This piece was both (1) an incredible recap of what I remember "the rules" to be from my 2019 querying, and (2) an EXPANSION of what I learned. I think those bolded lines near the bottom are my own--I couldn't figure it out because I did it while reading your google doc, and then I couldn't tell from the edit history, ha! I decided to leave the bolding (mine or yours) because those particular points were so novel or important, to me!
Five offers! Wow!!! This is so helpful, Kristin, and I especially appreciate your final tip about taking time after the call before you accept--and leveraging that waiting period to try to get more interest from agents who haven't replied. Brilliant! (As is the multi-tier approach.)
For query examples, I often refer people to Andi Bartz's substack because she has a TREASURE TROVE (much as I hate that phrase) of actual queries by published suspense writers, including some PT contributors.
For those people reading all the way down through the comments:
I'm on agent #3, over a 20-year span. I got my first one after pitching to her at a conference. (I personally believe that in-person meetings can be more fruitful than cold querying, or at the very least a good secondary avenue.) I got #2 and later #3 after getting emails of introduction from editors. Many of my clients have been able to break through and at least get a partial/full request by using an introduction from another writer. So: in addition to that excellent research via Publisher's Marketplace and elsewhere, always worth making a list of every connection you have, no matter how tenuous, in case that name can gently be used, with the referrer's permission, to get your query read.
This piece was both (1) an incredible recap of what I remember "the rules" to be from my 2019 querying, and (2) an EXPANSION of what I learned. I think those bolded lines near the bottom are my own--I couldn't figure it out because I did it while reading your google doc, and then I couldn't tell from the edit history, ha! I decided to leave the bolding (mine or yours) because those particular points were so novel or important, to me!
Hahah your guess is as good as mine with the bolding 😆
Five offers! Wow!!! This is so helpful, Kristin, and I especially appreciate your final tip about taking time after the call before you accept--and leveraging that waiting period to try to get more interest from agents who haven't replied. Brilliant! (As is the multi-tier approach.)
For query examples, I often refer people to Andi Bartz's substack because she has a TREASURE TROVE (much as I hate that phrase) of actual queries by published suspense writers, including some PT contributors.
https://andibartz.substack.com/p/how-to-pitch-your-book
For those people reading all the way down through the comments:
I'm on agent #3, over a 20-year span. I got my first one after pitching to her at a conference. (I personally believe that in-person meetings can be more fruitful than cold querying, or at the very least a good secondary avenue.) I got #2 and later #3 after getting emails of introduction from editors. Many of my clients have been able to break through and at least get a partial/full request by using an introduction from another writer. So: in addition to that excellent research via Publisher's Marketplace and elsewhere, always worth making a list of every connection you have, no matter how tenuous, in case that name can gently be used, with the referrer's permission, to get your query read.
Yesssss, those are such great points! Thank you!