tips for querying! (from a literary agent intern)

[@retronaut8864]

Hot tip when pasting anything into an email: right-click and choose “paste as plain text.” (Windows: CTRL-SHIFT-V). This removes any formatting and allows the text to be read normally in the email body. 👍🏼

[@magicalbooknerd]

Some of these comments are so rude! I don’t think people understand the sheer volume of queries interns go through per day. So yes, surface level stuff like incorrect formatting, bad font choice and not following guidelines is a pretty quick elimination. Thank you for taking the time to share all of this info! 💜

[@28318511]

I am older... Once upon an age we were encouraged to use courier @ 1.5x spacing on our manuscripts.

[@MrRosebeing]

I always wrote my query letters in Wingdings. Wot was I finking riting fings in wingdings. I may as well as been doing that because that is as much attention they will take to your query letter.

[@theghd2020]

8:39 - the MANUSCRIPT can’t be in courier? I use Highland as a word processor and courier is the default. I hope I can change it? Interesting how screenplays have the same rule BUT in reverse. “Use courier only, nothing else. No weird fonts like calibri!”

[@NolanSordyl]

Maybe it's outdated but I've seen Times New Roman and Courier listed as *the* standard manuscript fonts... which is probably why she receives so many manuscripts in Courier font. She says use "normal" fonts and Courier is literally the definition of Normal. Sounds like this might just be her personal preference. I mean, Calibri for your email, fine, but for your manuscript??

[@foxpearlwilder]

standards are changing, and you need to check the sub guidelines. but usually times new roman is the normal nowadays.

[@IAmMajor101]

Thank you so much!! Loved your advice on putting the book synopsis first... Hadn't thought of that. Thanks again!!!

[@nicholasmordin9737]

This was really useful. The tips you gave came from the real world of how queries are actually seen.They are very practical. Now I will know that I should first aim to impress the intern and make their job easier. Persuading the intern to get to the agent is clearly as important persuading the agent to get to the publisher. (And those examples you gave have convinced me to send any query e-mail to myself first. What you said about some queries coming in with one letter to a line got me scared.)

[@rosettiwrites]

I don't think I'd send anything to a Literary Agent who discards letters just because of the font!

[@ayzworld]

The order of story vs bio was really helpful. Thank you.

[@rileynickell5716]

This is an excellent video, people need to understand how the industry operates, whether they like it or not. At the end of the day, all authors need to put on their sales hats when submitting a letter. Instead of being turned off by the preferences of literary agents, think of it as insider information that set your submission apart from the rest. I've been passively working on a project for years to the point where it's time to start sending off letters. For something I spent years working on, I definitely want to do everything right and have all the advantages I can so I'm not wasting time/opportunities. Also a few questions: Do you recall ever receiving multiple submissions from the same person or a re-submit and how is that viewed in the industry? Can you share some examples of queries and manuscripts that you would give to an agent? Thanks again!

[@shinjaycho5789]

When I submit the first 10 pages of my manuscript should I omit words such as "prologue" and "Chapter One" at the beginning?

[@AveryAvidReader]

No you can/should keep those!

[@ElizabethAdam-u4h]

Very helpful - thank you. What agency do you work for?

[@percydoeseverything]

Great video! Definitely do more of this kind

[@tperk]

19:11 Ha! Just telling it like it is.

[@nechemiamandelbaum9928]

Hey! I've written a book titled 'Murder's No Big Deal' where the people of Outer Island have decided collectively that they were tired of grieving so much and would instead look at death and murder as breaking a bone; not ideal, but not the end of the world. Alex comes from the US and decries how crazy this is, attempting to change people's minds. However, he realizes that their opinions have merit and watches himself being persuaded by the natives, ultimately leading to a middle of the road approach. The book shows that no matter how right you think you are, there are always arguments to the contrary. Do you think I have a shot with that and do you know anyone who'd want to take it on?

[@Beekeeper8011]

What have your beta readers said about it? Also a novel is more than its premise; the writing has to be good, and the story itself needs to be well executed.

[@alexchandler8476]

If you make a mistake in the process of typing a query...say your fingers jump and it gets sent incomplete, how do you handle this embarrassment that was unintentional?

[@AveryAvidReader]

This would happen sometimes and is not a huge deal! Just resend the email and explain what happened, and it shouldn’t be a huge problem!

[@gersendedupont1654]

Hi there, happened to me at work a bunch of times too! What I’ve learned. Always type the email address last, once you’re finished typing the entire email. That way this mistake can never happen. Good luck!

[@aix83]

So. It's all about the font.

[@AveryAvidReader]

That’s actually just one small tip I gave out of the whole video. And yes, submitting your manuscript in an insane font like many people do is unprofessional. And more people do it than you’d think. That’s why it was mentioned. You could also continue to watch the video to see the rest of the tips about the content of the manuscript and query.

[@t0dd000]

I'm an editor for a literary journal. We post guidelines, but we also understand that we are merely one of potentially many places they are submitting. I give folks lots of grace. And expecting folks to personalize a query just for your agency? Oi. I know agencies expect it, but man that is a lot of hubris right there. The relationship hasn't been established at all. All those courtesies can happen after interest is shown.

[@keychilde]

The agent needs to know why you're querying them specifically. I also edit a lit mag, and querying a novel is an incredibly different beast-just one small example, most literary journals hate it when you sum up the story in your cover letter, with querying a novel, you have to. If you personalise your query, the agent knows right away why you've chosen them-it might be an author they represent or something they've said in an interview. You're asking this person to shepherd what will hopefully be a long career. You're trying to find a partner who will spend an incredible amount of time on you and your book(s). If you're not deeply researching them, choosing them with care, and having specific reasons to query that particular person... Well, how do you know you and your work are even a good fit, and why should they put the effort in if you're not? It's not hubris. It's common courtesy, just like when you're a lit mag and you ask writers to be familiar with the work you publish.

[@t0dd000]

@@keychilde When an author is querying, the agent is often one of a hundred other agents. Personalizing it is done merely to stroke their egos. We ignore such platitudes when someone submits to our journal. (And yes, we certainly get folks expressing their profound reasons for choosing our journal over all other journals or there. Heh.) It's such a waste of time and starts off the relationship disingenuously.

[@FatimaZahra-lu8bf]

thanks for this info! out of curiosity, what percentage of queries would you say make it past the 'screening' stage done by the intern?

[@62202ify]

Mine is about a man that becomes a Vigilante that hurts for the Werewolf that killed his Fiance, the other hero is a human/Demon hybrid that fights for good instead of evil. It has magic, Vampires, Ghouls, even mummies. Is that too much?

[@shadowsayer1516]

This is good advice, thank you! Also you are stunningly pretty. :)

[@maryw6271]

I have a finished manuscript. Would you please consider reading my first chapter to see if it's strong enough? If so, how much would you charge?

[@PEGGLORE]

My story is totally original. True story about an event in the lottery that's never happened before in the world before, along with countless other things that don't sound true either, but are. Craziest true story there'll be. Who wants to help get my story known?

[@bogman192]

Very helpful. Thanks so much for doing this. Subscribed.

[@transformationgeneration]

Thank you, that was nice.

[@t0dd000]

Updated because, I'm coming across as rude. Really, my intention is to express my frustration as the manual, twitchy, process that hurts the industry. I.e. I can't fix it, this content is good and helpful, but... And I vent. My original comment: Agents. Go into your email settings and switch to non-HTML. That will solve your font issues. This is more of an agent problem than a submitter problem. Goodness. Learn your tools. And don't accept manuscripts pasted into the email. What the heck! That's asking for issues. This agency seems very back alley.

[@AveryAvidReader]

That’s actually how many of the agencies operate. Why do you continue to come back to the same video to leave more rude comments 7 months later. It’s not my fault that’s how the industry operates and has for a while. I’m just saying how my experience was at the agency.

[@t0dd000]

@@AveryAvidReader Just expressing frustration at agencies giving their issues on authors. Apologies. I'm venting more than anything. And I came back seven months later because a friend asked for a decent video on querying and so I rewatched this one. Look. You are putting out good information, but it also highlights the warts in the industry.

[@Lavender7193]

Is Specral okay? I am currently using Spectral-Light font

[@jcharriswrites]

Dude this helped so much

[@teodora_miscov]

Thanks! 🙏

[@mblake4007]

Amazing thank you 😊

[@garykotowski2622]

Great job, but no need to be so humble with the disclaimers. It's obvious you know what's up. I have a professionally edited novel and begin the query journey next week. I'm going to pay my editor for query help because I'm clueless. I like to think I possess some degree of writing talent, but I don't have an entrepreneurial bone in my body. Not interested in the business side of it at all, and honestly, I just want to pay someone to do it. Is there a preferred query service for someone like me? Someone with a quality manuscript (seriously, it's been meticulously edited and proofread) who isn't confident in seeking agents, or is there no getting around me doing the work myself? Thanks.

[@zubaerchaudhari8267]

Hello

[@sscalercourtney5486]

Tip. You spend the almost the entire first five minutes telling us what you are going to tell us. But I listened to you.

[@elylioney6390]

👍 I've started watching many videos at 2x speed

[@brittelse8006]

“Me and the other interns were trusted?” WTF

[@JTMosby]

You prevent yourself well. Thank you for sharing this information.

[@isaacriggs4656]

Worse than comic sans?

[@b57832]

Avery, people are sour because being a literary agent means saying that they're precious baby is ugly and not worth the risk of investment. Which is not something overly attached people would like to hear. The only thing I didn't like in your video is how you position yourself as inferior to experience literary agents. You said it yourself: an intern will be the first person to read my query. So I do want to know what would make an intern throw away my book before it gets to the experienced people. Your content is extremely useful, thank you very much for it. And don't let the crazies in this virtual community get to your head. Most of these people will waste money they don't have in order to push god awful literature that obviously no one would ever buy.

[@dirkbergman7319]

Five minutes in all I'm hearing is how you're going to be giving your advice.

[@AveryAvidReader]

I literally spend the whole first five minutes explaining what a literary agent is, how traditional publishing works, what a query letter is, explaining how many queries I read in order to give myself the credibility to give advice, what this video will/will not cover, and how even though I'm not an agent, interns read most of the queries, so my advice is valid.

[@chakishajohnson6921]

I agree. I appreciate you making this video for sure but it took too long to get to the tips.

[@davidwooldridge4079]

You spent a lot of time explaining and almost defending yourself.

[@cynthiadiaz7533]

If you 'check out' when you see Courier font then you are too petty to be seen as any kind of professional.

[@AveryAvidReader]

My advice is not to send your queries in crazy colors and fonts. I stand by that. It’s not professional to send a manuscript in purple courier typing. That looks ridiculous.

[@davidwooldridge4079]

You look like a prettier Amber Heard.

[@stevenelson5103]

Sharing your experience as a person who actually read and screened thousands of queries was helpful. But here's a tip for you from a video producer: don't shoot your videos with your bed in the background. Not very professional.

[@MoonlitMeows]

With respect…Avery isn’t interviewing for a job, on the news, or submitting this to her workplace. She made a (very) insightful video on KZbin, giving tips to viewers. I personally don’t see how a bed - functional piece of furniture - isn’t perfectly appropriate for this setting. Next time maybe evaluate the situation before providing constructive criticism : )

[@DarkLord-iz7vk]

I don't mind the bed

[@foxpearlwilder]

This is KZbin, a bedroom with posters as a background is what this place is about.