If you are getting ready to send out your query and you are considering sending to Books & Such, this post is for you. I’d like to walk you through the behind-the-scenes process of what happens to your query letter.
We accept queries that are approximately one page in length and we want them to include a brief description of the project and an author bio. Query letters should be emailed in the body of the email to representation @booksandsuch.com (remove space). We do not accept attachments.
When you email your query to us you should get an immediate auto-reply. Our auto-reply states that we have received your query and will look at it, but can no longer respond to all queries. We get more than 100 query letters each week, so it has become impossible to send individual replies. The auto-response also shares that we will respond within 30 days if we are interested in taking a look at a proposal or complete manuscript for the project. If you don’t hear back within 30 days, it is a sign that we do not believe we are a good fit for your project at this time.
All of the query letters are reviewed by our office assistant, and if she thinks the idea has merit and might be a fit for one of our agents, she will send it along to the appropriate agent for the final decision. If your query letter piques the agent’s interest, she will respond to you to request that you send a proposal with sample chapters. If the proposal seems like a good fit, we will request a full manuscript for fiction, or contact you to arrange a phone call to discuss representation for nonfiction authors. We don’t need a full manuscript for nonfiction projects, though it is often a good idea to have your book completed. Sometimes a publishing house will want to see the whole book, or at least additional chapters before accepting the project for publication.
Unfortunately, we have to pass on most of the projects we receive query letters for. We can only take on the ones that really speak to us. If you are rejected by us, it doesn’t mean that you can’t submit a future idea. We will also look at a second query for the same book if the idea has been significantly revised.
I wish you the best as you begin or continue your hunt for agent representation!
Are you planning to send query letters in 2022? How do you prepare to send your query?
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Thank you for this peek behind the scenes at Books & Such, Rachel! It is always good to hear what is going on, especially since everyone is too busy for a personal rejection. It helps us imagine what our poor queries are doing after we launch them into the world, ha! Yes, I will be querying this year, but my process has changed the more I write. I am focusing on writing and then attend a conference every year. I pitch to the editors and agents at the conference and send material if they request it. I know that this doesn’t mean very many inquiries go out, but I know more what I want now and feel more focused in my inquiries about my work. If I’ve met them at a conference before, agents and editors usually encourage me to keep submitting, even if the project isn’t right that time.
The personal connection at conferences is really nice and can help launch projects. 🙂 I’m glad you are going to be able to attend some and have those appointments.
I have sent many a query,
have gotten many form rejections,
and have thus become quite leery
of this writers’ genuflection,
for I know now that my writing
cannot match the current need
for a style that is exciting,
and I think that I will heed
the call to tell the sonnet-tales
that speak swiftly and are gone,
instead of plot-line that entails
catharsis of right and wrong,
and hope God sends in the clear
my words to those who need to hear.
I love this, Andrew, and your honest focus on what you do so well. Blessings
That is perfect! May God use our words to touch those who need them—regardless of how the words are put out into the world. Beautifully said, Andrew. Thank you.