Query tip! (Who to query)

Hey guys, so it’s been a while since I posted—it’s been summertime here, and it’s been hectic and fun! But I've missed my blog. =D Anyway! I have a few friends who are querying (or about to query) and one of them asked me if I had any advice on who to query.

One of the things I told her was: 

Spend a day or two reading old contest entries with many participating agents (like The Writer’s Voice, Pitch Wars, Baker’s Dozen, etc). And BEFORE going down to the comments to see which agents requested, ask yourself, “If I were an agent WOULD *I* REQUEST this entry?” Only THEN go down and look at the comments to see which agents have a similar taste. Do this over and over again. You’ll be surprised to find that some agents don’t have your same taste (even if their guidelines might imply otherwise). So of course, query agents who have a similar taste and I bet your request ratio will improve. This is particularly helpful when there are many agents in a single agency and you don’t know who to choose.

I did this when I was querying. And you know something that still blows my mind?? Whenever I go and take a look at the contests my agent is participating in, I almost always (like 99% of the times) LOVE the entries she requests. While there are other agents who usually don’t request the entries I love and instead request voices/premises/etc that aren’t up my alley.

Good luck with those queries!

And PS!! Looks like there will be a Writer’s Voice this year too! Stay tuned!

<3

M