Query Quest: Postmortem

Last month, I marked the last outstanding query for my novel SECOND DAWN as closed, no response (CNR), ending my first trek through the deep, dark jungle of query land. It was a rough trip, but I learned a lot, and I will absolutely put those lessons into practice when I start querying my second novel in the next month or so. In this post, I’ll give you a quick recap of my querying stats and then talk about some of the things I learned.

As always, this entire post comes with the disclaimer that all of my conclusions are based on my individual experience with specific agents. I could be (and probably am) dead wrong with some of my conclusions. So take that into account before, you know, taking anything I say here to heart.

First, the numbers.

• Queries: 53
• Rejections: 35
• CNR: 18
• FMR: 3

I feel like that’s a solid first outing. I could continue querying, but to be honest, I was running out of agents that repped the kind of horror I write, and my last ten queries or so really felt like shots in the dark. I don’t think that’s a great way to go about getting an agent. Now, of course, there are agents who might be a good fit who just weren’t open when I was querying, but there’s a good chance I’ll hit them with my next novel.

In addition, there are things I need to improve and revise in SECOND DAWN if I want to have a real shot at selling it, so pulling it back and focusing on the next novel, HELL TO PLAY, seems like a reasonable thing to do. I plan to revise SECOND DAWN while I’m querying the new novel, and there’s a every chance I’ll query SECOND DAWN again if I don’t land an agent with HELL TO PLAY.

The Query Package

So what did those fifty-some queries teach me that I can use in my next foray into query land? I think a good place to start that examination is an honest, even blunt appraisal of my query package. What did I do well and what did I do, uh, not so well? Again, this is all based solely on my perception of things and the limited feedback I received from agents, but I feel fairly confident I’m in the ballpark with my conclusions.

The Good

1. Query letter. I think my query letter was strong. I had good examples to draw on from authors I know who successfully engaged an agent, and I think the structure, the brief synopsis, and my bio were all good enough to get an agent’s attention. Keeping it, however, is an entirely different matter. 🙂
2. Sample pages. There’s a caveat here, which I’ll get into in a second, but I believe my first three chapters were good, moved quickly, and set the stage for the rest of the novel. My premise was unique enough to intrigue and may have been the biggest factor in the three full manuscript requests I received.

The Not-So Good

1. Synopsis. In my opinion, my synopsis was just kinda okay. It got the job done, but barely. It was too long, and I’m not sure it conveyed the strengths of my novel as well as it could have. Writing a good synopsis is tough, as any writer will tell you, but it’s one of those things that can make a break a query package. In short, a “just okay” synopsis is not good enough.
2. Comps. My comps for SECOND DAWN were, like my synopsis, adequate at best. I really struggled to find ones that fit the subject matter or the tone. The ones I ended up with were in the ballpark, but they weren’t as good as they could have been. Again, I need to do better than “adequate” going forward.

What Did I Learn

With the strengths and weaknesses of my query package in mind, here are two broad, but I think important, takeaways from my querying experience. The operating word here is broad, so, please keep that in mind, especially with my first point about the two different types of agents.

A Tale of Two Agents

There seemed to be two types of agents I was querying that differed primarily in the type and amount of information they wanted in the query package. I should point out that neither of these types of agents is “doing it wrong.” Every agent wants the same thing you do: to sell a novel. The way they go about choosing which novels are sellable, though, can differ from agent to agent.

The first type of agent generally wanted a query letter, a full synopsis, a separate pitch, a list of books like mine (in addition to comps), and a description of the target audience for my book. The kicker here is that usually these agents don’t ask for much in the way of sample pages, generally no more than ten and often as few as five.

The second type of agent often only wanted a query letter (sometimes a synopsis, but noy always) BUT they want much more of the book, usually three chapters and as much as 50 pages. These agents did occasionally want a pitch or more comps, but less often than the first type. Hell, one agent I queried didn’t even really want a standard query letter, just pages.

Conclusion: Whether or not I hit or miss with the two types of agents described above is going to depend a lot on both the book I’m querying and the relative strengths of my query package. If I look at SECOND DAWN, it’s somewhat clear my query package was more suited to the second type of agent (that’s where my full manuscript requests came from). Why? Well, some of the weaknesses in the package aren’t as glaring when an agent doesn’t put as much stock in a synopsis or comps (or doesn’t even ask for them). Also, I don’t think my novel really shines as brightly in five to ten pages as it does in two or three chapters.

All that said, I want to have a good shot with both types of agents in my next go around, which means a) I need to shore up the weaknesses in my query package and b) I need to take a good hard look at at my first five to ten pages and make sure they’re as compelling as I can make them.

Ghost Town

Coming from a background of short fiction, I was a little caught off guard by the lack of response that’s absolutely standard when querying a novel. A full third of my queries and two of my full manuscript requests simply received no response. Some thoughts on that.

In the case of an initial query, I quickly got used to the idea that there was a good chance an agent simply would not respond, and that no response meant they were not interested. Most agents are very up front about this and state it openly and clearly in their guidelines. I’m fine with that. Agents get A LOT of queries, and it’s simply not possible for them to respond to all of them. Forewarned is forearmed in this case.

Now, when an agent requests your full manuscript, I think there’s more of an expectation you’ll receive some kind of response, even if it’s just a form letter. This is simply not the case, and looking at the stats on QueryTracker, a fair few agents have a low response rate to manuscript requests even if their response rate for general queries is good. Look, it’s hard not to get your hopes up when you get a full manuscript request, but the reality of the situation is that there’s a good chance you won’t hear anything back.

Conclusion: The closed, no response (CNR) is just a fact of querying life, and it’s something I can accept without much rancor. That said, I think there’s nothing wrong with following up with an agent, especially one who has requested your full manuscript, after a reasonable amount of time has passed. You shouldn’t expect a response there, either, but sending a brief status query is perfectly reasonable in my opinion, and if/when there’s no response, it feels, to me, safer to go ahead and move on.

Now, you might wonder if I would query the agents who did not respond to my queries or manuscript requests with my next novel. The answer is absolutely, especially the agents who requested full manuscripts. I think it would be foolish not to. Those agents saw something they liked in my work, and even if SECOND DAWN wasn’t a good fit for them,  my next novel might be. It’s the proverbial foot in the door (okay, maybe just a toe), and there’s no way I’m not gonna see if I can’t boot that thing open. 🙂

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As I said in the beginning of this post, my initial foray into querying was very educational. I learned a lot about the process, what agents are probably looking for, and what are the likely strengths and weaknesses of both SECOND DAWN and my writing in general. My plan going forward is simple: rely upon my strengths and shore up my weaknesses as best as I can.

I do feel I’ll be more successful with my next novel, HELL TO PLAY. Maybe I won’t land an agent, but I think I’ll put forward both a better query package and a better novel. I like my chances with that combo.

Thoughts about my query conclusions? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.