How do you query a literary agent?
- Query packages typically contain: query letter, synopsis, sample pages.
- Each agent’s submission guidelines are different — read them.
- Most successful queries go in batches of 8-10 agents.
- Track every submission in a spreadsheet with status and response date.
- Typical querying timeline: 12-24 months.
You query a literary agent by sending a personalized query letter, a one-to-three-page synopsis, and the first 5-50 pages of your finished manuscript — exact materials per the agent’s submission guidelines. Most successful queries follow a research-driven, batched approach: 8-10 agents at a time, personalized for each, tracked in a single spreadsheet across 12-24 months.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Querying without research is the leading cause of automatic rejection. Agents who represent literary fiction reject thrillers in seconds; agents who represent middle grade reject adult novels just as fast. The mechanical part (write a letter, send) takes minutes; the research part (which agents, what they want) takes weeks and determines whether you get read.
Chapter ii·What to include
- A finished manuscript — never query before the book is done.
- A target agent list of 50-100 names, built from QueryTracker, MSWL, and recent deals.
- A personalized query letter per agent, naming what they want.
- A polished synopsis (1-3 pages).
- The first 5-50 pages of your manuscript, per agent guidelines.
- A submission tracker with one row per query.
Chapter iii·Example
A debut literary novelist builds a target list of 65 agents over six weeks using QueryTracker, MSWL, and Publishers Marketplace. She personalizes each query in fifteen minutes by referencing the agent’s recent sales. Over fourteen months she queries 42 in batches of 8-10, gets 6 partial requests, 2 full requests, and signs with an agent at month eleven.
WriteLoom’s Pitch studio drafts the query letter, builds the synopsis, and tracks submissions in one place.
See the Pitch studio