Diary of a Debut: Querying

Welcome to my Diary of a Debut, documenting the ins and outs of my journey on the road to publication. This week: querying.

Querying is the fun part! Only joking. Querying is the nervy, fingers-and-toes-crossed, putting-my-baby-out-into-the-world part. So let’s dive in!

What is querying?

Querying or submission is when you send your manuscript (or, more commonly, the start of your manuscript) to a literary agent or an independent publisher.

A literary agent is someone whose job is to represent you, to sell your book to a traditional publisher, to get it published, and potentially to help with other things like marketing and author platform. Agents usually take 15% of your profits for their hard work, and are necessary if you want to approach big traditional publishers.

An independent publisher is a small press that may well accept unsolicited manuscripts. As they’re smaller, it’s true that their books may not make as much of a splash as traditionally published books - plus their authors have to get stuck in with things like marketing - but the bonus is getting to work with really cool people who really care about what they publish. Indies may also be able to take a chance on a ‘riskier’ title - for example, mine is New Adult, something of an in-between genre which trad publishers may not be so keen on.

When should I start querying?

Before I queried, I had to make sure my manuscript was ready. By the time I queried, I felt like my book was as good as I could make it on my own. I’d been through it with critique partners, beta readers, sensitivity readers, and I’d spell checked it to high heaven. As well as having to avoid the trap of submitting something too soon, I also found myself in the trap of wasting time questioning every single comma because I was too scared to click “send”. At some point, you’ve got to start.

Research

So how do you start? I wasn’t sure, so I watched a TONNE of YouTube videos on the subject from different BookTubers. Some of my favourite channels are Alexa Donne, BookEnds Literary Agency, and iWriterly - though keep in mind there may be differences between submitting in the UK and the US.

I spent a few days researching agents and indie publishers. I looked at their wishlists, checked their Twitter profiles, and ensured they were open to submissions. I didn’t waste my time sending my manuscript to anyone who wasn’t interested in that genre or age category - way to annoy an industry professional! I also made sure to send them exactly what they asked for. If they wanted it double spaced, I made it double spaced. If they wanted three chapters, I sent them three chapters. Did this mean sending different agencies different files? Yes. Did this mean repetitive, time-consuming work with no guarantee of reward? Yes.

I submitted to a mixture of agents and independent publishers. It was a lot to keep track of! Which brings me to…

The spreadsheet
You don’t have to make a spreadsheet, but I found it helpful to keep note of who I’d submitted to. Mine listed off the agent or publisher, what they wanted in the submission, when I submitted to them, and if there was a date that I could consider myself rejected if I hadn’t heard back.

Speaking of…

Rejections

I’d heard it happens to everyone, so I knew I was no exception. When those rejection emails (or radio silence) start ticking in, it can be really disheartening, but it’s important to keep your head up. This is so competitive, and agents/indies can only take on a few books every year. It doesn’t mean your book isn’t good or doesn’t have potential - it might need further drafting, or it might need to be popped in a drawer for a while as you crack on with a new project.

It’s easy to take rejections personally, but it’s important not to. There are agents who like your work but won’t pick it up because it’s not what they’re looking for - then will be thrilled when they see you got published with someone else. There are plenty of authors whose third, fourth, fifth title is the one to get picked up. It’s hard, but we’re writers. Hard is what we do!

Next time: the call.

The Diary of a Debut is written by Jenna Adams whose debut novel will be published in 2022 by Neem Tree Press. You can follow Jenna at @jennaadamsbooks and Neem Tree Press at @neemtreepress.