Those dratted literary queries: one agent's take

 For anyone who didn't hear literary agent Sandy Lu from Book Wyrm Literary Agency's presentation to the Dallas Mystery Writers recently, here's a catch up. Meeting with the group via Zoom from New York, Lu gave her take on the publishing business's current, "very competitive" state and how to deal with it.

"It's a supply and demand issue," she said. "A lot of people think if they can type, they can write a book." 

Which leads to an overwhelming number of queries to agents. Aside from automatically rejecting that look generic, with "dear agent" type headings, Lu uses QueryManager (the agent/editor version of QueryTracker) to weed out spam.

But she sympathizes with those who've agonized over writing queries.

"I know writing a query letter is difficult. A lot of good writers can't write a (good) query." 

To deal with this, she also requests writing samples -- the first five pages of fiction manuscripts. Starting with the first paragraph, if she's OK with that, she goes on to the next and so on.

What to do, a writer asked, if the first five pages end in mid-sentence?

"Don't worry," Lu answered. "(Agents) are scanning. We're not reading every word!" And invariably, she will have made her decision by the first paragraph anyway.

Lu typically starts reading queries based on the work's genre as listed in their query rather than the date it hit her QueryManager inbox.

Writers unsure of their work's genre need to consider what they're reading. What shelf in a bookstore does their favorite reading come from? Where do they see their own story sitting?

Is it from the general fiction shelf? Romance? Fantasy? Science fiction? Even for writers who aren't buying from brick-and-mortar stores should note that online sellers will describe the genre of their wares.

What about genre-bending/blending books, or books spanning multiples genres, writers asked, a question repeated more than once.

"There's still a main genre," Lu replied. Again, where would our own book be shelved?

(By the way the free site QueryTracker provides lists of literary genres for works of fiction such as fantasy, historical, mystery, etc., including subgenres within some of those headings.)

Image: Pixabay

Although there are numerous sites about how to structure the query itself, Lu stated that it should be less than one page long. (Note: single-spaced.) And although some agents like a personal connection at the start, the main opening paragraph should include the book's title, word count, genre, and comparative titles.

Those comparative titles -- comps -- help the agent decide how to pitch the book to an editor. Lu prefers them to be for books published not more than three years previously. But even comparisons to older or classic works can be helpful. If the comparison is for something older, just be sure to include a more recent one or two as well.

The second paragraph should be a description of the book, "but only enough to pique interest. No more than six to seven sentences. A query should not be dry. it should read more like flash fiction."

Although she doesn't typically request a synopsis, "it's good to have a four-page synopsis. You can take it down to two pages, then to one (before) finally down to that single paragraph to use in a query."

Finally, the query letter should include a little about the writer, but only information relevant to the work at hand. And if we don't have prior publishing credits, there's no need to apologize. It's the book itself that counts.

What makes a query really stand out?

"A good title is helpful," Lu said. "Look at bookshelves for good titles from the same genre. Word count is important too. If (a book) is too short -- less than 60,000 words, or too long -- more than about 140,000, I can't do anything with it."

However, she admitted that a 140,000-word book would only be appropriate for fantasy, which usually requires more world-building. 

Her sweet-spot word count is about 80,000 to 90,000 words, with anything over 90,000 getting harder to sell.

How much does a writer's social media presence count, group members asked.

Although it doesn't have to be obsessive, Lu admitted having a publishing house editor turn down a book for lack of a social media platform. "It's never too early to start building a platform. Do a little every day. Pick one or two (platforms) you're comfortable and keep it up."

And, with the performance of such self-published books as The Martian, Andy Weir's blockbuster science fiction novel turned movie, and its offshoots, how much does a writer's self-publishing performance influence agents and editors? Are 20,000 self-publishing sales enough?

Probably not, Lu said, advising writers not to base too much hope on Weir's success. 

(As a sidelight, Wikipedia states The Martian sold 35,000 copies in its first three months as a self-published book on Amazon, in addition to the myriad free copies originally downloaded from Weir's blog.)

Finally, if we feel that Lu is the agent we've been dreaming of, check her website to see what she's looking form. But not today. Her Query

Manager says she's closed to queries until April 15, trying to catch up on her reading!