We get a lot of folk in the forums asking the same questions about querying — what’s a partial, how long do they take, why is everyone rejecting me, when is it OK to follow up. This is the answer to all of them in one place. None of it is hard. Most of it is waiting.
Querying is a long, slow, mostly-quiet process. The two skills are patience and not taking it personally.
1. Before you query — is it ready?
Almost everyone queries too early. The single most common reason for rejections is that the manuscript wasn’t actually finished — “finished” meaning written, revised at least twice, read by other people, and revised again based on what they said.
- 01Draft 1 is for getting it down. Don’t query off draft 1, ever.
- 02Draft 2 is for fixing what’s broken — pacing, plot holes, the chapters where you lost the thread.
- 03Beta readers (or a critique circle): three to six people who read it and tell you what landed, what didn’t, what was confusing. Listen for patterns — one person’s gripe is taste; three people’s is a problem.
- 04Draft 3 based on beta feedback. Often the biggest leap.
- 05A line edit — sentence by sentence. Read it aloud if you can.
- 06Then you query.
If you can’t describe what your book is about in two sentences without backtracking, you’re not ready. Spend the next month on that, not on agents.
2. The packet — what you send
Most agents want some combination of three things, and each one says which combination on their site. Read every agent’s page; do not guess.
The query letter
One page, single-sided. Three short paragraphs:
- 01Hook + book. What’s the book? Genre, word count, comp titles (two recently published books that share its DNA), one paragraph summarising the premise — protagonist, stakes, central tension. Don’t spoil the ending.
- 02The pitch. 150-200 words on the actual story. The same hook a reader would get from a good back-cover blurb.
- 03You. Two or three sentences. Where you’re from, anything published before, anything notable about your relationship to the material. If you’ve nothing to say here, say so briefly. Lying about credentials is the fastest way to get blocked.
Total length: ~250-400 words. Address the agent by name (“Dear Eilis,”) — never “Dear Sir/Madam.” If you can’t find the agent’s preferred form of address, “Dear [first name]” is fine for most.
The synopsis
One to two pages. The whole plot, including the ending. Present tense. Neutral, almost dry tone — you’re proving the story works as a story, not selling it again. Most beginners hide the ending; don’t. Agents want to know how it ends because that’s where most manuscripts fall apart.
Sample pages
Whatever the agent asks for. Common asks: first 5 pages, first 10 pages, first 3 chapters, first 50 pages. Always start at chapter one — never send a “your favourite scene” sample. The agent is buying the opening, because the opening is what readers will buy.
3. Finding agents
- 01Manuscript Wishlist (manuscriptwishlist.com) — a database of agents and editors with what they’re actively looking for. Search by genre, theme, character type. Free.
- 02Agency websites — the canonical source for how each agent wants to be queried. Their site beats Manuscript Wishlist when they disagree.
- 03Acknowledgement pages of comp titles — find books like yours, look at the “to my agent X at agency Y” lines. These agents are demonstrably interested in books like yours.
- 04Conferences and lit festivals — agents do panels and one-on-one query consultations. Expensive but warm intros are warmer.
- 05Twitter/Bluesky — many agents post #MSWL (manuscript wishlist) calls. Follow the agency, not just individuals.
Aim to query in batches of six to ten. Send one batch, wait six to eight weeks, see what came back, revise the query if all ten said no, send the next batch.
4. Etiquette — the things every agent assumes you know
- 01Read each agent’s guidelines and follow them exactly. If they want pasted-in samples, don’t attach. If they want 5 pages, don’t send 50.
- 02One agent per agency. Most agencies share a slush list — querying two of their agents at once gets you a polite blanket no.
- 03No mass BCC. Personalise every email. The cost in time is the price of admission.
- 04Simultaneous queries are fine. Most agents assume you’re also querying others. You don’t need to disclose this until you have an offer.
- 05Simultaneous fulls — disclose. If two agents have the full manuscript, mention it to both when you send.
- 06Don’t respond to rejections. Even “thanks for the feedback” replies are usually unwelcome.
- 07Don’t argue. An agent who passed has passed. Move on.
5. The wait
Typical reply windows, in 2026:
- 01Queries — 4 to 12 weeks. Some agents have a "no response means no" policy after 8 weeks. Read their site.
- 02Partials — 4 to 12 weeks once they’ve asked.
- 03Fulls — 2 to 6 months. Yes, that long.
- 04The offer call — usually within days of an agent finishing the full. They want to talk before they put it in writing.
Do not chase before their stated window has closed. If they say 8 weeks and it’s been 7, wait. If they say nothing and it’s been 12, a polite follow-up is fine: one short email, no rewriting the pitch, no apology. If they don’t reply to the follow-up after another 4-6 weeks, treat it as a no and move on.
6. Reading rejections
There are three kinds of rejection. Knowing which one helps:
- 01The form rejection. “Thanks, this isn’t for me.” Means nothing about the book — they probably read four sentences. Most rejections are this. Don’t over-read it.
- 02The personalised rejection. One or two sentences naming a specific thing. This is rare, valuable, and almost always honest. Save these.
- 03The R&R (revise and resubmit). Rare and serious. The agent likes the book but wants substantial changes before they’d represent it. Take it seriously even if you disagree — agents don’t R&R lightly.
If you get 10+ form rejections in a row off your query letter, the query is the problem, not the book. Rewrite it. If you get partial requests but consistent passes on the partial, the opening is the problem. If the fulls all pass with similar feedback, the book has a fixable flaw — fix it.
7. The offer call
It happens. When it does, the agent will email asking to schedule a call. The call itself is 30-45 minutes — they’ll talk about how they see the book, what edits they’d propose, what their plan is for submitting it to publishers, and the agency contract.
Things to ask:
- 01What edits would you propose? (Tells you their editorial muscle.)
- 02Who would you submit this to first? (Tells you their connections.)
- 03What does your submission strategy look like — single-publisher, broad?
- 04What happens if it doesn’t sell? (You’re looking for: do they stay with you on the next book, or drop the relationship.)
- 05What’s your communication style? Email-only, calls?
- 06Could you put me in touch with a current client?
- 07What’s the agency’s commission, and is the contract terminable at will?
The polite "step on the gas" email. Once you have an offer, you email every other agent with your full or partial:
Hi [Name], I wanted to let you know I’ve had an offer of representation from another agent. I’d still love your read on the manuscript before I make a decision. Could you let me know by [date, ~2 weeks out] whether you’re interested in offering as well? Thank you.
That gives them a fair window. Some will pass; some will read fast and offer too. Take at least a week before accepting any offer.
8. Red flags — agents who shouldn’t exist
These are things real agents do not do. If you see any of them, walk away — your finished book is worth more than what they’re offering.
- 01Reading fees. No legitimate agent charges to read. Ever.
- 02Editing fees. Agents don’t charge for editorial work — they earn from the sale.
- 03"We’ll publish you ourselves" pivots. Agencies that suddenly become publishers (and offer you a contract with their press) are not agencies. They’re vanity outfits.
- 04Mandatory referrals. An agent who insists you must use their tied editor or publicist for a fee is not legitimate.
- 05No client list, no recent sales, no publisher track record. Check Publishers Marketplace if you’ve got a subscription, or Google their name + their clients.
- 06Pressure to sign immediately. A real offer holds for a couple of weeks. If they’re telling you to sign by 5pm, it’s not a real offer.
9. When to keep going, when to stop
A common shape: you query 50-100 agents over six to twelve months. Most will pass. Some won’t reply. One or two might offer. That’s the average outcome for a publishable book.
If you’ve queried 80+ well-targeted agents with no partial requests at all, the book either needs significant revision or it’s not finding its market. Take a break. Read in your genre. Come back with fresh eyes. Sometimes the answer is that this book is the practice book and the next one’s the deal book — and that’s a real, normal outcome.
You don’t need every agent to say yes. You need one.