I’m in the midst of querying a memoir about my experiences with anxiety disorder and depression as a young adult. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind so far with tons of time spent on research and query letter writing. Since weeding through the the immense amount of information online can be overwhelming, I wanted to share a few resources that I’ve found to be immensely helpful during this process:
1. Chuck Sambuchino’s Guide to Literary Agents: This site has a wealth of query writing and literary agent information. Not only does Chuck post interviews with new and featured agents who are seeking new clients, but he also has a whole series devoted to successful queries.
2. QueryTracker.net: A fairly comprehensive database of literary agents with stats, information, client lists, and more. It also has a tracking feature to help you keep track of who you’ve queried (although I personally use an Excel spreadsheet). The QueryTracker.net forums have also been a wonderful source of knowledge and support.
3. Nathan Bransford: This author and former literary agent shares his tips and tricks for hooking and landing representation. The blog has some sample query letters and lots of articles with advice on everything agent.
4. Rachelle Gardener: A current literary agent with Books and Such blogs about everything from marketing and platform to query writing and finding a literary agent.
5. Jane Friedman: The former publisher of Writer’s Digest shares her insider knowledge about the industry. This is a great general writing resource in addition to offering a good deal of information about querying and finding an agent.
You might also want to check out the new 2015 Guide to Literary Agents in addition to Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agents Eye by Katharine Sands.
Are there any other sites you’d want to add to this list? Please share them in the comments.
Happy querying!
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2 replies to “5 Awesome Sites to Help You Query Your Book”
Query shark is pretty great as well. Both entertaining and useful tips on what to do and what not to do in a query letter!
Thanks, Sarah!