From the Archieves: Query Friday: Querying Strategically

Hi all!

Can you believe we are already a quarter of the way through the year?!?

Following last weeks post I thought a piece on querying stragically might be appropriate and pulled this one from the archieves. Happy querying!

~B

 

Does your query strategy ever feel like this...

Sure- it's fun while it lasts, but after you've sent out all your queries what do you have left? Well, if you're Oprah, billions of dollars, but the rest of us may not be so fortunate.

Sometimes in all the excitement of querying

we forget to think strategically. 

You've spent hours, days, weeks, or months crafting your agent list. 

You've attempted to find common ground or a way to personalize each query. 

You've format your letter by agent preference

• book info at the beginning or end
• 5 pages, 10 pages, 30 pages- in body of email
• synopsis (oh dreaded synopsis) attached

After all that work, are you going to query every agent and perhaps blow your chance with a subpar query?

 

Not today. 

You've got to work with strategy in mind. 

When I query the first thing I do is to separate my list into rounds. I've already vetted all the agents and feel like they'd be a good fit before they make it onto the list, so it's not a question of ranking. I like to mix in bigger agencies with smaller, those who seem like they'd be a good fit along with agents getting positive buzz, newer agents and more established agents.

I like to use Query Tracker to help me build my query list. In addition to other features it lets me track agents by response time. I usually send out a first round of 10 queries and try to make at least half of them fast responders, from days to a couple of weeks. 

If I get even a couple of nibbles- I'll consider the query solid and continue querying with it. In this case, I like to send out a new query for every rejection to keep the momentum going.

However, if my first round of 10 queries results in zero interest, it's back to the drawing board on the query.

I'll rework the query, get some opinions, and keep up that cycle until I'm getting some requests. Once the query is solid I feel free to send out as many or as few queries as I'd like at a time.

Do you have a query strategy you follow? Please share it in the comments below.

Happy Querying!!!

-B