Okay, so I haven't finished my query yet, but I have received some good suggestions on it over at Absolute Write. I will be revising over the weekend, and here's to hoping to getting it correct.
I also had a chance to go to the bookstore yesterday. After browsing the Christian Fiction shelves and the Young Adult shelves, I think my beta was correct to indicate my story fits in more with Young Adult rather than Christian Fiction. With that knowledge gained, I began researching agents. For those of you who aren't familiar with the publishing process, finding the right agent isn't as easy as you might think. We writers must do our homework. And I mean MUST. We have to know what genres agents represent. Sending a query for a YA Romance to an agent who represents fantasy and sci-fi will garner an instant form rejection. Writers: don't do this. It also helps to know what an agent's track record is. How many books have they represented recently? Many agents have their own websites, so it is to a writer's advantage to check that site out. By doing so, you'll find recent titles that have sold, what that agent's tastes are, and not to mention the submission guidelines which writers also must know if they want a shot at having the agent seriously consider their query. Did I already mention writers must do their homework? Take this seriously.
So I have started a list of agents I would like to query. But before I can start that process, I need to get my query revised. Here I go...
Publisher's marketplace is such a great resource. It costs money, but if you're ready, just doing one month subscription can make all the difference. Query tracker is great, but on PM deals are recorded. You can see what the agent has sold. You can look up by publisher and see what they've bought and who sold it to them ... etc etc.
ReplyDeleteGood luck. Queries are not my favorite thing!
Homework and persistence. Agents get a ton of offers, and if don't happen to be exactly what they're looking for at the moment, you'd better be a startlingly original idea that will catch their interest. Don't get discouraged, and network whenever you can. Many author/agent relationships start through networking.
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