WITS Throwdown – Query Strategy: Narrow Focus or Scattergun? Part 2 (or the correct way)

by Orly Konig-Lopez

Last week you heard Fae explain her query technique. While she takes a conservative approach, I have a slightly – okay, drastically – different method.

For me, it’s a numbers game.

Now that doesn’t mean toss an entire package of spaghetti in the air and hope something sticks. I have a very targeted, thoroughly researched list that, like Fae’s, is broken into “rounds.”

The difference with my method is in the quantity (sense where I’m going with this?)

As I get close to query time, I update my Excel sheet:

• Submission guidelines: they may have changed since the last time I queried, from query only, to query and sample pages.
• Genres they’re looking for: an agent I’ve been “eyeing” may have decided to focus on YA or NA instead of women’s fiction, for example.
• Is there someone in the agency who would be a better fit: perhaps someone new joined the agency since the last time I researched, and they are actively looking for women’s fiction.
• New agencies: the first thing I do whenever I pick up a book, especially if the style of writing is similar to mine, is look at the acknowledgements page and jot down the author’s agent.

Armed with my new and improved list, I get my query ready. When I think it’s as good as it can be, and my critique partners have stopped shredding it, I send it out to the first group of agents — usually around 10. If the majority of those come back as rejections then I know I need to work on my query letter. And that way, I haven’t blown my chances with my entire list.

If the query gets requests then I send out another batch. For every rejection that comes in, I send out another query (or, um, three.)

Why? In almost every rejection you receive, you’ll find some form of “this just isn’t right for me.” We all know that reading is subjective. All you need is to find that one agent who will read your manuscript and think, This is fabulous.

For every few declines, I’ll get a request. The more you send, the better chance you have of catching the eye of someone who will sit up straight and think, I have to read that.

Now that doesn’t mean I send my query to every possible agent who represents even the most remotely similar type of work. It’s not just about the numbers. I only query those agents where I honestly feel there might be a match. It doesn’t mean they’ll love my work. But if I don’t send it to them, I’ll never know.

Of course the more queries are out, the jumpier I get every time my inbox pings with a new email. But hey, one of these days, one of those incoming emails will say, “I love this.” And then my numbers game will have paid off.

What’s your query strategy? Do you go for the ‘select few’ approach or the ‘more the better’ approach? A few at a time or all at once?