Build the list before you write the query

Start from books like yours published in the last three years. The acknowledgements page names the agent. That is the most reliable list in publishing and it is free.

Confirm each agent is open to queries and actively selling — an agency page that has not moved in two years is a closed door.

Record for every agent: name, agency, what they ask for, submission form or email, and the date you sent. A list without dates becomes a mess by the twentieth query.

The package

One page: the hook, the book (title, word count, genre, comparison titles), and one short paragraph about you. Nothing else.

A synopsis of one to two pages that reveals the ending. It is not a blurb; withholding the ending reads as inexperience.

The opening pages, formatted exactly as requested. Follow each agent's instructions literally — the instructions are the first test.

How the process really runs

Query in batches of 8 to 10. If nobody requests more, revise the query. If several request pages and then pass, revise the opening chapters.

Response times run 4 weeks to 6 months, and silence is a common answer. A full-manuscript request is real progress even when it ends in a pass.

When an offer arrives, tell every agent holding your material and give them two weeks. Then ask the offering agent for their client list, sales in the last year, and their editorial vision for the book.

Agents to refuse

Anyone charging a reading fee, an editing fee or a marketing fee. A legitimate agent earns 15% of what they sell and nothing before that.

Anyone who cannot name recent deals, or who recommends a paid service they happen to own.

No agent at all is better than a bad one. A bad agent ties your rights up for years and sells nothing.

Asked and answered

How many agents should I query?

Build 40 to 60 and query in batches. Most signed authors queried more than 30.

What commission does an agent take?

15% domestic, 20% to 25% on foreign and film deals split with a co-agent. Never a fee up front.

Can I query with an unfinished novel?

Not for fiction. Finish and revise it. Non-fiction sells on a proposal.