How to Get a Literary Agent: Query Letters, Submissions and Offers

A literary agent represents your book to publishers. They pitch it to editors, negotiate the contract and take a commission, usually 15% of what you earn from US sales. Most large publishers only read submissions that come through an agent, so for fiction the usual route to a big house is to query agents first.

This guide covers the whole process for a novel: when you're ready to query, how to find agents, what goes in a query letter, how to send in rounds, and what to do when someone says yes. There's a query letter template near the end.

At a glance

1. Query only when the novel is finished and revised. For fiction, agents want a complete manuscript.
2. Build a list of agents who represent books like yours, and send to five to ten at a time.
3. A query letter is one page, about 250 to 400 words: the story, the title, genre and word count, and a short bio.
4. Follow each agent's guidelines exactly. A real agent never charges you to read your work.

When you're ready to query

The Authors Guild is clear on this: there's no reason for a fiction writer to query, or sign with, an agent before the manuscript is finished and polished. Nonfiction is different. There, you query with a proposal, a sample chapter and an outline.

Before you start, have these ready:

• The finished, revised manuscript, in standard manuscript format.
• The word count, rounded to the nearest thousand. Jane Friedman calls 80,000 words the industry standard for a debut, and above 120,000 is a hard sell. Our guide to novel word counts has the ranges by genre.
• A one- or two-sentence pitch. If you can't say what the book is about briefly, the query will be hard to write.
• A synopsis. Many agents ask for one. It tells the whole plot, ending included, usually in one or two pages.

Finding agents who fit your book

An agent who doesn't represent your genre will pass no matter how good the book is. The aim is a list of people who already sell books like yours.

• Acknowledgments pages. Authors usually thank their agent. Look in recent novels close to yours.
• Agent databases. Former agent Mary Kole recommends QueryTracker, AgentQuery and Publishers Marketplace. Publishers Marketplace is paid, but it shows which agents have sold which books recently, and Kole suggests paying for a month while you research.
• Agency websites and wish lists. Most agents say on their agency page what they're looking for and how they want to be queried. Many also post wish lists on social media or on Manuscript Wish List.

Kole suggests a list of 10 to 20 agents with another 10 to 20 in reserve, and querying only one agent per agency at a time. The Authors Guild suggests sorting your list into tiers of five or six.

Signs an agent isn't real

There are no licensing requirements for literary agents, so anyone can call themselves one. Writer Beware, run by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, lists the warning signs:

• A reading fee for looking at your query or manuscript. Members of the Association of American Literary Agents may not charge one.
• An upfront fee at signing, called a marketing, submission or administrative fee.
• An offer to edit your book for money, or a referral to an editing service the agent profits from, instead of an offer of representation.
• Deals with publishers that charge authors.

A good agent earns money when you do. Some pass on small costs such as copies and courier fees, but those come out of your earnings later and aren't billed upfront.

What goes in a query letter

A query letter is a short pitch for your book, sent by email or through an agent's online form. Its only job is to make the agent want to read the pages.

Jane Friedman lists four parts:

The whole letter fits on one page single-spaced, about 250 to 400 words. If you have a personal connection, such as a referral or a request from a conference pitch, put it in the first line. Otherwise, start with the story.

Story description. This does most of the work. Tell the story rather than describing it: what happens, not what the book is about thematically. Name no more than three characters. Unlike the synopsis, the query doesn't need to reveal the ending.

Comp titles. Pick books published in the last few years whose readers would like yours. Friedman advises against huge bestsellers and classics, because comparing yourself to them says little about your book.

Bio. Name your publication credits specifically. If you haven't published fiction, you don't need to say so. The Authors Guild suggests leaving out your pets, minor awards you didn't win and the personal struggles behind the book.

Query letter template

Dear [Agent's name],
[Personal line, if you have one]
I'm seeking representation for [TITLE], a [genre] novel complete at [word count, rounded] words. You represent [an author or book on their list], and I hope [TITLE] might fit your list too.
[Story description, 150 to 300 words]
[Main character] wants [goal]. When [inciting event], they have to [choice or task]. [What stands in the way]. If they fail, [what's at stake].
[Comp titles]
It will appeal to readers of [recent book] and [recent book].
[Bio, 50 to 100 words]
[Publications, relevant work or experience. Leave out if there's nothing to say.]
[Closing]
As requested, I've pasted the first [number] pages below. The full manuscript is available on request. Thank you for your time and consideration.
[Your name]
[Email] · [Phone] · [Website, if any]

Before sending, email it to yourself once. Text pasted from a word processor can pick up odd line breaks or symbols.

Sending in rounds

• Read each agent's guidelines. One wants only the letter. Another wants the first ten pages pasted below it, or a synopsis, or the first three chapters. Most don't want attachments unless they ask for them.
• Personalize the name and the line about why them. Check every letter. Sending one agent's letter with another's name in it is a common mistake when you're copying and pasting.
• Send to one tier at a time. If the first five or ten all pass with the same kind of comment, you can revise before you've used up your list.
• Keep a spreadsheet, or use QueryTracker: who, when, what you sent, and the response.

Querying more than one agent at a time is normal. If an agent asks for an exclusive read, meaning you don't query anyone else while they read, the Authors Guild suggests agreeing to a short period such as two weeks.

What happens after you send

Many agents never reply to a query they're passing on. Kole notes that most agents who do answer try to within six to eight weeks, and that no answer after the stated time usually means no. The Authors Guild suggests moving on to your next tier after six to eight weeks.

If an agent is interested, they ask for a partial (some chapters) or a full (the whole manuscript). Now attachments are fine. A full read takes longer, and Kole says it's reasonable to check in after three or four months unless they've told you otherwise.

Some agents send a revise and resubmit: notes with an invitation to send a revised version. It isn't an offer, but it means the book is close.

When an agent offers

An offer usually comes with a call. It's a conversation in both directions, and the Authors Guild suggests asking:

• How long have you been an agent, and what have you sold recently that's like my book?
• How many clients do you have?
• What would you change in the manuscript before sending it out?
• How do you pitch editors, and to how many at a time?
• Which subsidiary rights, such as audio, film and foreign, do you handle?

If you have queries out with other agents, let them know you have an offer and give them a week or two to respond. Before signing, read the agency agreement for the commission (typically 15% domestic and 20% foreign, according to the Authors Guild), what work it covers, and the termination clause.

Common mistakes

• Querying a first draft. You usually only get one chance with each agent per book.
• Querying the wrong genre. Check the agent's list, not just the agency's.
• Explaining the book instead of telling it. “This is a novel about grief and identity” says less than two sentences about what the character does.
• Querying everyone at once. If the query or the first pages have a problem, you've lost the whole list.

Getting your manuscript ready to query in TypeTak

TypeTak is an AI writing editor where you write alongside an agent. Here it's for making sure the pages an agent reads first are the strongest version and arrive in the format they expect.

• Know what to fix in the first chapters before an agent sees them. Run Feedback on your opening chapters. You get an overall verdict, strengths, and what to improve with how to fix it, plus a separate card for places that don't match your characters or setting.
• A file in standard format when someone asks for the full. Export the whole manuscript to DOCX or PDF with the Letter · 12pt · 200% preset under Export: double spacing, one-inch margins, a header with your name, title and page number, and each chapter on a new page.

When pasting sample pages into an email, copy them as plain text. Which agents to query and when you're ready is your call.

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