Query Newbie: Am I doing this right? Targeting the right agent to submit to

I was a little more deliberate, but that's really along the lines of what I did. I used QueryTracker. Examined agents, eliminating those who are closed to queries, or don't rep SF, or whatever. Then I went to each website and looked for query requirements, and noted those in the comment box. Then I went through and rated the agents on a purely subjective basis, based on their website and their client base.THEN, finally, I started querying.

I think there's only so much analyzing you can do, before you have to wing it.

Sounds good. Obviously, tracking down the agents who have represented authors you love is a good first step, but past that, you're on the right track.

I was much lazier than many queriers. I used QT to find agents who repped my genre and were open to queries. If there were multiple agents within an agency who fit, I looked at their response rates to see who was more 'hungry' for new clients, and queried them first. I'd go to their websites to check they were open and include something from their bio in the query so they knew it was personalised.

That was all I checked. It wasn't until offers started coming in that I signed up to Publisher's Marketplace and started researching who I really wanted to work with.

I was sure querying widely was the best strategy for me, and I just didn't have the time or inclination to spend hours on each agent before firing off an email. It worked for me.