are similar to your novel , perhaps say "because of your recent sale, XXXXX, I think you would enjoy my XXXinsertgenrehereXXX novel, TITLE." Mention why you chose them, too. If they have a blog, mention you read it, if you were recommended their agency by another author, mention that too.

In short, research them and then use that research to suck up to them. I have gotten much better results by doing this and just sending a query without this.

Sandsurfgirl, you have a good strategy going. Good luck.