How to Write a Query Package
That will make agents sit up and take notice
I love reading submissions. There is nothing like the feeling of reading a submission and knowing instantly that the author has you in good hands; of getting to the end and feeling that this book, this book, is going to be huge. I read a submission a couple of weeks ago and called in the full, and I had to ban myself from reading it during the day because I had edits to finish off and Substack posts to write, but all I wanted to do was read the full manuscript. (In the end I caved and read some on my phone over my son’s head whilst he fell asleep on my lap at bedtime; poor parenting, perhaps, but a surefire sign that that manuscript was The One.)
Which is all to say that reading submissions is one of the great privileges of being a literary agent, and that a great submission package – covering letter, manuscript sample and synopsis – is worth its weight in gold. Here’s how to write one.
Covering Letter
This is, much like a covering letter for a job application, your introduction: your first chance to pitch your book and you as the author. Some agents prefer this in a separate attachment, but I prefer it in the email body (though I will still read it either way), because I tend to scroll quickly through my subs through the day and can pick out anything that particularly appeals for immediate attention. If a submission is comped to a book I love, or is in a genre I especially enjoy, I will likely dip in more quickly than otherwise; similarly if an author flags that they have offers from other agents, or editor interest, I will read more quickly.
Here are the things you definitely need to include in your letter:
The agent’s name (I get so many submissions which misspell my name or even have an entirely different name; it won’t stop me from reading your manuscript and offering rep if I love it, but it does tell me you haven’t been particularly careful with your sub).
The title, word count and genre of your book.
A couple of comps – these can be books, TV series, films, video games etc.
A pitch for your book: one or two paragraphs introducing your book. You do not have to tell the full story here, just tempt the reader in, like the back-cover copy on a book.
Some things you can add but do not have to:
The reason you’re pitching to that agent (if there is one). Perhaps they have mentioned specifically wanting this genre, or liking one of your comps, or you heard them on a podcast etc. Or you might have submitted a previous manuscript to them before, or met them at an event. If you don’t have a reason, you don’t have to make one up.
Any other writing experience. E.g. If you have had a short story published, or were shortlisted for a writing prize. Again, if you don’t have any other experience, you can just leave this out.
Some personality! You might want to share the inspiration for your book, or something about your life/hobbies. The relationship between agent and author often becomes much closer than a purely professional one, and if getting on with your agent on a personal level is important to you, you might want to add some of your personality in your letter. Again, it’s not vital.
Any other agent offers or full requests. This might make agents read more quickly if they see there is other interest – especially if you already have an offer on the table. What having another offer on the table won’t do is make them offer rep if they wouldn’t have anyway, so there’s no point making it up (and if they are on the fence it might put them off if they think another agent feels more strongly about it and might be a better match).
Sometimes authors add in that their submission is with other agents, but I take this for granted. You should definitely sub to more than one agent at a time – it can take a long time to hear back from agents, and if you go one by one it will be a very slow process indeed. If an agent requests or expects exclusive submissions, that is a big red flag: it only benefits the agent, and not the author, which is not a great starting point for any agent–author relationship.
Synopsis
Synopses are awful to write, I know; I have written many in my time. But they are super useful. How agents use them differs, but this is my process: I will always read the manuscript first. Sometimes I don’t look at the synopsis at all; if the pitch is great and the manuscript sample is great, then I just keep reading until I get to the end and then request the full. Sometimes I look at the synopsis early on when reading the manuscript, say if the pitch in the letter was really great but the manuscript doesn’t seem to match it and I want to figure out what’s going on by checking the first bit of the synopsis. Sometimes I get to the end of the manuscript sample, quite like it but am not sure where it’s going, and then I might check the synopsis to see if the story sounds like it’s going in the right direction and whether it’s worth me requesting the full.
Here's what you need to know about the synopsis. It is a technical document, not a literary one. It is designed to tell the full story, not show off your writing skills. It’s not a pitch, or back-cover copy. It needs to have the whole story, including the ending. If I don’t want to know the ending, I won’t read the synopsis, or at least not all of it. You’re not spoiling anything for me. But if I want to check how the story pans out, I need the whole thing in the synopsis. If I’m wavering, and you have a great twist at the end but haven’t put it in the synopsis, I might reject when if I’d known the ending I might have decided to give it a go and ask for the full. This might seem cruel, or lazy on my part. But I get over a hundred submissions a week. I can’t possibly read all of them just to see how they pan out. Sometimes I know early on that they’re not for me, but sometimes there’s a chance – and if you have a full synopsis showing me that the ending is worth it, I can give it that chance.
Ideally your synopsis will be double-spaced in a reasonably sized font and one to two pages long. I think most books can be captured in one page, though if yours is particularly long or complex or has two timelines then you might need two. 500–800 words is a good target. As with everything, check particular agents’ submissions guidelines as some require them on the shorter end, and if they are your dream agent then it’s worth meeting their guidelines precisely.
Manuscript sample
This is the most important thing. It’s all about the book itself. So make sure your opening pages are polished (I talk about strengthening the opening section of your novel here). Different agencies ask for different samples; three chapters is common, as is 10,000 words, or 50 pages (the latter is what my agency ask for). You don’t have to match this exactly; if the agents wants 10,000 words but a chapter ends at 11,322 words then send that. I get a lot of three-chapter samples, and I read them anyway (though often that is quite short, so I do prefer 50 pages).
Make sure your book is ready to send out. Revise the opening chapters until they absolutely shine. Ensure you start in the right place. If you find yourself writing “you have to read up to chapter seven because that’s where things really get going” then your book does not start in the right place and it is not ready to submit. Remember those 100+ submissions a week I get? I cannot read 700 chapters a week to see whether they do, in fact, really get going at chapter seven.
Your covering letter is the thing that initially piques interest; your synopsis is a tool to help make a decision. But your manuscript is the thing an agent is deciding on. Until your manuscript is as good as you can make it, until you have revised it and polished it and honed it, there’s no point getting a submission package together. A great cover letter and comprehensive synopsis can’t make up for a disappointing manuscript sample.
Some posts that might be helpful in getting your manuscript ready for submission:
Common ‘errors’
I put ‘errors’ in quotes because I don’t want to stress anyone out; if you have done any of these things then please do not panic! Personally I read all my submissions regardless of whether they precisely follow my submissions guidelines or not (with the caveat that I do not read submissions in genres I don’t represent – believe me when I say you do not want me representing your fantasy manuscript because I would not know where to begin), and I reply to everyone, even if it’s to point out that there is no manuscript attached... though not all agents have the time/inclination to do this. Either way I can tell which authors would really quite like me to be their agent and which are just sending subs to any agent they find – and that’s fine if that’s your strategy, but I do believe that both author and agent should both want to work together and believe they are the best partnership for that author and their books.
If you are reading this I’m guessing you are the kind of author who is keen to create the strongest submission package possible, and to find the right agent for you, so in the interests of making a good first impression, here are the common ‘errors’ I see which are easily avoidable:
Misaddressing the email either by misspelling my name or addressing it to an entirely different person (also ‘Dear Sirs’ – there are no sirs here).
Claiming they’re sending to me because of e.g. my interest in a genre I don’t represent.
Not following submissions guidelines (not including the manuscript, sending everything in the email body – some agencies might request this, but both are against my agency’s submission guidelines).
Sending one submission in several separate emails, or sending it twice (my inbox is full enough and I will lose things!).
Not including the entire plot including the ending in the synopsis.
Querying a first-draft manuscript.
I’m sure some people will read this and think it is altogether too onerous to send submissions, and literary agents shouldn’t be so specific about how they want to receive submissions. I cannot say I completely disagree with you! It is a time-consuming process. But I have been open to submissions for three weeks and received 400+ submissions in that time, so if they all come in the same format (and one email each) that helps me a great deal. It also means working through them is efficient enough that I can reply to everybody – not every agent does this, because it does take quite a lot of time, but I would really like to be able to keep doing this (I hate being ghosted and I bet you do too).
It's worth saying that all of the submissions for which I have requested the full manuscript followed the submissions guidelines and sent me a great letter (and not all of said letters were necessarily personalised to me apart from putting the right name on it, so that is not vital). In all the years I have been reading submissions from authors, now as an agent and previously as an editor (and before that as an intern at a literary agency), not one of the manuscripts that I have gone on to offer representation on or offer to publish has come from a submission that did not follow basic guidelines.
You can take whatever conclusion from this you want, but this is mine: if you are serious about being published you are also the kind of author who will revise your manuscript until it’s ready, research who you will submit to and why, and follow their submissions guidelines. You can just attach your manuscript to an email and CC every agent you can find (this happens more often than you think!) but it does make me think that the manuscript will similarly show a lack of care/craft/polish – and I have yet to read a manuscript sent to me like that and be proven wrong.
Join me in the comments or chat with questions, war stories from the query trenches, and any thoughts from the other side of the fence! Please do share this post with anyone who might find it useful, and thank you as always for reading.
Ways to work with me
If you’re currently looking for an agent, you can find The Ampersand Agency submissions guidelines here, and my manuscript wishlist on my website.
You can also find me on Instagram where I share shorter writing and editing tips twice a week, or if you’re looking for an editor you can contact me via my website or on Reedsy.
Thank you so much for reading, commenting, liking and sharing and especially to those of you who are paid subscribers and support this Substack. As always, please do let me know in the comments if there’s anything in particular you’d like me to write about – paid subscribers do head to the chat to talk about your current projects, ask questions, and get advice!
Happy writing!
Abi
This is so helpful! Most of what you said is straightforward, but it really helps to know a bit more about the human behind the email when querying agents :)
Thank you for the insights. I found several points that clarify expectations. Please keep educating us.