If you want to be traditionally published, you have to get an agent somehow. For the majority of writers, that means querying literary agents.
Once you sign with an agent, they will be your champion: helping to make sure your book is as good as it can get, selling it to editors at publishing houses, negotiating contracts, and more. So, it’s important to have one, but the process of getting one is, honestly, brutal. It involves a lot of putting yourself (and your book!) out there, only to be rejected (or, sometimes worse, never hear back).
I first started querying back in 2019, but it’s actually taken me a couple years to really commit to the process. I kept thinking of ways to improve my book or my query letter, etc., etc. This year, I finally realized that most of those “reason” were just excuses, because honestly, I was scared. It’s one thing to think about querying your novel and know that there’s a high chance of rejection. But to actually send your book out in the world, one that you’ve worked hours and hours on and probably poured a lot of yourself into, only to have it actually rejected…is hard, to say the least.
There are lots of great resources on practical tips for writing a query letter, researching agents, etc., so that’s not what this article is going to focus on. Rather, I’m going to share the things that have kept me sane while querying, both in terms of practical suggestions to stay organized and ways to keep yourself encouraged.
Here we go!
Make a spreadsheet
This is crucial for staying organized while querying. I have a huge spreadsheet keeping track of all the related details.
I first started it when I was researching agents to query. When I found an agent who seemed like a good fit, I would add them to the spreadsheet, including important info like name, agency, website, plus any important notes. For me, these types of notes included if they’d sold to a Big 5 publishing house, any specific things they’d mentioned they were looking for that my manuscript had, and what genre they specifically worked in, because the manuscript I was querying is best described as women’s fiction, but could also be categorized as commercial fiction, genre fiction, or book club fiction.
After I compiled a big list of potential agents, I created new sheets in the spreadsheet to keep track of the varying statuses of my queries. All those potential agents became a “To query” sheet. When I sent out a query, I moved that agent to an “Active queries” sheet. On this sheet, in addition to the agent’s name and agency, I include the submission date, the date I can expect to hear back (if they provide that info), their response, and any relevant links (i.e., if the agent uses Query Manager, I receive a link to check on the status of my query).
I then have a sheet called “Querying Agency.” When I query one agent, if there are other agents at that agency I have on my To Query list, I move them to this sheet. It’s a big no-no to query multiple agents at the same agency, so this helps me avoid that.
Then, of course, I have a “Declined” sheet. I want to know who I’ve queried, so if I get rejected, I don’t just delete the info, I move it to this sheet. Some agencies explain that if you receive a rejection from one of their agents, consider it a “no” from the entire agency, so if I have other agents from that agency on my list, I add them to a sheet called “Agency Declined.”
The final sheet I have is “Temporarily Closed,” which keeps track of agents I think might be a good fit, but who aren’t currently accepting queries. Every now and then, I check back in with the agents on this sheet to see if they’re open.
Schedule it in your calendar
Part of the reason I queried so inconsistently for years was that I always had it as a general “to-do,” but that made it easy to put off due to all the excuses I came up with. What’s really helped me break through that is to have a specific date that I query, which I’ve added to the calendar. For me, that’s the first Monday of each month. I send out 5 queries. It’s marked on my calendar, and I pretty much stick to it as if it were a recurring date with a friend. Figure out whatever schedule works best for you, and then actually schedule it on your calendar.
Think of your book as a product
As I alluded to before, it’s easy to feel like your book is your baby. And in the early stages of writing and editing, that’s totally fine! You’re putting a lot of work into it and care about it SO much, that it makes sense you’d use this metaphor.
But by the time you send your book out to query (and, honestly, even by the time you’re sending it to readers for critiques), you need to have a mindset shift. It’s no longer a baby. It’s a product. Yes, writing and stories are an art, but publishing is a business. That means that your book is a product. The hard truth is if you don’t like it, traditionally publishing may not be the best path for you.
This doesn’t mean you need to “sell out” or have a book that feels untrue to you! It simply means learning to not take rejections, or edit suggestions, personally. Rather, know that the agent is asking themselves, “Can I sell this book to an editor?” If their answer is “no,” there are a million reasons why, many of them that have nothing to do with your specific book—maybe they already have a couple books similar to it on their list; maybe the editor they know who would have been interested in your book just retired; and so on. So when you get that no, don’t take it as a personal attack, but understand that this one agent decided it wasn’t sellable, and passed.
The absolute best way to adopt this mindset is actually to start writing the next book! This transfers all your “book baby” feelings to your new project, and helps give you distance from the book you’re currently querying.
Choose a pump up song
This is cheesy, but I love it. Find a song that pumps you up, that exhilarates you. Then, whenever you press “send” on that query email, play it to hype yourself up! It makes the moment more fun, rather than filled with dread. I like to use “What’s Up Danger” by Blackway featuring Black Caviar from the SpiderMan: Into the Spiderverse movie.
Querying isn’t easy, but you can make it through! I hope these tips help you during the process, and once you start, I’m sure you’ll find other things that help you survive.
Are you querying yet? What have you done to stay organized and calm while querying? Let me know in the comments!
