Tuesday Tip: What I wish I Knew Before Querying
I made many mistakes and have regrets about this journey. But guess what? The good news is I made these mistakes so hopefully you won’t have to!
Here are some practical tips I learned or wish I knew before I started querying:
Get plugged into the writing community on social media. If you’re at all like me, you might think you have to be “agented” to have validity or anything worth saying on social media. This is not true! Some of the most inspiring and creative folks I’ve seen on X/Twitter are querying. By getting involved in the #WritingCommunity, you’ll meet great writing friends, know what’s going on in the industry, get querying tips, and maybe even connect with agents. This is an incredibly valuable resource.
Start building your author platforms now. While I signed with my agent without having social media (I did have a simple website), I did have passes from other agents that cited my lack of social media. This is important to some more than others. That being said, it can only help you to create a social media presence. When you do, pick the same handles across platforms so you’re easy to find. Choose a brand, aesthetic, or vibe that shows who you are and what you write. Don’t let it be a competition or a chore. Find a way to make it fun. Don’t look at the followers; look at it as a way to celebrate who you are as a storyteller!
Make a website and start a newsletter list. This is easy and free on sites like Wordpress, Squarespace, etc. Have a landing page for agents to find you. It doesn’t need to be fancy or hard, just a few pages such as an about page, a vague but intriguing tease on your book, and a media page for blogs. Create content and start a newsletter if you can. Think you don’t have anything worth saying as an unpublished author? It’s not true! Lean into your experiences and inspirations. Others will enjoy it too.
Get professional query help. Make sure to have your query professionally reviewed and edited (sorry y’all, but friends and writer friends don’t count). When drafting, make sure you are following the correct structure, beats, and display of stakes (more on that in a blog later). Find an industry professional who can look at it objectively and offer feedback. I recommend a package through Writing Day Workshops or through giveaways on X/Twitter.
Be strategic, and abide by the unspoken timelines. While I do believe that if an agent is open it’s fair game to query, I also believe in strategic timing. Don’t query in the summer or over the holidays. Don’t query if an agent has just attended a conference, since they’re probably slammed with fulls from pitches.
Use QueryTracker. Utilize this to track your journey, but don’t drive yourself crazy by obsessively watching the numbers! It’s helpful, as long as you don’t read into the numbers too much.
