The Best Way To Query Your Book! | Successful Query Strategy

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I'm sharing my winning/successful query strategy! I've used this myself and helped many writers query by offering this system. It is, honestly, not unique to me! Many people who query smart use this method, or something like it. (Batch querying is, generally, accepted wisdom as the best way to query)
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9 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 108

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

I do want to disclaim: this query method works best, with high request rates, when you have a hyper commercial work and/or something a lot of agents want. That's when you'll see 70% request rates. If you have a more niche title or something that's not as "hot" in the market, 30% request rate is an excellent benchmark. However, it's still always good to evaluate your query package if your request rate is under 50%--are you targeting the right agents? Is your query sharp? Hope this helps! I just know I often panic writers with the 50%+ request rate stat, but being honest it's a stat I've seen on many successful books, including mine (it indicates both a tight query and commercial premise, but also a well-researched query list!).

@deathpacito8702 4 года назад

Hey Alexa! I've seen a lot of numbers regarding ideal request rates before, although most of them say the target rate should be 10-20% - quite different from the numbers you've proposed. Have you seen statements like that before? What's your take on them?

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

@@deathpacito8702 I based those percentages on what I know from myself and friends (all agented/published), as well as things I've seen in conversation from other authors on Reddit where, admittedly, I do know some people disagree. Here's the thing: What a 10-20% request rate tells me... a) if a book is COMMERCIAL - that the query/package aren't stellar but the premise is just good enough that 1-2 agents out of 10 are willing to give it a try (slash look past an awful query to discover good pages). The question becomes: do those requests turn into anything? Are those top tier agents or bottom barrel? For a commercial project, ie: something a lot of people should want, your request rate should be higher. 1 agent out of 10 isn't great, and top agents don't bother with bad queries to see the shiny gem underneath. b) if a book is NICHE/literary, a 10-20% request rate could be bang on/good if the book is weird enough and it's highly subjective, re: who requests. Though I might still ask if that author had hyper targeted their query well enough/has a sharp query. I don't expect a niche book to have a 50%+ request rate but in a commercial category like YA, for instance... yeah I expect higher rates except in unicorn cases. And these are total percents at the end of querying... a 30% request rate on a test batch/early queries can turn into a 70% overall request rate if you get an offer.

@jkirk029 4 года назад

What if your B/C list agents request fulls, maybe even an offers, and you are still waiting on A list agents to respond? What if B/C list give offers before you have even query your A list? How long should you wait? How long will the offer stand?

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

@@jkirk029 If a B/C agent seems like they might offer--or even if they do email to say they want to set up a call--you query the rest of your A list IMMEDIATELY. Once you have an offer from someone else, you go back to everyone w/ the query or pages and tell them so they can consider you, as well.

@jkirk029 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne Thank you very much! This is all hypothetical at the moment; I am only on my second draft. Listening to you, iWriterly, and a podcast or two, I have learned so much and hope to continue to learn as I reach different stages of this process. It has been so much fun writing and learning. Though it's overwhelming at times, it is still enjoyable.

@belletoro3100 4 года назад

Don't be dismayed by agents who "never" ask for fulls or even respond. I queried many of them and one became my agent... and 2 other "no-responders" also offered!

@madmadame1508 4 года назад

As a Ravenclaw, I love this immensely.

@erinhand6004 4 года назад

The most depressing part of this video is that I'm nowhere near being ready to query, and this video was just one long reminder that I'm not as far along as I thought I would be a year ago... 😂😅😭

@alwaysapirateroninace443 2 года назад

It's ok! Keep working & you'll make it! I'm not there yet either!

@byebye9840 Год назад

Oh girl I’ve been working on the same book/idea for 6 years on and off and only just now feel that I’m ready enough to write the thing let alone query hahaha so don’t worry too much

@ComedyLoverGirl 4 года назад

Not related to the video but Alexa always does such a great job on her lipstick and eyeshadow.

@Erika_NP 4 года назад

My situation was different, but Alexa’s advice still worked for me. I can’t thank her and the AMM family enough for their help!!

@TheThreeBookshelves 4 года назад

I’m miles away from querying but hot DAMN I’m excited to get there and use this strategy! Brilliant. And totally Slytherin, by the way. Ravenclaws might be the pros at research and organization, but we snakes are the strategists.

@jeremywright9511 4 года назад

"Publishers across America are baffled! Find out why with her winning secret to becoming a millionaire author!" Sorry, had to do that at least once :p

@campwriter9289 4 года назад

This came at the perfect time👌 I sent my first query yesterday 😬

@platoniczombie 3 года назад

Good luck!

@iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii3048 3 года назад

Best of luck!

@jflsdknf Год назад

How did it go?

@campwriter9289 Год назад

@@jflsdknf not well 😅 I have decided to self publish:)

@dear_totheheart Год назад

You are such a trove of industry knowledge and professionalism, such a rarity and refreshingly so helpful and to the point with practical advice and strategic efficiency - incredible Alexa, hope you continue to share with us and have so tremendously appreciated all your content and how it has informed and shaped my writing, business mindset, and career approach!

@hollyA.04 4 года назад

Again, perfect timing! Thank you for coming out with videos so much!

@ExiledSwede 4 года назад

This is so useful! I'm currently querying my second unagented/unpublished manuscript. I quried one agent and sent her the first 10 pages and she emailed me back two days later asking for the full manuscript. I've also had 1 rejection but I've definitely learnt that making sure you query agents who represent your genre is super important. Thank you for this! Your channel is amazing!

@Kelly-ib1hf 4 года назад

Bless Alexa for giving away all her amazing secrets!

@Starving_Phoenix 4 года назад

I'm planning on starting my queries in January and my type-A butt literally can't wait to start this process! Lists! Spreadsheets! Research! So amazing.

@WldOfDK 3 месяца назад

Such GRRRrrrrrreat information! Thank you for sharing Alexa!!

@RhyleeKJones 4 года назад

The best writing advice! Thank you, Alexa! Jumping into the querying trenches soon.

@Lillibet_Lems 28 дней назад

Gryffindor here (but I’m a Capricorn rising). This system rules. I was doing some of this but not to this degree! Color coding here I come!

@Snarflelocker 4 года назад

Thank you for your videos. They remove so much anxiety from these topics for me. I’ll be querying for a kidlit novel and a contemporary adult fiction novel soon and this video is like chicken soup for my neuroses

@rossclay3317 Год назад

This is huge advice. I really thank you for sharing this strategy. It is indeed very helpful. I will implement this, use this in my quest, and lottery fulfillment being, the "If they don't publish it, someone else will" approach. Thank you again Alexa!

@rebeccatrusty7003 4 года назад

I’m seriously writing these instructions down right now! I begin querying in June. Eek! Thank you for this advice.

@kimberlyswartz138 4 года назад

Thank you for the very informative video. My heart was set on indie publishing for so long but some of my author friend said that I could try traditional with my current wip. There is a ton to know and your videos are helping so much!

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

I'm so glad! It's definitely worth at least querying something to at least try and see :)

@alwaysapirateroninace443 2 года назад

Not quite ready to query yet, but getting there. This was really helpful!

@ocdish1 5 месяцев назад

So helpful! Thank you

@rivkabegun9411 4 года назад

Even Gryffindors can enjoy this. Thank you for the information!

@kennythewolf 4 года назад

Thank you for the information! I'm definitely going to be using this soon and going back to watch your video on basic querying. I'm almost ready to start querying the 1st book in the 3 book series I'm writing and I'm extremely nervous. I'm especially nervous about the part where it comes to comp titles because I really don't read a lot because of how my brain works, it's very frustrating to be honest. if you've got any tips on how to come up with comp titles I would love to hear them.

@edweirdworld1249 4 года назад

This is amazing! Thank you!

@lizziemaxwell 3 года назад

Thanks for giving your time to this!

@siuzannavyshneva6312 4 года назад

Alexa: if they are a jumper-arounder.. me: imagines a fantastic creature and how to find them))

@HiHello-dn7fj 2 года назад

While this advice is spot-on, it’s a bummer in terms of the power differential. Agents can reject you at any point in the process, but the second there’s a hint of you rejecting them, they’re that sensitive about it?

@emotionalmachine8964 4 года назад

Great content! Is there anything to keep in mind while researching agents, apart from MSWL or books they are already agents for?

@megand6289 4 года назад

Hi Alexa! I absolutely love your videos, and I’m planning to start querying this summer and I’m totally using this method. I do have a question, though. When doing batches (assuming your test batch went well) is it better to do batches of A,B, and C list agents? Or should you do all your As and then work down? Thank you for all you do! :)

@ajmastel 4 года назад

This was awesome and very helpful. Do you have a recommended number of batches before moving on to another project?

@kirtiomart 4 года назад

Ok... but if I get an offer from B/C agent and I didn't even had the chance to reach my A list agents... what happens then? How can I even query those dream agents when I already have an offer, but was waiting to query the A list after having a good query package as you mentioned?

@alieunscripted 3 года назад

I legit was going to query all my potential agents at the same time. YIKES!

@absolutelycitron1580 2 месяца назад

Lol same. Also, I hope publishing things have gone well for you in these 3 years!

@maguffintop2596 8 месяцев назад

I kept waiting for QT to be shown. I have it and it's great. I just thought she would run through it and give us her take. There is a lot of data on it and they have quick 5 minute tutorials that are superb.

@Marise42 4 года назад

This is great advice! I wonder how I can apply the test batch strategy when I query my picture book, since it is standard for that genre to include the full manuscript with the query.

@taylorstotler8512 4 года назад

When you say "when you are 100% confident you about to get an offer from an agent" I think my confusion lies in knowing the signs that this might happen. That being said, I'm not even CLOSE to querying yet so this is just me trying to understand something I'm not remotely familiar with. I think it's that confidence piece that I'm confused on! In my mind I'm just thinking "if I've never queried before or had an offer before how can I possibly be confident that I know it's about to happen?" That being said, thank you so much for this! Learning about querying lights a bit of the fire to work on my story.

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

It's a feeling thing and indeed can be hard to judge. It's a 70% request rate including a ton of upgraded partials to fulls. It's agents reading and responding quickly--even if it's a rejection--and those rejections are personalized (so it's fit but they cared enough to write back to you personally). Some agents will email back with interest--ask how many fulls you have out, tell you they're reading and loving and hope to get back to you. Sometimes they tweet about you (mortifying but it happens). So it really depends on the agent... some give early signs, some don't, but generally high request rates/upgrades to fulls and fast, personalized responses are a good sign.

@taylorstotler8512 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne Thank you so much for your detailed response! I will be sure to keep that in mind

@medeadly 4 года назад

Thanks for this great video! I really think being strategic about querying is important 'cause you basically only get one shot. Do you maybe have any tips about querying in a market (not the american market obivously^^) where there aren't many literary agents (in general and for specific genres/age groups like YA and fantasy in particular) and quite a few publishing houses accept direct queries by authors. What would be good strategic steps apart from probably querying any possible agents first before querying publishing houses if you'd prefer working with a literary agent? :)

@claudiaellison9790 4 года назад

This video was so helpful, thank you so much! My writing has improved so much because of your advice. I found your channel after writing my first book and since I've found it I can tell exactly where I went wrong and why it wasn't picked up by an agent! I was wondering what your opinion is on querying agents you have already sent a query to on a previous project. Do you think it's a bad idea?

@oldkingspook 2 года назад

There is no issue sending new projects to agents. Rule of thumb is that you generally only have one shot with one project with an agent. Putting an MS through heavy revision does give you another chance, I have a friend who actually got a full request after revising her manuscript and querying an agent who had previously rejected it.

@KiaCarringtonRussell 4 года назад

Thank you so much for your great content! Been devouring these videos. I do have a question. I’m going to start submitting next week, woop woop. So my question is, if I receive a letter of offer by one of the earlier agents but possibly have a preference with my A list/ dream agent. Do I think send them an email that Ive received a letter of representation and how do I manage kindly putting the agent on hold who’s offered. This is a just in case scenario

@noahlee9690 2 года назад

I know this was in a video before but I cannot find it now, can you query an agent if you’re submitting the same manuscript but there has been major changes

@LindsayPuckett 4 года назад

This process has worked great for me :)

@jflsdknf Год назад

Did you actually get a 70% success rate?

@josephdoherty5403 2 года назад

@Alexa - I just sent my first test batch of 4. Two form rejects so far. If other 2 both come back form as well, how do I know what to fix?

@Lauratherose 4 года назад

What is the difference between a good offer and a bad offer, if you do get multiples?

@christiep04 9 месяцев назад

I’ve been hearing that agents ever since 2020 have been doing form rejections on full requests. Should this strategy be adjusted for that?

@korneliahaag4258 4 года назад

Usually agents say that they need up to 2 months to respond to a query, does it happen that they respond after a day or two?

@NorthOfDark 4 года назад

Would it be possible for you to please clarify something for me? Looking over that agent profiles on the Manuscript wish list website, many agents state they are not a fan of "chapter books" This statements seem counter-intuitive because except for Picture books are not all books considered chapter books?

@josephsisk2359 2 года назад

Hi, Alexa. Can you show how to format an email query for a fiction project Eg. spacing, order things go in such as query, synopsis, and sample pages, etc… Does it matter if the email itself is single-spaced?

@averyhinks1799 2 года назад

What’s the etiquette on querying an agent with a different book after they reject your first one?

@manfrombritain6816 2 года назад

I'm very curious how they get this data

@jovanadjelic3809 Год назад

Thank you so much for the video! This helped me come up with a list of agents I want to query in a day. I was wondering though, when you send the first test batch and they request a full manuscript, what happens if you get an offer before you have had a chance to hear from agents in other batches? I know this is an unlikely scenario, but I'm trying to prep for anything. What would you advise one to do in that situation? Should you accept the first offer of representation that you get, considering your list of agents is well-made or should you rather give a chance to other agents in the list you would prefer?

@randybrutsche3458 Год назад

This is exactly my questions to Alexa's process. Is it ethical to query quick-responding agents only to test your query? If you get an offer from a quick agent, are you then prohibited from continuing your agent search? If so, then it would be smart to NOT chose any but your A list agents, even with your very first query, so you don't loose the right to query your A list agents.

@minortalentshow2653 4 года назад

is that right to give my 60000 word fantasy fiction story to SwordStory, which is holding a competition for 5000USD . or am i spoiling my chance of publishing it rightly, even if its not selected for the prize? can something like this happen? or should i try it as a chance of checking the marketability of the manuscript...?😕😕😕

@001SpecialAgent 4 года назад

Has anyone tried querying remotely? Can a long-distance relationship with an agent work? I got on this website and there's literally one, just one, agent who represents my genre in my state

@absolutelycitron1580 2 месяца назад

Wait. I don't accept the 1st offer I get?

@katiestewart7926 4 года назад

In a prosperous situation, how would you know you were going to get an offer from an agent? So you could send all your A list queries without breaking etiquette. After handing over a full, could they in theory phone you at any time if they had your phone number to query? Or would they always e-mail first? Is an agent arranging call a sure sign?

@rubynguyen2109 4 года назад

Why don't we query the publishers directly but having to go through an agent?

@monoman2000 4 года назад

Thanks for such a helpful video! Looking forward to trying this strategy! I'm wondering: What's the etiquette for dealing with an offer? How do the contracts work usually? Do you have to cancel your other submissions somehow? Thanks again! Love your channel!

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

I have a video on that! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BdPTnUNhdY0.html

@susanmarie2231 3 года назад

Agents/publishers require the excerpt of my novel be submitted via “copy and paste” directly into email. They will not open attachments. Here’s my problem: My original WORD document is double spaced but some paragraphs paste as single, double, or even triple spaced. I have had advice from numerous writers as to how to fix this, to no avail. I am so frustrated. I think the problem is I hit the “enter” key to drop down to the next line of text instead of letting it naturally word wrap. I have tried converting to rich text, pdf, etc. and it does not fix the problem. Do I have to retype the book? Help! (I posted this here because I couldn’t find a more appropriate place. Thank you.)

@jessicamoore8238 4 года назад

Hey Alexa, thanks for this video. One question: when you send queries once you’ve received requests, do you recommend including that in the query? Like “I currently have 2 full requests out on this book”? A friend who is agented had recommended it but I have never heard the suggestion before and I’m afraid it will come off as passive aggressive. Thank you!

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

Nope, no need to tell them. Less is actually more b/c you want them to assume you have a ton of fulls out and everyone wants you!

@Urzu.N7 Год назад

Do you query with your pen name?

@susanmoore6794 2 года назад

How many books have you written??

@KansasMomSaves 4 года назад

Please, please, PLEASE, can you film a video about what it means to be a good CP and maybe another with 7 signs of a bad one? I’m trying to find a good CP and it’s proving to be difficult. I got a response, “The prologue is either you get it or you don’t” and I don’t feel like that is conducive to progress.

@vote4mel Год назад

I like the idea of finding out who's fast and test querying them. I've been at this for about two months now, and it makes me want to DIE.

@LariTanner 4 года назад

When you say "Batch" querying, how many is in that batch? Also, best case (dreaming), what if you get more than one response, how do you decide who to go with? Thank you for your videos they have been so helpful!!

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

I like batches of 3-4 personally! Choosing between multiple offers is really hard, and deeply personal! Hard to talk about b/c it's different for every person.

@LariTanner 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne Thank you for replying, I thought I had replied to your reply but I guess I didn't. :) After watching your 100 queries video, I totally understand now! Thanks for all your videos and advise, it's very helpful! Your book "The Stars We Steal" is on my waitlist at our local online library, I read the excerpt and am looking forward to reading it!

@woodnoteflute 4 года назад

Here’s a video I would like....”How do you know if your book is a good idea”. Good vid tho Alexa!

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

I think it's too subjective to make a video on? My only advice there is to READ a lot, widely, in your category. You'll get a sense for what's a good idea b/c you know the current market really well.

@woodnoteflute 4 года назад

Alexa Donne Yeah, that makes sense. I just sometimes have trouble finding the genre that my ideas belong to...it’s just such a melting pot of different....well....typical things that usually are only used in specific genres and I’m always worried that people will think it’s not smart to blend those themes or settings. But I agree it is pretty subjective. I guess I’ll just have to take the risk and keep it going. Thank you for this video though! Theses are always so exciting and inspiring. :)

@jasperdent4363 4 года назад

Thank you so much for this video!! I do actually have a question. Ok so I understand the strategy and it makes sense, but if you get an offer from one agent and you then let all the other ones know you u got an offer, don't you get some time for them to counter offer? I thought that's how that works, but here it seems like you're saying you have to choose yes or no you can't wait for the other agents you already queried to counter offer. 🤔

@AlexaDonne 4 года назад

Once you have an offer, the normal offer process starts, including giving all agents with the manuscript time to read. What I mean here is you can't query new people with a manuscript you already have an offer on b/c you're basically saying "this already has an offer but I'm shopping for someone better, so you have two weeks to read it and offer or not." Agents don't like that. If they already have the query or material, it's fine.

@jasperdent4363 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne Oh ok that makes sense, thanks!

@kirtiomart 4 года назад

@@AlexaDonne Ok... but if I get an offer from B/C agent and I didn't even had the chance to reach my A list agents... what happens then? How can I even query those dream agents when I already have an offer, but was waiting to query the A list after having a good query package as you mentioned?

@rcmogo Год назад

@@kirtiomart I think this is the question everyone is wanting the answer to but Alexa doesn't really touch it. The only thought I have is maybe you do the "test batch" and then if you see a 70-percent success rate, query your dream agent(s). I'm diving deeper into the comments....

@myfatsushi 3 года назад

Alexa, what do you recommend when you've already queried wide (without knowing about the test batch technique), have had your query shopped and revised by an industry professional, and still are coming away without any requests? My novel is 123k words long, so I acknowledge that that may be a factor, but for SO MANY rejections it seems like maybe something else isn't working. When do you shelve a project like this, versus deciding to rewrite (and trim the word count) and then re-querying with major revisions noted?

@readingrightboxes8830 2 года назад

This video is pretty old and I’m not sure if she’ll answer, but I’d like perspective about when to give up on a project as well. I’ve sent out 30 or so queries, gotten a partial and full request, but it was from a (honestly probably C list agent), and the premise was at the top of her mswl requests. My premise is pretty niche (illustrated historical fantasy set in a circus), but I’m having trouble feeling like moving on. Should you exhaust your query list?

@readingrightboxes8830 2 года назад

Oh and requerying is a pretty big no no, from what I’ve heard… unless the agent specifically requests it

@readingrightboxes8830 2 года назад

Sorry brain fart. I meant unless the agent says it is ok to query twice.

@jflsdknf Год назад

First of all you're right, you definitely need to trim, a lot of agents say they won't work with books over 100k words. Secondly, traditional publishing is on its way out anyway. It has its perks for sure, but the whole querying process and trying to find someone whose reading preferences just so happen to align with yours enough to take on your book is silly and tedious. The industry needs an overhaul. Self publishing royalties are much higher anyway, if you think you can crank out multiple books and can book quality cover designers that's definitely a way to go.

@meganthompson6676 4 года назад

Is it an instant kill shot to either start or end your query with an apology for not knowing how to write a query letter well and/or telling the query agent right off the bat that you don't know how to write a query letter?

@mab_cat 4 года назад

That doesn't necessarily sound like a good idea to me. I feel it's better to be confident with what you've written (ie, offer no apologies). The query and the pages you submit should speak for themselves! Best of luck, though!

@fiddlerontheporch 4 года назад

Don't do that. It's a business letter. If you don't list publishing credits, they'll know you're new to this, but they still expect you to be professional and have confidence. I've gotten this vibe from multiple agent-advice-blogs & videos. What you want to do is workshop the heck out of that query letter so you DO know how to write a query letter and it shows. Queryshark is a good place to start. AbsoluteWrite is good as well. It's hard. I'm in the middle of it and I want to throw my computer at the wall. Good luck, though! :)

@nithyaangadi 2 года назад

when literally all the dream agents on your list are the fast responders 😭

@shannoncrucy3903 4 года назад

For those interested in tracking short fiction submissions, I recommend the Submission Grinder (thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/). After setting up a free account, you can search magazines for your piece's genre and length, and view what the average response time is, what the ratio of accepted to rejected stories is, and even what other users have recently received from that market.

@thatwasacooltrick5627 3 года назад

Here at 666 likes

@jflsdknf Год назад

The problem I've found with this strategy is in reality, the quality of your query doesn't make that much of an impact. It would be nice if it were that easy. It's all about the agent's subjective preferences which can change by the day and mood. Look at the Data Explorer tool... a lot of agents have astonishingly low rates of ever requesting anyone. If you have obvious problems with your query then those will hold you back, of course, but you can have a grammatically perfect, hooky query and requests usually have nothing to do with that. They have to do with things beyond your control - what the agent is looking for at the time (can vary from what they have updated on their website), who else the agent has recently picked up, of course the agent's personal preferences, whether the agent just had a bad day and didn't spend enough time reading through their queries... it's a good idea in theory, but there are just way too many variables for it to be a surefire way to test if your query and pages are good enough. I think if ANYONE gets a 70% request rate while querying, it's pretty much a miracle. A lot of people can't get one... There is so much subjectivity to this business, that's pretty much all it is.