How do I query agents internationally?
- Querying norms vary by country and market.
- Choose the market that best fits your book and goals.
- Spelling and formatting conventions differ (e.g. US vs UK English).
- Local agents know their home market and its publishers best.
- Some authors target a larger foreign market over their home one.
Query internationally by first deciding which market fits your book and ambitions — your home country, or a larger English-language market like the US or UK. Then follow that market's querying norms: its expected query format, its agents' guidelines, and its English conventions (spelling, terminology). Local agents understand their home publishers best, so weigh the advantage of local representation against the larger market and reach a foreign one might offer.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Writers outside the biggest English-language markets, or those whose book fits another market better, face a real strategic choice about where to query — and the norms differ enough that ignoring them signals an outsider. Understanding that querying conventions, English variants, and agent practices vary by country lets you target the right market correctly. Choosing deliberately between local representation and a larger foreign market can shape a book's whole trajectory.
Chapter ii·What to include
- The market that best fits your book and goals.
- That market's querying norms and agent guidelines.
- English conventions: spelling and terminology.
- The advantage of local market knowledge.
- The reach of a larger foreign market.
- A deliberate choice between local and foreign representation.
Chapter iii·Example
An author in a smaller market whose thriller fits the US market researches American querying norms, adjusts her query to US conventions and spelling, and targets US agents who represent her genre — judging that the larger market outweighs the convenience of a local agent. She queries deliberately, by the target market's rules, rather than her home country's.
WriteLoom's Pitch studio keeps versions of your materials and agent research organized, so querying across markets stays manageable.
See the Pitch studio