QueryTo Society Papers, Volume 19

Dearest Querying Community,

Without further ado, pull up a chair and pour yourself a cup of tea. It is time for The QueryTo Society Papers, Volume 19.

Dispatches from the Query Trenches

@frostmag is considering returning to querying and has one question for those currently in the trenches: “What’s the water like out there?” Deep. The water is deep. Some of the debutantes have been down here for 84 years.

On her first day in the trenches—a federal holiday, to be precise—@courtneyadaire94 mentally cast the television adaptation of her MS to distract herself from the anxiety of checking an inbox no patroness was likely to be touching at 10:30 p.m. on, did we mention, a federal holiday? No notes.

@mariemontagueauthor got agented almost two months ago and nudged everyone with the offer. Marie: “I have an offer of representation.” Patroness, nearly two months later: “Thank you so much for thinking of me, but…” Ah… So, this is what patronesses mean when they say they respond to every query.

@samryanreally: “Querying is going great.”

Her friends: “You being real right now?”

Sam: “I’m always being real.”

“Full Request Tuesday! Let’s get it, girls!” cries @thebaronessshelby. Thank the heavens, someone has explained to the patronesses what Tuesdays are for!

@lanebraxon reports “another day, another empty inbox,” but takes comfort in her “30 open queries with agents and 3 open direct subs with publishers.” She then announces her intention to “sleep well.” This week alone, Lane has said many remarkable things about her query campaign. This may be the least believable.

@addiecabwrites posted her weekly progress “for accountability”: 11,236 words written, 12 queries sent, another request received, and seven requests from 40 queries on her other manuscript. “Now I have to do better next week! Oh no!” Madam. Better than what?

@authorbrittneyjoan has shared the query letter that helped secure her 36 requests and seven offers of representation. “Sharing my successful query letter as a (hopefully) helpful example,” she says. Madam, with those numbers, we feel reasonably comfortable removing the “hopefully.”

“New record set,” says @afarleywrites after receiving a query rejection 21 months after submission. We assume the patroness spent the first 20 carefully considering how best to phrase “not the right fit for my list at this time.”

A patroness requested the full manuscript from @kissmylitclass, then emailed again a few days later. “I’m sweating, stressing, and shaking as I open it.” The message? The patroness was merely thanking her and saying she “can’t wait to read it.” @kissmylitclass’s nervous system has nevertheless filed a different type of report. “Blood pressure UP, ya hear me?”

Most debutantes enter their vague era by announcing “I’m vague” and refusing further comment. @find.me.in.fairytales has taken matters considerably further. “Any guesses on what it might be?” she asks. Madam, we are trench dwellers. We can guess the what, thank you very much! It is the who, the when, and the how you have so inconveniently omitted.

We are accustomed to debutantes setting records for late rejections. @sm_hund has brought us the considerably more dangerous variety: a full request after 278 days. Across the trenches, a thousand debutantes have taken this as evidence and are now whispering, “So you’re saying there’s a chance.”

Fifty queries. Two rejections. One partial. Eight full requests. All in one week. “I’m SHOCKED!!” says @okayjaclynn. Yeah, so are we. Congratulations. Now, kindly place the query letter on the table and step away slowly. We merely wish to examine it.

A patroness found @juliekraetz.author’s query “interesting” and requested the full. Julie’s response: “🎉🎉🎉.” The translation from Query Trench dialect is approximately: AAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

@harmalarmo reports that after years in the making, “✨things are looking vague✨.” Within minutes, @marierioswrites arrived in the replies. The vague find their own.

@michellechasewrites knows she “WILL GET AN EMAIL.” She knows refreshing QueryTracker changes nothing. She perfectly knows all of this. Anyway, she’ll check again immediately after she reads this sentence.

“Someone be proud of me for jumping back in the trenches,” requests @nellyhill.writes after querying two agents. We are very proud and bewildered in equal measure. The first time one enters the trenches, one can plead ignorance. The second time is courage. Or something requiring further study.

@writeranastasia26 is “getting ready for another day of querying lit agents” by opening spellbooks, lighting candles, and consulting the dark arts. Excellent! She has clearly read the submission guidelines.

Four days ago, @tesscatiful was informed by Society that the publishing gods demanded sacrifice. “Sacrifice you say ??? Sacrifice ?!?!” she cried, before reluctantly conceding, “sigh… but you are right. decapitates husband.” She has now returned to the public square singing, “Publishing / Hear my plea / Help these agents notice my query.” Publishing gods, please, for the love of all that is good and holy, hear her this time. She has suffered enough.

The patroness’s MSWL: “Give me morally gray and complicated characters!” In other words: @megan.stark’s book, practically by name.

Megan: At last. Her morally gray character proceeds to do morally gray things.

The patroness: “No, not like that.” Form rejection.

Society: Then whose list were we reading?

“Agents used to actually call you—out of the blue!” reports @nataliasylv. “Omg the way I’d fill with hope each time my phone rang with an unknown number.” We fear the practice would be considerably less effective today. The patroness would call three times, be reported as spam, and eventually be forced to send an email asking whether Thursday at 2 works for Zoom.

@jillianaldermanwrites would like to know how to stop the “near heart attack feeling” whenever “Querytracker” appears in her inbox. “My Oura ring stats can’t handle this.” We recommend reclassifying querying as cardio and taking the win.

@courtneyadaire94 has “officially acquired” her first rejection, but remains undeterred: “36 queries still floating around in the universe. Onward.” Society wishes those 36 brave little vessels safe passage. May at least one return carrying a full request.

Literary Alliances

Congratulations to @mb.taylorwrites, who has entered into literary alliance with Emily Forney of BookEnds Literary! She is “still pinching myself” after finding a patroness who loves her Regency-inspired witchy fantasy as much as she does.

A new literary alliance for @swatihegdeauthor, now represented by Eric Smith of Neighborhood Literary! After reading two proposals within hours, Eric sent what Swati describes as “the longest gushing offer of rep email.” Evidently he had notes. They were all YES.

@kelseymangobooks has spent a LONG time dreaming of the day she could write three particular words: “I HAVE AN AGENT!!!” The day has arrived. She is now represented by Katie Ferriello of Mansion Street Literary Management, and judging by the punctuation, she has taken the news rather well.

“It seems dreams do come true sometimes,” writes @authorcrisgwells, who is now represented by Tali Shammas of Storm Literary Agency. Tali found everything she wanted in Cris’s tomb-raiding romantasy KOBRA, but says it was Cris’s “sunny disposition” that ultimately “sealed the deal.” Apparently the manuscript got her through the door and Cris herself finished the job.

@kathrothschild has departed the query trenches with excellent company: she is now represented by Hannah Teachout of Folio Literary. “I’m thrilled to announce,” she writes. As she should be. Congratulations to Kath and Hannah!

Fiona Tarr is now represented by Tali Shammas of Storm Literary Agency, who says she was “smitten” by Fiona’s suspenseful mysteries, feisty female leads, and quirky Australian characters.

@laurennossett has some “BIG NEWS”: she is now represented by Nicole Cunningham of Trellis Literary Management and is celebrating “a new chapter.” This particular chapter, we are delighted to report, begins with representation.

@authorbythesea1207 has entered a new literary alliance with Abigail Fenton of The Ampersand Agency. “Exciting times ahead,” she promises, including more romance and perhaps “an additional new genre.” We see she has chosen to celebrate leaving the query trenches by immediately becoming vague about something else.

Patronesses Opening Their Doors

Debutantes, ready yourselves. Rebecca Matte of kt literary will open to queries September 14, but only until 250 have crossed her threshold.

She is seeking fantasy, sci-fi, and romance, with particular interest in disability/chronic illness representation, cozy stories with high personal stakes, adventure-forward fantasy, hobbyist romance, and “something new.”

Those who find themselves on her list of desires may wish to move with some haste. Two hundred and fifty is not an especially large number.

Krista White has joined The Rights Factory as an Assistant Literary Agent and is now open to queries. Her interests are broad—upmarket, literary, women’s fiction, book club, love stories, mystery, historical, select memoir, Christian nonfiction, and more—but her throughline is clear: strong voice, complex relationships, cultural nuance, psychological or philosophical insight, and stories that invite discussion rather than disappear quietly after the final page.

For debutantes whose manuscripts lean literary, witty, strange, or wonderfully character-obsessed, Eva Oakes of Transatlantic Agency would like a word.

Though always open to queries, Eva is currently particularly keen on upmarket and literary fiction with “wit, humour and a little absurdity,” a strong sense of place, intriguing character studies, and an arresting voice. Stylish thrillers and mysteries are also welcome, along with select narrative nonfiction.

Firmly genre fiction, YA, MG, and picture books, however, should seek another patroness.

Keep an eye on Taj McCoy, debutantes. The former Laura Dail Literary Agency agent has joined Starling Literary + Media, representing adult and children’s literature.

No wishlist has been unveiled yet, but Starling assures us it is “coming soon.”

Follow now; investigate later; query only when invited.

“IT IS TIME,” declares Andi Twaddle, newly appointed Associate Agent at Spencerhill Associates, and debutantes would do well to take her literally: her QueryManager is officially open.

Andi is seeking Adult and New Adult upmarket and commercial fiction, particularly romance tangled up with horror, dystopian, sci-fi, or fantasy; fresh sports romance; and historical or contemporary romance with a magical-realism or speculative twist.

She is also seeking picture books from authors and author-illustrators, particularly those with an irreverent or quirky bent, and graphic novels for early readers and young Middle Grade from author-illustrators.

Her tastes favor “irreverent, subversive, & wry” work, real stakes, and books capable of making her wonder, “what is wrong with this person?” before continuing “with morbid delight.”

An unusually encouraging instruction from a patroness. Go forth and query.

Opportunities Beyond the Trenches

Betancourt Literary has opened a most unusual door out of the query trenches: employment.

The agency is seeking an Associate Literary Agent and welcomes candidates with experience in publishing, editing, bookselling, writing, or a related field. Interested candidates should send a brief introduction, resume, and the kinds of books they love to read to the agency.

Mark Your Calendars: PitchMe Returns

Newly promoted Associate Agent Nikki’s popular monthly PitchMe returns September 15, and this is one gathering worth attending.

Participants can pitch any genre / any age category, even those Nikki does not represent, as other patronesses are known to watch the proceedings. Completed manuscripts only; two pitches per person. Previous participants may pitch again.

From the QueryTo Ballroom

The ballroom continues to fill. More invitations have gone out this week, more debutantes have joined us, and we have been quietly adding a few more doors to the estate.

QueryTo was built to make querying easier to navigate, and that increasingly means more than keeping track of who received what. We want debutantes to be able to find the patronesses, opportunities, events, and information that might actually move their journey forward. You may have noticed some of that beginning to take shape around here. There is considerably more to come.

Until next Saturday, I remain...

Yours in the Trenches,

Lady QueryTo