"Batches" of querying - should top-pick agents come first? A mixture?

gbhike · Sep 27, 2019

Hi,

I've looked around online and seen so much about querying strategies and techniques, but this is one thing I'm always surprised to find not a ton of information on. I've seen a lot of places say to send out your queries in batches, not just in one big lump. That way if you send a couple batches and get no requests, you know your query might not be working and you can tweak it. Obviously this makes sense.

My question is, do you all prefer to query your top agents first? The downside of this is that if your query isn't working, you've already burned the bridge with your top choices.

Some would say to save your top-choice agents for later, when you know whether your query is working or not. The downside of this is, what if a lower-level or mid-tier agent loves your work and wants to snatch it up? Wouldn't you be left wondering if you should have gone to your top-choice agents and perhaps you missed out on an opportunity?

Some would say to mix it up a little bit and send to some of each to balance it out.

What do you all think? Thanks!

Siri Kirpal · Sep 27, 2019

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

A mix.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

ShouldBeWriting · Sep 29, 2019

I know people have different opinions on this but... I fully recommend starting with your top choices. From the beginning, my agent was toward the very top of my list, and if I had taken a different strategy, I might have missed out.

Carrie in PA · Sep 30, 2019

A mix. But I never query anyone I wouldn't actually be willing to work with.

When I make my list of agents in my spreadsheet, I rank them 0-5 as I research them. If I ranked them 0-2, I never query them. When I query in batches, I do a pretty even mix of 3-5. It's my own weird little system. There's nothing *wrong* with agents I rank as a 3, but maybe they're brand new, or they use Comic Sans on their website. 5s are usually my pie-in-the-sky agents like Jenny Bent or Donald Maas.

gbhike · Sep 30, 2019

Thank you all for your responses! As a follow up/a couple more thoughts for anyone else stumbling across this topic. Would there be any logic behind:

1. Querying in a mixed batch, and then if you get a request or two, and therefore know your query letter works, going back and beginning to query your top picks? And obviously if you were querying in mixed batches and you weren't getting any requests, you'd know your query letter wasn't really working.

2. If an agent read your work and then offered you representation, is it in poor taste to then toss out a couple of query letters to your top choices while you are mulling it over? Or if an agent offers you representation should you halt all querying while you decide and let them know?

ShouldBeWriting · Sep 30, 2019

gbhike said:
Thank you all for your responses! As a follow up/a couple more thoughts for anyone else stumbling across this topic. Would there be any logic behind:

1. Querying in a mixed batch, and then if you get a request or two, and therefore know your query letter works, going back and beginning to query your top picks? And obviously if you were querying in mixed batches and you weren't getting any requests, you'd know your query letter wasn't really working.

2. If an agent read your work and then offered you representation, is it in poor taste to then toss out a couple of query letters to your top choices while you are mulling it over? Or if an agent offers you representation should you halt all querying while you decide and let them know?

This is exactly why I appear to be the lone person who didn’t query anyone who wasn’t a top choice. I’ll be interested to hear what others say on this subject because I think if you continue to query, you’re risking offending the offering agent. You should never query someone you wouldn’t be thrilled to have represent you. But of course, nudge on anyone who has the query or manuscript. (I actually accepted my offer immediately because after the call, he was my top choice, but I know that’s not the norm.)

Siri Kirpal · Sep 30, 2019

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

1. Definitely feel free to keep querying if you have requests.

2. I wouldn't query more people after an offer, although I've heard of people doing it. (If you do, you MUST tell them you've got an offer on the table, but they're you're top pick.)

Always notify all the other people you've queried if you get an offer, unless they've already declined. If you really, really want the agent who offers first, just notify to say you've accepted someone. That way you won't waste their time.

And yeah, never query someone you wouldn't be willing to work with.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

lizmonster · Sep 30, 2019

gbhike said:
2. If an agent read your work and then offered you representation, is it in poor taste to then toss out a couple of query letters to your top choices while you are mulling it over? Or if an agent offers you representation should you halt all querying while you decide and let them know?

Yeah, I think that's in poor taste. The general etiquette is to let anyone who's requested the full know that you've got an offer.

ShouldBeWriting said:
This is exactly why I appear to be the lone person who didn’t query anyone who wasn’t a top choice. I’ll be interested to hear what others say on this subject because I think if you continue to query, you’re risking offending the offering agent. You should never query someone you wouldn’t be thrilled to have represent you. But of course, nudge on anyone who has the query or manuscript. (I actually accepted my offer immediately because after the call, he was my top choice, but I know that’s not the norm.)

The thing is, you can't know if you'll be "thrilled" to have an agent represent you until you've spoken with them. You can research their reputation and sales, but there's no substitute for actual conversation (and talking to current clients, if possible). I do agree you should only query agents you'd like if everything else checks out, but a query letter isn't a commitment.

ShouldBeWriting · Sep 30, 2019

Perhaps I should have said “think you would be thrilled.” My point was don’t query agents you aren’t excited about first. Of course you won’t know if you actually click until the call and can hear their vision for your book.

ShouldBeWriting · Sep 30, 2019

Wanted to add... my top choices were a mix. Some new agents, some more established, some at larger agencies, some at smaller ones. Because you won’t know what ends up feeling right until you talk.

Woollybear · Sep 30, 2019

gbhike said:
2. If an agent read your work and then *** offered you representation, is it in poor taste to then toss out a couple of query letters to your top choices while you are mulling it over? Or if an agent offers you representation should you halt all querying while you decide and let them know?

I think you might be getting ahead of yourself though, unless these things generally move very fast. I've seen a few books get snatched up by agents, but it seems like more often it is a process.

Anyway:

*** Isn't the normal sequence after querying closer to: (1) Request partial or full / (2) some period of time / (3) contact: "I'd like to arrange a phone call" (or a rejection on the full) / (4) phone call... offer of representation...?

If you are getting requests for fulls I think you can go ahead and send out queries at that stage (during #2 ^^) to any other top pick agents on your list.

If you waited until after #4, well, I have no idea about that but it seems disrespectful for sure. Unless you turned them offering agent down because you didn't want to work with them after all, perhaps b/c the phone call gave you second thoughts.

After being agented, my understanding is that you can part amicably if it doesn't work out. And if it does, great!

gbhike · Oct 1, 2019

Patty said:
I think you might be getting ahead of yourself though, unless these things generally move very fast. I've seen a few books get snatched up by agents, but it seems like more often it is a process.

Anyway:

*** Isn't the normal sequence after querying closer to: (1) Request partial or full / (2) some period of time / (3) contact: "I'd like to arrange a phone call" (or a rejection on the full) / (4) phone call... offer of representation...?

If you are getting requests for fulls I think you can go ahead and send out queries at that stage (during #2 ^^) to any other top pick agents on your list.

If you waited until after #4, well, I have no idea about that but it seems disrespectful for sure. Unless you turned them offering agent down because you didn't want to work with them after all, perhaps b/c the phone call gave you second thoughts.

After being agented, my understanding is that you can part amicably if it doesn't work out. And if it does, great!

Haha, I think you actually make a great point. It's not like an agent is going to just read your query and then drop a representation bomb on you in the middle of the night. It does indeed go through a process. So, it makes sense that if an agent read your query, requested a full, then requested a phone conversation, then at *that point* maybe one could be like, "OK, a phone conversation seems pretty legit, maybe I better go ahead and send a query to ____ top choice agent since things with this agent seem to be moving along quickly."

I appreciate the response!

lizmonster · Oct 1, 2019

Patty said:
*** Isn't the normal sequence after querying closer to: (1) Request partial or full / (2) some period of time / (3) contact: "I'd like to arrange a phone call" (or a rejection on the full) / (4) phone call... offer of representation...?

Sometimes the phone call is an R&R, and at that point you can decide if you want to make the changes and keep pursuing that agent as a (non-guaranteed) possibility, or politely decline.

I've done this twice. (Well, I did it once, and am currently doing it again.) I don't continue querying while I'm revising; among other things, what book would I query? If the agent who requested the R&R passes, then I move forward querying the revised MS (because I wouldn't have revised it if I didn't think acting on the agent's notes would improve it).

Which is another argument for mixing top-choice "stretch" agents with others: you may get a "no" with some feedback that makes you want to revise.

I don't think there's a wrong answer, really. It's all pretty arcane and unscientific (probably because the process on the agent side is different for every agent).

Woollybear · Oct 1, 2019

gbhike said:
Haha, I think you actually make a great point. It's not like an agent is going to just read your query and then drop a representation bomb on you in the middle of the night.

I love this image.

gbhike · Oct 1, 2019

lizmonster said:
Sometimes the phone call is an R&R, and at that point you can decide if you want to make the changes and keep pursuing that agent as a (non-guaranteed) possibility, or politely decline.

I've done this twice. (Well, I did it once, and am currently doing it again.) I don't continue querying while I'm revising; among other things, what book would I query? If the agent who requested the R&R passes, then I move forward querying the revised MS (because I wouldn't have revised it if I didn't think acting on the agent's notes would improve it).

Which is another argument for mixing top-choice "stretch" agents with others: you may get a "no" with some feedback that makes you want to revise.

I don't think there's a wrong answer, really. It's all pretty arcane and unscientific (probably because the process on the agent side is different for every agent).

You've had phone calls where the subject of discussion is a R&R? That seems a tiny bit tough to swallow, from my completed uneducated perspective. If I had an agent set up a phone call with me, I guess I would have cautiously assumed that they wanted to offer representation. But are you saying that you've had agents get in touch, set up a phone call, and only then say, "Hey, feel free to work on X, Y and Z and then send it back my way and we'll see what happens?" I guess that's at least good to keep in mind that that's a possibility and to not assume a phone call = representation.

lizmonster · Oct 2, 2019

gbhike said:
You've had phone calls where the subject of discussion is a R&R?

Twice. The first time resulted in an offer of rep. The current R&R is still ongoing. It's not all that uncommon, or maybe I'm just biased.

FWIW, both times the email requesting a call was phrased in such a way that I could figure out it wasn't going to be a clear offer.

The thing is, a writing career almost never looks like write -> query -> offer of rep -> sale to publisher -> everything you write automatically sells in perpetuity. It's freelancing, and for most writers - even ones who are now established - there's a long period of instability before you reach any kind of equilibrium. The timeframe I've heard from multiple sources is 10 years - 10 years of consistent production and consistent sales, and only one of those things is under your control.

A lot of people aren't comfortable with how much depends on luck and timing. There's a lot of attrition in this writing game.

WeaselFire · Oct 2, 2019

Why would you want your submission accepted by your fifth choice agent when you never even asked your first or second choices?

Jeff

tko · Oct 6, 2019

WeaselFire said:
Why would you want your submission accepted by your fifth choice agent when you never even asked your first or second choices?

Jeff

Isn't that obvious? Because if you first 10 or so submissions didn't get a nibble, you should revise, rewrite, and take a different approach. Sometimes it isn't obvious what works and what doesn't. And if you use that initial query on all your top agents, you're dead in the water. And don't tell me to get that 1st query perfect.

"Batches" of querying - should top-pick agents come first? A mixture?

gbhike

Siri Kirpal

Swan in Process

ShouldBeWriting

Carrie in PA

Write All The Words!

gbhike

ShouldBeWriting

Siri Kirpal

Swan in Process

lizmonster

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

ShouldBeWriting

ShouldBeWriting

Woollybear

gbhike

lizmonster

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

Woollybear

gbhike

lizmonster

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

WeaselFire

Benefactor Member

tko

just thanks fore everything