6 Tips On Query Letter to Literary Agents

Finished a manuscript? Congratulations! Ready to get published? Awesome! Looking for the traditional way on finding a literary agent/representation? Here is how!

1.You should have a full manuscript completed and polished (well-edited). You never know when they will love your work enough to ask you for the complete package!

2.Make sure the literary agency is still open. You will be surprised to see that some agencies that were open a few years ago may no longer be in business.

3.Make sure that it says, “We are accepting submissions” on their literary agency website. Sometimes, they will be “Closed to Submissions” until further notice or even provide you with a specific date and time they will start accepting submissions again.

4.The literary agency you apply to must have your specific genre listed under their accepted submissions list.

5.Pay meticulous attention to the details of the submission guidelines for ex. some agencies require only the query letter and ask for more if they are truly interested in your work at that particular time. Others require a sample work and synopsis in addition to the query letter either in the actual body of the email or attached. What do they want you to write in your subject line ex. Query or Query: Title of Your Manuscript?

6.Find out which specific literary agent in the agency represents written work in your genre of writing and address your query to that person.

"What if I get rejected?" you ask. Rejection just means that your agent or that agency is currently not scouting for written work in your genre of writing. Timing is everything, unfortunately. Your timing might not necessarily match the agency´s timing. So, don´t take it personally.

Happy Writing!