Let's Talk Queries!

What You Need to Know Before You Hit Send!

Happy 2025! Yeah, yeah…I know it’s been 2025 for almost a full month, but I’ve been letting Vicki carry the weight around here to keep this Substack going. Now it’s my turn to post or risk her cattle prod.

Seriously…she has one.

Maybe.

Okay…I’m lying. Vicki is absolutely the nicest person you’ll ever meet, and I’m so grateful to call her my friend.

So today’s topic is all about QUERIES! With the new year, I think all agents are seeing an influx of queries in our inboxes, so I thought it might be helpful to address a couple of important aspects you want to focus on in your queries. So hang on tight…this one might be a bumpy right for a few of you!

What Are the the Most Important Aspects of Every Query Letter?

Query letters aren’t that hard to figure out, if you remember there are a few important pieces that an agent finds important in every query. I can break them down into 5 pieces for you:

1. Who is the main character?

2. What does the main character want?

3. What’s standing in the way of the main character getting that thing they want? What or who is the obstacle?

4. What must they do to get rid of that obstacle?

5. What is the risk to the character in reaching for that thing they want or in obliterating the obstacle in their way?

Is That All? Just Five Things?

Yup. That pretty much breaks it down. But—and this is super important—while all of those five things are important, maybe the most important piece of information that probably half of all querying authors forget is #5—the stakes! Without the stakes, you don’t really have a story…you have a journal.

Okay…But Why are the Stakes So Important?

Editors want them. Readers want them. YOU want them. Stakes—particularly high stakes—are the one thing that will set your manuscript apart from the rest. If you can identify the stakes—and especially if those stakes are big stakes—you have a better chance of getting a request on your manuscript. So I like to tell my authors when they’re considering a title, consider the stakes first. Don’t even start writing until you know what the stakes are. Having a clear idea of what the character might win or lose or overcome will define most other major aspects of your story. So when you’re thinking about your story, start with the stakes.

What Else is Important in My Query Letter?

Once you’ve identified the the major components of your query letter as listed above, the rest is really pretty easy. But aside from those things, you want to be able to identify your genre and your word count—and make sure your word count is within a reasonable range from the recommended word count for your genre! Google it if you don’t know!

But My Book Doesn’t Easily Fit in One Genre! Now What?

Sometimes that happens. Right now, I have client manuscripts that don’t nicely fit in one genre or another. A couple could easily fit on a Romance bookshelf or a Book Club bookshelf. Another fits all the criteria for a Romance but also fits all the criteria for a Thriller. Now what?

Well, ask yourself where you think it fits best on bookshelves. What two or three other books that you’ve recently read is it most like? If you still can’t decide where it should go, pick one then tell the agent in your query letter something along the lines of, “This title is a true genre mashup. It follows the beats of a ____, while simultaneously having all the important aspects of a ____. For this reason, it could easily fit on bookshelves between ____ and ____ (genre 1) or ____ and ____ (genre two).”

While correctly identifying the genre is certainly important, genre mashups are becoming more and more popular, and if you know your genre and can explain what you’ve done by blending two genres, I think you’ll be okay.

Oh Wow! An Agent Has Offered! What Do I Do Now?

The first thing you want to do is contact every agent you’ve sent a query or submission pages, who haven’t passed already, even if they haven’t responded.

Second, you want to give them at least two weeks to read and weigh in. If you have an agent who rushes you for an answer, that’s a huge red flag.

Third, take your time during those couple of weeks to fully vet the agent who has offered. Don’t be afraid to reach out to their current clients and ask about their experiences. You want to be sure the agent is a good fit for you.

Fourth, listen to your gut. If your gut tells you the agent might not be a good fit for you, it’s okay to walk away. A bad agent is worse than no agent. Trust me on this.

What If I’ve Made Edits? Can I Requery an Agent?

This answer may be different for every agent, so I’ll answer for myself: Yes, if the edits are substantial—but let me know what you’re doing. Let me know what you’ve done to make this manuscript better, and I’m happy to take a look.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to an agent and ask. Even an agent whose policy is not to take a second look will usually be kind about it.

Is there Anything Else I Should Know about Querying?

Yes! Here are a few basic things you should keep in mind when querying:

1. Don’t try to tell your whole story in your pitch. Stick to those 5 basic pieces and it will help block out all the white noise that is the rest of your manuscript.

2. It’s okay to jump right into the meat of your query. You don’t have to start with “I’m seeking representation for…” You can simply give your greeting (Dear ___) then jump right into your pitch.

3. One thing I would strongly recommend is NOT telling the agent a bunch of extraneous information right away about how you came upon this idea, or how many people read it and loved it, or who you think will offer blurbs for you. That’s all extraneous information and, if you really want to include it, put it at the bottom of your query. An agent only has so much time to read, so jump to the heart of what you want them to read first.

4. DO follow every one of the agent’s submission guidelines. If they ask for 10 pages, give them ONLY 10 pages. Yes, they know it might not cut off at a good spot, but those 10 pages are not for the agent to get a glimpse into your story. Rather, it’s to get a glimpse into your writing and—in some cases—to see how well you follow directions.

5. Don’t try to trick the agent. If the agent doesn’t take science fiction, for example, don’t try to sneak a science fiction title in under “General Fiction.” Yeah…people do this. I’ve even received picture books people have tried to sneak in under Romance. They think they’re being tricky—that they’re getting their manuscript in front of you—but all it really does is make me hit “pass” that much quicker. If you’re unsure if what you have is the right thing for the agent, either reach out in advance and ask, or say so in your query. “I wasn’t certain if this was a good fit for your list because…” Agents are just people like everyone else. We love honesty. We despise duplicity.

6. The most important thing I can tell you is this, and I hope you’ll write it down and put it somewhere you can see it often: Reading is chemistry. A pass isn’t a rejection of you, your ideas, or your project. Not every reader “connects” with every project. For myself, I don’t read high fantasy (like Tolkein) or Sci Fi.
   Ever.
   Ever-ever.

   If you send me a high fantasy or a Sci Fi project, I will pass. Plan on it. That doesn’t mean your project is gargage; it just means that the project is not for me. And that’s all a pass from an agent means. It means that the project isn’t right for that agent, so just dust off your britches and keep on sending out queries.

I hope this helps y’all as you continue your querying efforts. Keep your chins up and remember that you are AMAZING because you’ve finished a book! Nobody can take that away from you, and you’ve accomplished something that approximately 97% of the population will never do! Now go celebrate you!

As a side note, I’m featured on a podcast today! Yippee! A shoutout of thanks to Ken and Luella at the Midwest Writers Room for featuring me on their podcast today! Go out and give them a listen, and add their podcast into your rotation!

For more information on how to query me, visit the Marsal Lyon Website. And just a heads up: I’m having knee surgery on Friday, so I’ll be closed to queries for a just a few short weeks while I recuperate, but I promise to reopen by the end of February!