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There's no way around it — for the vast majority of authors seeking traditional publication, the querying process just frankly sucks. You put so much work into your book, only to send it out to literary agents and get rejection after rejection, or worse — hear nothing at all as you wait and hope for a positive response.

As a book editor who previously worked at a top literary agency, I've been on the other side of the table and today I want to give you seven querying hacks to hopefully make this process a bit easier and more successful for you. Make sure you read all the way to the end because the last is an insider tip that I wish every querying author knew, but most don't!

1. Query Quick-to-Respond Agents First

Here's the first querying hack: query quick-to-respond agents first. I always recommend querying in batches — somewhere between 6 to 15 queries at a time — because that allows you to wait and see if you get some feedback from agents that you can then use to iterate on your query letter and maybe improve it for the next round of agents that you query versus blowing through your entire list of agents upfront.

Remember that once an agent rejects your query, that typically is a final decision, so you want to make sure you're putting forth your best query materials and the best version of your manuscript. Querying in batches allows you the room to iterate.

Another great technique within the batching method is to first begin with agents who are known to respond faster to their queries. That way, you'll hear back in a shorter time frame — hopefully with some helpful feedback which you can use to then strengthen your subsequent queries. Think of it as sending out an initial test batch.

Now, how do you actually figure out agents’ response times? I recommend using QueryTracker, which has a treasure trove of data on literary agents, including their response times. If you have the free version, go to the comment section and see what other authors have reported there in terms of their response times anecdotally. If you have premium access, you can check the agent's query stats box on their page, which will include their average response times, or you can head into the reports tab and click the “query response times” for more detailed information.

2. Don’t Query All of Your Top Agents First

The next querying hack is to not query all of your top agents first. In each batch of queries that you send, it's a good idea to have a mix of higher priority and lower priority agents within that batch.

You might be tempted to send out your queries in the order of priority and reach out to all of your dream agents first, but if you strike out with all of your top agents on an early version of your query letter and then later on you realize there are things you could have done to revise and strengthen your query letter, you will have already burned through all of those agents. And who knows? Maybe with that stronger version of your query letter, one of them would have been interested. So, adding lower and medium-priority agents to your initial queries allows you to still query widely and hopefully get some initial feedback without burning through all of your top choices all at once.

However, at the same time, I want to caution you against getting too attached to the idea of working with your “dream agent,” whoever that might be. In fact, I just recently worked with an author who got an offer of representation from her dream agent and also got another offer from someone who was lower on her agent list that she didn't know much about. She ended up signing with that other agent because whenever she talked to her dream agent on the phone, she realized that their communication styles weren't really in sync and the other agent actually had a style and an editorial vision that really meshed well with her. That goes to show that you really should keep an open mind when querying — you might be surprised to find who you click with, so don't discount agents just because you don't know as much about them or maybe because they aren't as big of a name as your “dream agent.”

Also keep in mind that if an agency has the requirement that you can only query one agent per agency, even if they reject you, then you might not want to go for those rockstar agents. If there's a newer agent on the team who also represents your genre and could also be a great fit for your book, you might consider reaching out to them. If they're earlier in their career, they might be hungrier to build their list and also have more time to dedicate to you because they don't have an already full client load. You don't necessarily want to miss your shot with an agent who could be a great match because you went for that higher tier agent who is probably going to be a lot more selective.

However, if an agency has the policy that once you get a rejection from one agent you can query another agent at that same agency, go ahead and start with that top tier agent that you're most interested in and work your way down the list from there.

3. Browse #MSWL on X and Threads

Here's the next querying hack: Browse the #MSWL hashtag on X and Threads. While we're seeing some publishing professionals move away from X/Twitter and move on to other platforms, they are still very active online, and that includes literary agents talking about what types of manuscripts they want to see from querying authors.

The #MSWL hashtag stands for manuscript wish list, and these posts from agents will typically tell you a lot more about what they're looking for than their strict genre categories they might list on their website or QueryTracker profile. Browsing these posts can also give you a better sense of their personality and their specific tastes within the genre. I recommend periodically browsing the #MSWL hashtag to see if any new agents have popped up who are looking for your type of book, and as we head into the new year and agents reopen to queries after the holidays, I anticipate we're going to see a lot more manuscript wish list posts.

4. Make it Easy to Copy and Paste

Here's the next querying hack: make it easy to copy and paste your query materials. This one is a huge timesaver. You likely already have a base query letter template that you've been working from to send out your queries, but I also recommend making a separate document that has each of the potential fields that you might need to fill out if an agent has a query form that they use. This could include:

Having these sections separated in a different document will make it super easy to copy and paste whenever they pop up on query forms.

In a similar vein, it's a good idea to quickly set up different excerpts of your manuscript to suit agents’ requirements. Some ask for the first 10 pages of your manuscript, some ask for the first chapter, and some ask for the first 50 pages, so it's a good idea to just go ahead and create those three separate documents with each of those lengths.

In all of these documents, make sure that you adjust the formatting so that it's very easy to copy and paste into an email or into a form without the formatting getting all wonky. That means you might need to remove page breaks or headers and make the text more standard. Play around with it a little bit and make sure that when you paste it into your query form or into your email provider it doesn't get messed up.

5. Keep Track of Your Queries

Here's the next querying hack: keep track of your queries. I often hear from authors who are stuck in the querying trenches and don't know what to do next. My first question to them is always, “How many agents have you queried so far?” You'd be surprised how many come back to me and say they don't know. It's because they're not actually keeping track of their queries, which makes the process a lot harder.

QueryTracker has a built-in functionality to help you manage your queries, which you could use especially if you're already finding yourself on that platform for your agent research or for querying agents via QueryManager. But if you prefer to keep a separate document on your computer, I recommend creating a spreadsheet with the agent name, the date that you queried them, the status of your query, the response date that you got, and any notes for their agency policies.

Most authors query dozens if not close to 100 or more agents, so keeping track of your queries is going to make the whole process so much more manageable and organized. Plus, having a document like this is going to help you quickly see where you're at with your outstanding queries and help you calculate your stats, if that interests you, like how many full requests you got. It's especially important to keep track of your queries if you query an agency that has the policy where you can query another agent at that same agency once the first one rejects you. You want to make sure that you have that noted in your spreadsheet so that when that agent rejects you, you can go back to the agency website and find another agent at that agency who might be suitable.

6. Set Up a Separate Email Account

The next querying hack is to set up a separate email account. This is one of my very favorite querying tips because it gives you so much more control over when you engage with your queries. Querying is a long process that often involves a lot of rejection, and those rejections can hit you at any time — typically weeks or months after you've queried the agent. The last thing you want is to suddenly be hit with a rejection email when you're already having a terrible day, or if you're having a great day, then that could ruin it.

By having a separate email account that you only check when you are ready to receive those responses and you're in the right headspace, you're going to ensure you're never caught off guard with these rejections and can reduce some anxiety around constantly refreshing your inbox, hoping and waiting for an agent to respond. I recommend checking this separate email once a day or every other day.

Some authors are concerned that an agent will get upset if they don't immediately respond if they get a full request, but I promise you that if an agent is interested in reading more of your work, they are not at all going to be concerned if you wait 24 hours to send the manuscript. After all, they likely got back to you weeks or months after you reached out to them, so they're not going to expect an immediate response from you.

7. Get a Quick Pass to Publishers Marketplace

All right, here's the final querying hack that I wish every author knew about because it's that helpful: it's to get a quick pass to Publishers Marketplace. Publishers Marketplace is the database for all of the book deals done with traditional publishers, and it's a treasure trove of data about literary agents and publishing houses you might eventually work with. Most importantly, you can look up the literary agents you are considering querying and see all of the deals that they've done. This gives you a better idea of the types of books they are interested in representing and the publishers that they have relationships with and they might eventually place your book with. You can also see how active the agent currently is in the industry — if they've done one deal in the past year or 12 deals in the past year.

The catch with Publishers Marketplace is that it is a paid subscription, and the standard is $25 a month. But few authors know that you can buy a one-day quick pass for just $10. This will give you access to the database for 24 hours where you can do your agent research as you're building your agent list. So, consider taking advantage of this quick pass or do a one-month $25 subscription if you need a bit more time on Publishers Marketplace.

As I said in the beginning, the querying process sucks for virtually everyone who goes through it, but I hope these seven hacks help make the process more manageable, streamlined and efficient for you. Thank you so much for reading, and happy writing!