Tips for the Query Trenches
By Diana Giovinazzo | April 21, 2023 |
Recently, I have had more than one aspiring author talk to me about their frustrations with the query trenches. And for those who seek the traditional publishing route, I tell them the same thing I say to every hopeful author: Querying your book is simultaneously one of the hardest and yet most rewarding things you will ever go through. And while that may feel overwhelming, I do have some tips to make the query trenches a bit more bearable.
Set Realistic Pitch Goals
Do not expect to get your first agent right away. Even if it is the world’s best query letter, the likelihood that the agent will pick you is rare. You will go through so many rejections that in the end you will be able to turn the rejection letters into a stylish set of curtains.
When I set out at the start of my querying journey, I stated that my goal was one hundred agents. If one hundred agents rejected me, I would look at other measures. In retrospect, it feels a bit naïve to admit that one hundred was the number I had in mind, especially considering many other published authors have rejections that are well into the triple digits. Ask a published author or two sometime how many rejections they got, I guarantee you, it will be many.
This means that when you set your goal, set your number high, don’t be afraid to pitch to every agent out there if you have to. It truly is a numbers game and if you believe in your work, someone else is bound to as well.
On the same train of thought, only worry about pitching five agents a week. Five is a good number, in my opinion. It allows you to edit the query letter each week as you see fit without worrying about burning through all the agents on your list.
Have a Support System
There are going to be days when you struggle and it feels like every agent is rejecting not just your book but you. Likewise, there will be some weeks when the rejections trickle in, while other times it feels like a damn broke and the rejections come pouring in, one email after another. Which always seemed to happen on days that were already going horribly wrong, in my opinion. On those days it’s good to have someone that you can talk to. For me, it was my husband. Every time I said I was going to give up he would say, “No you aren’t. Pitch a few more agents.” I’m not going to lie, there were some days when it felt like he was the one pulling me along in this journey when I didn’t have the strength to do it myself.
It’s also a good idea to have more than one person you can rely on. While my husband is quite easy to talk to, I didn’t want to trauma dump on him all the time, so there were times when I would rely on my best friend to complain about how the agents. We would commiserate over the unfairness of it all, drink some wine, and then get back to work.
The point is that you can’t do this on your own and it’s good to have others that you can rely on when you need them. Just make sure to thank them in your acknowledgments when your book gets published.
“If you haven’t been rejected at least five times before breakfast, you aren’t trying hard enough.”
Every Sunday I created a ritual for myself. I would spend my morning researching and pitching my five agents. When the job was done, I would practice some self-care. There were some weeks when pitching to five agents seemed like a breeze, while others felt like an absolute chore. All the while in my head I heard, “If you haven’t been rejected at least five times before breakfast, you aren’t trying hard enough.”
That simple phrase got me through so much, including when I was devastated after getting rejected after a full manuscript request. That night I went home, grabbed a bottle of wine and a crazy straw (bypassing the glass), and pitched more agents. It felt awful, and I didn’t want to do it, but the truth was, I couldn’t give up, I pushed myself to pitch just three more agents and relax for the night. My agent was one of the three agents I had pitched in my determination to not give up.
The thing is, querying your book is hard but having a plan can help you keep your sanity. One day you will be looking back on that time telling war stories of your time in the query trenches. Also, never underestimate the power of a crazy straw.
Do you have any tips for people who have been in the query trenches?
Diana Giovinazzo is the co-creator of Wine, Women and Words, a weekly literary podcast featuring interviews with authors over a glass of wine. Her debut novel, THE WOMAN IN RED, released in 2020, and her second novel, ANTOINETTE’S SISTER, released in 2022. You can find her in the Los Angeles area with her menagerie and husband.
[coffee]
Thanks for this article. I hadn’t thought about pitching to 100–let alone more. And 5 a week? WOW! I guess I have some catching up to do.
Just…thank you. I had to laugh at where you said the rejections seem to avalanche in at the worst moments. I got two while standing in a cold dark November drizzle watching a soccer match. Bam. Bam. Then a wet soccer ball in the leg. I also appreciate your reminder to keep going. Resilience is important and if I had any tip to add to your already brilliant list, it would center around self care.
I’m at the starting line of pitching my second book. I know you have to have thick skin but I do question the often-repeated advice to just keep pitching until you run out of names. You write “don’t be afraid to pitch to every agent out there if you have to. It truly is a numbers game and if you believe in your work, someone else is bound to as well.”
But do you want just “someone” to be your agent? If you’ve done your homework, each agent should be someone you’ve decided represents your genre, is open to submissions, and is an honorable and well-connected person who knows the industry and has great inroads into the publishers you want to sign with. This person will be your partner. ideally for your entire career. Do you really want to be accepted by number 95 on your list? Frankly, once you eliminate 100 agencies (since most say a “no”from any of them in the agency is a “no” from all) you aren’t left with much. An agent who doesn’t have strong connections to good, solid publishers will do you no good. That’s the piece of the puzzle that often gets left out of the conversation.
But also, so many times authors go for the bright, shiny agents (aka, well-known, experienced, etc) and don’t want to consider # 95 agent because they are new or from a small agency. But #95 might give your book more attention and enthusiasm than #1 agent who has lots of famous clients…
And that is a great point, and potentially a topic for the next article. 🙂
Great post! Thank you, Diana.
Winston Churchill is reported to have said, “When you’re going through Hell—keep going!
So timely for me. I just this morning queried my first agent with what will be my debut novel (hopefully), and to me, she’s such a perfect fit, I thought I’d be crushed if she rejected it. But I have to realize that doesn’t mean my work isn’t worthy. This was really timely, and I was glad to see it hit my in-box today. Thank you so much for writing this.
Thank you so much for this shot in the arm! I’ve got a querying spreadsheet that is much more red (rejected) than green (sent) so to hear of others going through a similar experience gives me hope. My last two agents quit agenting, sending me back to the querying trenches both times, which is annoying. But like you, I shall persevere. And maybe get myself a crazy straw.😀
I do have a question for this line of thought. Once you land an agent are they not your agent? Why would someone need to pitch a second book for another agent? I can see the process for publishing, but an agent should become a partner in your art. Initially your writing sells you the author to them the agent in the hopes of a long and profitable partnership. Am I so wrong?
To Sam: It’s because agents specialize. Let’s say you have a children’s book and an adult thriller book. An excellent agent representing one of those may know very little about the best publishers or editors for the other book. Having a couple of agents is common for writers. Sometimes you can work with an agency that has agents within it that represent the full range of books you’re writing.
On the subject of querying ‘every agent out there’, I’m assuming it goes without saying that in the research stages prior to query, every agent out there means in the relevant genre? There have been many agents who express annoyance in publications like Writers Digest they receive queries for books they are not remotely interested in pitching to publishers. For example, as a crime writer, I would definitely not pitch to agents wanting romance or even romantic suspence (even if my protagonist had a love interest) unless they were very specific about including police procedural and the like.