“Now is the worst time of the year to query an agent or publisher” by Brian Henry

Now is the worst time of the year to query an agent or publisher

~ But it’s the best time to plan your strategy

So, it’s Christmas break and you plan to finish your novel, polish your query letter, and with New Year’s coming up fast, you’re full of resolution to land yourself an agent this year. Wonderful. But hold up. Right now is the worst time of the year to query an agent.

You want to avoid querying an agent when:

      -         She’s not in the office

      -         She is in the office but not working

      -         She’s trying to get work out of the way before going on holiday

      -         She’s crazy busy 

So, forget sending queries during the holiday season. Starting near the beginning of December, the publishing world begins shutting down. Yes, agents and editors are still in the office, but they’re trying to clear their desks before the holidays start. The last thing they want is to look at queries.  

As Christmas gets closer, less and less work gets done, and agents are disinclined to pitch your manuscript anyway, because they know that editors at publishing houses are doing just as little work; they’re more likely to be sipping eggnog than looking at new manuscripts.

Then from Christmas to New Year’s, odds are no one’s even in the office. Come January 2 (or the first Monday after New Year’s), agents are back in the office and discovering that the work hasn’t gone away. They have 967 emails cluttering their In Boxes, a pile of manuscripts they should really have read a couple weeks ago, and in general so much work that they (almost) regret taking time off.

Do they want to read queries now? Hardly. Give them a week (or maybe two) to get things under control again. But then! January is maybe one of the best times to query. Everyone's trying to turn over a new leaf – and for agents and editors that includes getting through their queries or slush pile and finding that fabulous new author who they're going to fall in love with.

And right now – during the Christmas lull – this is a great time to plan your campaign, to comb through the postings about agents on Quick Brown Fox {and there are other sites}, to make your lists of possible agents and preferred agents, or to decide which publishers you want to pitch, and to write targeted queries. 

You'll find all sorts of agents who are actively looking for authors here {and scroll down}; agents who are looking for kid lit, picture books to young adult, plus usually all sorts of other things here; and Canadian agents looking for authors here. (And see much more about finding agents looking for particular kinds of books here.) 

For information about publishers accepting unagented manuscripts see here {and scroll down}.

If you haven’t done so yet, trash your generic query and make a New Year’s resolution to write only personalized queries from now on – at least to those agents you’re particularly interested in. Because once the holidays are out of the way, this is an excellent time of year to query agents or submit to editors. Better than the fall, I think, which tends to be crazy busy in the publishing world. 

The very best time of the year to query is probably the summer, particularly August, when agents and editors aren't working so much to deadline. They may be on vacation, but for agents and editors, "vacation" means time to read queries and manuscripts, preferably with her feet up and a cool drink to hand. 

But do you want to wait six months before you start querying? I hope not. Also make plans to sharpen your writing skills. We have two writing retreats coming up in the new year: April 25 – 28 at Elm Hurst Inn & Spa (see here), and June 13 – 16  at Arowhon Pines Resort in Algonquin Park (see here).

On Saturday, March 1, I'll be leading a fabulous workshop: “Writing for Children & for Young Adults” with Patricia Ocampo senior editor at Kids Can Press and a former literary agent, so she understands the publishing industry from a few angles. Details to come, but if you want to reserve a seat, email me at: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

But the best thing you can do for yourself as a writer might be to sign up for a weekly course. Check out all upcoming classes, workshops, and retreats here.

But what if you've been so busy sending out a flurry of queries that you haven't gotten around to reading this posting till New Year's Day?

Well, Don’t worry, be happy. A few agents and editors will have used the dead time in the publishing world to catch up on things – like reading queries. Some are extra dutiful and will get to your query eventually even if you sent it in December 24. As for the rest, give it a reasonable amount of time and re-query all agents and editors who haven’t sent you a reject. At least, that’s what I’d do.  –Brian

P.S. Still looking for the ideal present for yourself? Check out this list of 77+ Gifts for Writers here.