The Ready-To-Query Checklist

Are you ready to query? That’s the question you should be asking yourself before you hit “send” on that first query. 

So what’s your “ready to query” checklist? 

1: You have a complete story 

You have a book with a beginning, middle, and end. If you’re writing fiction, you must have a complete book to query (nonfiction books are usually queried based on a proposal, but that’s a whole different ball of wax). You cannot query an idea. The book has to be done. Make sure that you’re happy with the book, because you can only query an agent once (barring major changes, after which some agents will let you query again). Don’t waste your shot!

2: You’ve shared that story with others for feedback 

One of the most essential parts of writing is having a group of other writers and readers who will read over your work and give you feedback. I wrote about that here. Make sure that you’ve incorporated feedback from those readers.

(Tip: who is not a good reader? Your spouse, parent, sibling, roommate, closest friend, etc. - anyone who won’t give you honest feedback and will just say “it’s great!” This is a good ego boost, but ultimately not helpful in improving the story.)

3: You’ve revised - multiple times 

The book that I queried went through three major revisions before I queried. One where I added in a new POV, one where I fixed plot holes, and one where I rewrote the last 40,000 words of the book. This came from two places: incorporating my CP/beta reader feedback, and sitting back for a while before picking my book back up again and reading it myself. 

Your book will not be ready to query after draft one, I guarantee you. There is always something to improve. Seek out good feedback and act on it.

4: You’ve proofread, spellchecked, etc. 

You’re never going to send an agent a typo-free query or manuscript (case in point: there are typos in published books, which have gone through dozens of hands). Mistakes happen, and you shouldn’t sweat it. But you want to make sure that when you get a full request, you’re going to be sending your best work that represents what you can do as an author. Make use of spell check, read through for grammar and flow, make sure your chapters are numbered right, etc. 

5: You’re ready for rejection 

This is a personal note. You’re going to start getting a lot of rejections when you query. You’re going to get rejections on your query letter within 2 hours (my fastest rejection). You’re going to get from rejections that don’t even say your name. You’re going to get rejections on your full and partial manuscripts. It’s going to sting, but you have to be prepared for it - and listen to agent feedback when you get it. If you have a lot going on in your life, or you don’t think you can handle rejections, wait to query until you can withstand the rejections in a healthy way. I got 50+ rejections, and I got offer and an agent - so even if you’re successful, you’re still going to be rejected a bunch.

No book is worth your mental health. Take care of yourself first, friends!