Targeting Agents Who Will Want Your Partial

Sending out queries can be grueling, and when you hit upon an agent who wants a partial, it can feel like you've struck gold. And of course, once you've gotten a taste for that gold, you want some more! So how do you figure out which other agents will be likely to request partials? Well, you could throw darts at a list of agents (which probably won't do you much good), or you can take advantage of QueryTracker's Similar Tastes Report.

Here's how we do it: By tracking which agents have requested particular manuscripts, we can compile a list of agents who tend to like the same books. In other words, since Agent A liked your query enough to request a partial, and since these other agents like the same kinds of things as Agent A, you know that querying these other agents should result in some read requests.

Even better?  You can filter the Similar Tastes results by genre, making it possible to get even more detailed results.

The Similar Tastes Report is available to premium members, and can be viewed by going to an agent's profile and clicking the "Reports & Statistics" tab. From there, select the Similar Tastes Report and your chosen genre and click "Generate Report".

Have you used the Similar Tastes Report yet?  Let us know what you think, and of course we're always open to your suggestions for new QT features!


Carolyn Kaufman, PsyD writes fantasy, scifi, and nonfiction. She loves helping writers "get their psych right" in their stories, and her book on the same topic, THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment, and Human Behavior is now available for pre-order. Learn more about the book at the WGTP website or ask your own psychology and fiction question here.

Cover Letters for Snail Submissions

If you get a request (yay!) and the agent wants you to send the material via snail mail, you should include a cover letter with the submission. Some agents request snail submissions even when queried electronically. But don't panic.

Cover letters are simply business letters, complete with the date and address at the top. Greeting, body, complimentary close, all of that. Include the following parts, and you’re good to head to the post office. It should fit on one page, just as the query does, and be the first page in the stack of papers you’re mailing off to the agent.

Include:
1. Date / Agent’s name and address
2. Greeting
3. The first paragraph of the body should thank the agent for requesting the material. Include the date of the request, the title of the work and how much is enclosed
4. Query blurb
5. Bio / Publishing credits (just like from the query letter)
6. Complimentary close / signature / mailing address / contact information
7. Enclosures
8. Self-addressed stamped envelope

Tips When Sending Requests Via Snail Mail:

**Write “REQUESTED MATERIAL” on the outside of the envelope, front and back.
**Pay for priority with delivery confirmation. The agent won’t have to sign, but you’ll know when they receive it.
**Use white plain white paper for the letter and the submission. Don’t forget to sign the letter.
**Don’t bind any pages.
**If they ask for a synopsis, put it behind the requested material. You want them to read the MS before the synop, right? Right.
**Stack everything in this order: cover letter, copy of their request letter (print the email or make a copy of the letter they snailed you), the requested material (synopsis last). I tuck the flap of my SASE around my cover letter so they come together when the agent pulls them out of the envelope.

Here’s a sample:

18 September 2007

Eddie Schneider
JABberwocky Literary Agency
PO Box 4558
Sunnyside, NY 11104-0558

Dear Mr. Schneider,

Thank you for your interest in my young adult dystopian novel, CONTROL ISSUES. As per your request on September 9, I am enclosing the first ten chapters of the manuscript (76 pages) and a brief synopsis for the rest of the work. You may contact me at any time via email: [email address].

In a world where Thinkers brainwash the population and Rules are not meant to be broken, fifteen-year-old Violet Schoenfeld does a hell of a job shattering them to pieces. When secrets about her “dead” sister and not-so-missing father hit the fan, Vi must make a choice: control or be controlled. (This is my two sentence pitch. Do you have one? You should.)

CONTROL ISSUES addresses the topic of teens fulfilling their duty as citizens of society, along with how hard it is to grow up under the expectations of parents and other adults when they're trying to make their life their own.

I am a graduate of Southern Utah University, with a B.S. in Elementary Education and a minor in Mathematics. I now teach elementary school (well, from August to May, I do) as well as write for the QueryTracker blog.

Thank you for your time and consideration,




Elana Johnson
[personal contact information]
[email address]
http://elanajohnson.com
http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com
http://querytracker.blogspot.com


Enclosures: SASE
76 pages of CONTROL ISSUES
Brief Synopsis of CONTROL ISSUES