I am PETRIFIED of querying.

I'd say it's a blend of realistic assessment (you may not get eyes on your full) and fear (I'm hesitant to call it irrational terror).

If the mss is finished, polished, had eyes on it other than your own (and family/friends) and you believe it's as good as you can make it, competitive with comps on the market, it's ready.

Is your query ready to go? Have you had eyes other than your own on it? Do you have a synopsis ready? A list of agents you'd like to begin querying?

If the answer to all of the above is yes, it's time--if you want an agent.

I'm a cautious gal, but sometimes the only thing left to do is jump. You may find it to be an easier process than you've built it up to be in your mind, if only because it seems you're realistic enough to know not everything is in your control (if you're going the route of searching for an agent/trade publishing).

It's definitely not as bad as you fear. Just remember two things.

1) If anyone asks you for money, for any reason, in any quantity, at any point in the process, no matter how convincing the reasoning - assume it's a scam and move on. Money flows toward the writer.

2) Apart from being scammed (which you can avoid using rule number 1) - what's the worst that can happen?

Answer: They say "no."

That can sting a bit, sure, but it's not life-ending. You've already gotten critiques and feedback and lived to tell the tale. Sounds like you can handle a "no" from an agent or publisher.

If they say "yes" and you get into the contract stage, congratulations! It means a bit more research and legwork to make sure you get a good contract, but you also get money and get to see your book in print!

......

Just take it one step at a time. You'll be fine.

I think there are both rational and irrational parts to your fear.

As a general rule - yes, a query letter is how you get an agent to look at your actual words. And yes, a query letter is a specific type of document, and being able to write a gorgeous novel doesn't necessarily mean you have good query letter skills.

BUT query letters aren't ancient mysteries. They're a pitch for your book. They're a marketing document. If, like me, the word "marketing" strikes terror into your heart, fear not: there is help to be had. I highly recommend Query Letter Hell here at AW, where the squirrels will critique and shred until you have something that concisely describes your work.

You don't have to have a Pulitzer-quality query letter to get an agent's attention. You have to have a query that concisely describes your story in a way that helps an agent understand why your story is one they'd want to read.

Fuzzy? Yep. Once you get past the written-in-crayon-on-perfumed-paper stage, a lot of publishing is down to the personal taste of the person reading. Which makes sense; it's art, and art is subjective.

Is it time to link to Slushkiller again? I think it is. It's describing the short story process, but there's a lot here that can be generalized.

It's also worth remembering that agents aren't looking for specious reasons to reject your query. They read queries hoping to find something that hooks them. They're not going to ditch you for a typo, or one cliched phrase among an otherwise good description. They read queries hoping for a clear picture of the book they'll be asking for: that's all.

EVERY new step is scary the first time you take it when it involves other people. That first submission, the first self-published book, the opening of your first online store, streaming your first podcast, being in your first art exhibition, stepping on stage for your first play, etc etc. We always fear judgment and the unknown. Fear means you're moving forward.

Like Tazlima said, the worst that can happen with your first submission is they say "no." And they probably will, repeatedly. Even if your query is perfect, it might not be what the agent or publisher is looking for right now, or maybe they just got something similar to it. 10% request rate is generally considered good, 15-25% is impressive. Those rejections are gonna come, and you're gonna be in good company. You're here, you have 50 posts, so we're here to help. Study what's in QLH, read the archives of Query Shark, write your query and we'll help you scrub it up so that hopefully, you can feel confident that it's not the reason for the rejections.

JonnyTheDean said:

Cheers for the pep talk

Here's the thing, though - it feels like my manuscript can be as polished and ready to go as it likes, but there's only a handful of attempts to get the query and synopsis perfect. I've seen recommendations to send out in batches of five - if no requests for pages, then redraft...

...but surely, after a few rounds of that, you start to run out of reputable and appropriate agents? Particularly if you're in a relatively niche field.

That's the thing that's bothering me - it doesn't feel to me like something that you can just "have a go" at, and try again if it doesn't work. It feels like something that you have a couple of attempts at, and then never again.

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Personally, I think batches of 5 are too small for redrafting, though I like batches of 5 for staggering purposes. Remember, some agents respond within a week, others take months, some won't respond at all--and many don't respond within the time frame suggested on their websites, if there is a time frame posted.

It's true there aren't infinite opportunities, but there are none if you don't get to the sending queries part.

Odds are what you're querying has a broader possible agent base than what you're thinking (if, say, you've got a time traveling romantic suspense with elements of horror, don't only query agents who have specifically stated an interest in time traveling romantic suspense with elements of horror).

If you read through threads here, you'll see many posts recommending you shouldn't send to all of your *top* choices in the first go round, mix it up in terms of who you send to. OTOH, I've said it before and I'll say it again, assuming any agent you're sending to is reputable (legit, not asking you for $), love the agent who loves your work. Don't get too vested in who you think is your dream agent, because we really don't know who our dream agent is until we have them. There are pluses and minuses to all types, newer, established, boutique or large firm. Not all have a strong social media presence, that doesn't mean they aren't dedicated and successful professionals, the agent with an already full list of bestselling authors *may* not have the time a newer author might need, etc.

JonnyTheDean said:

Cheers for the pep talk

Here's the thing, though - it feels like my manuscript can be as polished and ready to go as it likes, but there's only a handful of attempts to get the query and synopsis perfect. I've seen recommendations to send out in batches of five - if no requests for pages, then redraft...

...but surely, after a few rounds of that, you start to run out of reputable and appropriate agents? Particularly if you're in a relatively niche field.

That's the thing that's bothering me - it doesn't feel to me like something that you can just "have a go" at, and try again if it doesn't work. It feels like something that you have a couple of attempts at, and then never again.

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In my querying, I settled on somewhere around 50 agents using QueryTracker. On my first book, I got diddly. On my second book, I got an offer. Once I was established, my publisher gave me an offer to re-publish the first book after some editing. So you're never really burning bridges, and no effort is wasted. Keep writing, keep querying.

There are things you can use, though. For instance, if you query and get no requests for pages from anyone, then your query is bad. If you get requests for pages only from agents that didn't get pages attached on the query, then your pages need work. If you get requests for fulls but no follow-up or followed by rejections, then the manuscript needs work. And so on.

It's been said that you need to write a million words before you're ready to publish. That's maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but it does make a valid point. You'll get better as you write more. As hard as it is to be patient, maybe you should be happy if you don't get an offer until your third or fourth book. Think of it as on-the-job training.

ap123 said:

Personally, I think batches of 5 are too small for redrafting, though I like batches of 5 for staggering purposes. Remember, some agents respond within a week, others take months, some won't respond at all--and many don't respond within the time frame suggested on their websites, if there is a time frame posted.

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Agree with this. I sent literally one query per day.

A couple of months ago there was story on NPR about a published author in France who tried to get a book published in the traditional way. Nobody would publish his book so he said damn and self published it on Amazon where it did okay but not spectacularly.

Then the book won the top book prize in France and it sold all kinds of copies. Bookstores in France were livid because they didn't get any book sales.

I'm just saying that you might as well submit your book. It's not a perfect system, even if it's rejected everywhere doesn't mean it's a bad book.

JonnyTheDean said:

Here's the thing, though - it feels like my manuscript can be as polished and ready to go as it likes, but there's only a handful of attempts to get the query and synopsis perfect. I've seen recommendations to send out in batches of five - if no requests for pages, then redraft...

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That's where Query Letter Hell comes into its own... (Password: vista. Read-the-stickies. )

JonnyTheDean said:

But from all the research I've done, it seems like the querying process is a piranha-filled nightmare with traps at every turn.

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Oh, it's much worse than that.

caw

The worse thing that can happen when you query is that they say no, so while waiting I prefer to be excited rather than scared

It's very rational because what you fear is true. Sorry Jonny on some days you're gonna feel like this but it's part of the territory. It definitely could be a long, unnerving, endless road of rewriting/revisions, fixing queries, etc. BUT, that's how it's always going to be in this business even after publication. The thing is, there are extreme cases and some not so extreme. Some writers don't have to do tons of rewrites before publication while others do it for years and years and still don't get published. You can't worry about that. Take a breath and take it one day at a time. Worrying about stuff that hasn't happened is not good for you.

Take it from me, someone with anxiety disorder. I'm on meds but still have to learn to stop worrying about stuff I can't control. You can't control where the journey leads you but you can control how to handle it. Be positive and do all you can to put out the best work then worry about anything else.

Also, some writers would kill for the opportunity to do rewrite/revisions because that means you are at least getting people interested enough to give you tips. What can really shred your soul is when you get those one-paragraph form rejections back with no clue as to what you did wrong. If you send out queries and agents ask for more and give feedback in return, shoot, that's considered winning the lottery in query hell.

If this comforts you, you're one of millions on the querying journey so you aren't alone. Go on and pop that cherry and get the first one out there and you'll feel better once you get used to the process.

Here is some advice to keep you from going insane. Don't just sit there waiting. What helped time go by for me back when I was querying was working on other things. Oh yes. I was like a machine. I constantly wrote stuff. The minute I finished one book I hopped into another. I'd written about 10 books at least before getting published and most likely the first book you write won't be the first published IF it ever will be. The first book I wrote was 20 years ago. I shopped it around, got rejected a bunch of times, rewrote it several times, got rejected a bunch of more times, finally got some agents to see it, it got rejected a million more times and in the end, it never got published. For me that book is just a memory of what started my journey. It was on my tenth book that got me a contract. All the books I wrote before then, I let them go and moved on. I chalked them up to me honing my skills and learning to be the best writer I could be.

I'm telling you, KEEP working on something. Time flew for me because I wasn't sitting around waiting to hear back from agents. Put many irons in the fire and you have a better chance of hooking someone. So that's my best advice to anyone on the querying journey. Keep working on things repeatedly. Don't just write one book and sit there waiting. You'll waste years doing that. Querying is like being in solitary confinement, you need to find ways to stimulate your mind because stalking agents/pubs and staring at your email addy all day is definitely not good for you. That will drive you crazier than anything.

So get that first one out there and start on something else. Keep feeding projects through that pipeline.

In the end, I got a contract with one of the big six. Stayed with them for a few years and now 50+ published books later (and going through a string of other publishers along the way), I'm self-publishing and I've had a pretty decent journey. It all started with going through that hell though. It also makes you stronger and more determined.

I have no idea if this is helpful or not, and you've already got some really useful stuff from others here but this is my thought:

When I queried I was really ignorant. I knew what a query (or rather cover letter, I was doing it in the UK) should look like, I knew which agents I wanted to target, and I had a book ready to go. I had done all the professional research is my point. What I hadn't done, and didn't even know to do, was to read up about the querying process, or visit forums where people discussed how to write a good query, or, I'm not even sure Twitter was a thing but if it was, be on Twitter reading agents talk query preferences and faux pas etc etc.

I knew none of that.

I just knew I wanted an agent. That this was how one did such a thing. I knew what was expected of me. And I did it.

And I am so bloody happy I was so ignorant. I am the model for ignorance is bliss.

Because had I known all the things I know now, had I been a member of AW back then, had I read all the blogs about what makes a good query and what agents are sick of or etc etc, I would have frozen from the same fears you have. There is a real sense out there in the community that querying is overwhelming and a minefield and impossible to get quite right and that if we aren't 100% perfect we are doomed. And that feeling is utterly paralyzing.

So this is my advice: just do it. Pretend you don't know any of that stuff, and just do it. Make your query as good as you can, by which I mean make sure it gets across both the story of your book and also the tone. Make your sample pages gleam. Do your research and send to the right agents. And then get on with your bad self. Write the next book.

You will never be perfect. You will never be perfect even after you have an agent. An editor. A published book. No piece of writing is flawless and no piece of writing is beloved by all. Ever. You can't control all the things. And never will. So let that be a freeing thought. Be the best you can be right now. And just do it. You can. You really can.

blacbird said:

Oh, it's much worse than that.

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Oh nonsense. It's hard work and it's daunting and it's no one's favourite thing, but it's part of the job and we just have to get on with it. Comments like that really aren't helpful.

PeteMC said:

Oh nonsense. It's hard work and it's daunting and it's no one's favourite thing, but it's part of the job and we just have to get on with it. Comments like that really aren't helpful.

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Total agreement from me. The wait can be worse than the actual rejection for people. As long as you do your research and submit to reputable places then you have little to fear but the rejections, the maybes and the not-quite-yesses. Which is not fun at all, but something we all go through.

CameronJohnston said:

The wait can be worse than the actual rejection for people.

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Or, you know, not.

We all have our own ways of processing this, and I think it's worth respecting everyone's reactions.

The only common denominator I've found is that nobody really knows how they're going to cope until it happens. I've talked to a lot of folks who are genuinely surprised at how it hits them. For many people, writing is personal in a way few other things in life are, and the intersection of that with the business side can be deeply jarring.

Well said, Liz.