Querying an agent who read my first with my second...

I had the same kind of awkward wording problem you did. I tried to work it into a "why I'm querying you" kind of sentence, and gave an approximate time reference (even though they all remembered that previous MS). For example: "Two years ago, you requested another manuscript of mine, TITLE, and gave great feedback I really learned from." Or maybe: "Your kind words about my last manuscript, TITLE, made me think of you for my new manuscript, TITLE 2, an XX,XXX-word novel..."

Obviously, be specific. If they gave you a particular comment that helped you, mention how you took it to heart. "I learned a lot about showing vs. telling from your comments on my last manuscript and it has improved my writing drastically." Be honest, don't kiss ass, though.

If you got a form reject or no real advice, just something like "Last year, you requested my last manuscript, TITLE," along with your wordcount and genre would work just fine.

I'm not certain what the advantage to mentioning the first manuscript would be - as it was a rejection - unless you went through an R&R with the agent, met him/her at a conference, or submitted the first ms on a referral basis.

When in doubt, try something simple, like: "I appreciated the time you took to comment on [title] back in [date], and was hoping that [new title] might appeal to you more".

I disagree. I think it can be very helpful to include in a query that an agent has requested previous work, rejection or not. It shows that they liked the writing enough to request, and if they gave good feedback on the piece, then even more so! And I've heard many agents say the same thing. So, I'd definitely include that info in the query.

As for how to word it, when I was querying, I said something like, "I'm not sure if you remember, but on X date you requested to read my manuscript, Y. Your insightful feedback on that manuscript (if there was feedback) proved invaluable (only if it was), and I knew when I was ready to submit this novel, you would be at the top of my list."

If the agent in question gave only a form rejection on the last manuscript, then I'd tailor it to, "I'm not sure if you remember, but on X date you requested to read my manuscript, Y. Because of your interest in that novel, I thought you might like to see my newest work, TOTALLY AWESOME NOVEL."

I hope this helps.

I agree with Hillary. Asking for a full doesn't mean **that** much in the grand scheme of things. If the agent previously had your full and was very close to signing you, or maybe walked you through a R&R, then I think it you should mention it.

I would guess if they had your full and gave you a standard rejection, it isn't a positive you should mention.

I'm with Becca and Elizabeth on this one. And I can't find my sources at the moment, because I read so many agent blogs, but I've never seen an agent say anything but exactly that.

An agent reads a handful of fulls compared to the queries they get. I have seen it said that if your previous ms. was good enough that they wanted to request a full, then that immediately works as a credit in your favor with regard to the new one, even if the agent doesn't specifically remember the full (which most do anyway). It's not a guarantee that they'll request it, just like any writing credit is not a guarantee that you'll get a request, but it gets you standing out from the batch just that much more.

I would think an agent would remember a writer whose full she had read within the past few years. She may appreciate an acknowledgement of her time.

I agree w/ the three of you. A couple of our agent visitors have said this, specifically on this site. If they requested a full before, they want it mentioned for the next book because it DOES carry some weight. Mind, it doesn't guarantee they'll ask for a full on #2, but it'll get their attention that they thought you had potential.

JSSchley said:

I'm with Becca and Elizabeth on this one. And I can't find my sources at the moment, because I read so many agent blogs, but I've never seen an agent say anything but exactly that.

An agent reads a handful of fulls compared to the queries they get. I have seen it said that if your previous ms. was good enough that they wanted to request a full, then that immediately works as a credit in your favor with regard to the new one, even if the agent doesn't specifically remember the full (which most do anyway). It's not a guarantee that they'll request it, just like any writing credit is not a guarantee that you'll get a request, but it gets you standing out from the batch just that much more.

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