Thank you once again to everyone who participated in the Be An Agent for a Day contest. 50 queries, 300+ participants, 15,000+ comments later….. I know you’re curious to see how you did.
When I started this contest I really had no idea how it would go. I didn’t even spell out a prize because I wasn’t sure if we’d have five winners or fifty winners. I didn’t know if it would be fantastically easy for people to spot the three actually-published authors among the fifty queries or whether it would be fantastically hard.
Well, now we have our answer. And I think you’ll be surprised.
First off, none of the actually published books were among the top five most requested queries.
And out of the 300+ people who participated, only two people guessed all three published authors with their five choices (that’s less than 1%, compared to the 16% who predicted they got all three). A huge, massive round of applause to Moth and Chenelley!!! They win partial manuscript critiques. They also might have a future career as agents.
Now then. At long last, here are the ones who were actually (or soon to be) published:
Query #39 was for THE PREY by Allison Brennan. The query (and manuscript) landed her an agent, a pre-empt offer from Ballantine, and reached #33 on the NY Times bestseller list. Spotting this query would have been a career-maker. Only 15% of the agents for a day requested it (and many of the ones who passed were quite rude).
Query #9 was by Hannah Moskowitz, and her novel BREAK will be published this summer by Simon Pulse. In real life 60% of the agents she queried requested to see more. But only 31% of the agents for a day requested it.
Query #21 was by Inara Scott, who subsequently received a two book deal with Hyperion Books for Young Readers. Only 16% of the agents for a day requested it.
By contrast, the most-requested query overall was #10, a work-in-progress by Dawn Johnson, which generated a 52% request rate.
What should we make of all this?
To be fair, many of the people who personalized their rejection to Allison Brennan’s query mentioned that they were passing because it sounded too familiar. Well….. yeah. It was a big book. Quite a few people probably either remembered it or even read it. So I’ll let some of you slide on that one.
But more importantly, I think this contest goes to show how people may have overemphasized the query itself when they were playing agents. The queries that generated the highest response rate were the most technically precise. They were tidy, they were well-organized, they followed the rules. They were good queries (and some of them may go on to have success stories of their own). But this wasn’t a contest to spot the best queries.
When an agent is reading a query we’re trying to look past the query to get a sense of the underlying book. We’re evaluating the concept and the writing, not ticking off a box of requirements. I don’t reject people solely because they start with rhetorical questions or their word count isn’t quite right or they break one of the query “rules”. I can’t afford to do that. Nor do I request pages for a book that has a perfect query but whose underlying concept is flawed.
A good concept and strong writing are more important than good query form.
Now, a strong query helps your odds and your request rate, which is why we blogging agents spend so much time talking about the “rules”. It really does help your odds to write a good one. When people are writing good queries it helps us spot the good projects. But remember: the most important thing is not writing a good query, but rather writing a good book. A strong concept is so important.
The other main element I’d take from this challenge is how subjective this business really is. What resonates with you might not resonate with someone else. That’s why it’s so important to query widely. I was one of the 40% who passed on Hannah’s query because it just wasn’t quite right for me at the time.
And of course, I hope everyone will remember this contest the next time a poor agent or editor is mocked for passing on [insert bestseller here]. Because getting it right is incredibly hard.
What do YOU think of the results?
Sharon aka Sapphire says
Nathan,
Thanks for the great exercise! Are you going too post the manuscript request statistics for each query? I’m a bit of a spreadsheet nut…I’d enjoy seeing all of the stats.
Thanks,
Sharon
Nathan Bransford says
davien-
Even though I ask for sample pages, less than half of the people who query me actually include them. So having sample pages for some but not for others in the contest was somewhat realistic.
Jen C says
Hey cool, I got 2 out of 3… And that’s just what I predicted.. spoooooky…
Can I call myself a Sup Agent then?
hannah says
I would have included sample pages–they probably would have helped me, except I use f*ck in my first three sentences and I’m sure someone would have been shocked at the idea of cursing in YA–but I was worried about copyright stuff.
Anonymous says
What was this contest actually supposed to prove? If a popularly requested query is for a work that hasn’t even done the query rounds yet, how do we know that it won’t get picked when it does get sent out? Why would one choice be more right than another in this case? I suppose you’re showing that the average person won’t always pick ’em, but I don’t think this was a representative sample.
Bane of Anubis says
Nathan, you mentioned you’d probably request 5 or 6 partials from the 50 queries – Assuming 2 of the 3 published queries (b/c you classily admitted you passed on #9), that leaves 3 or 4… Would you care to divulge (I assume 17 based on your earlier response today) or is it best to let sleeping dogs lie? Thanks.
Nathan Bransford says
anon-
Like I said before during and after the competition, the unpublished queries could go on to have success stories of their own. I think we’re all aware of that. The odds are long (as they are with any unpublished book), but anything’s possible.
Nathan Bransford says
BofA-
I’d rather not single out the queries I would choose publicly as that would be blurring the distinction between my real job and the blog, which I really don’t like to do. It’s crossing over from a game to real life.
I hope everyone who participated feels free to query me, though.
Nathan Bransford says
(i.e. since many of these are real projects)
Alexa says
So interesting, I did read through all the queries (but didn’t comment) and I would have picked Hannah Moskowitz. Honestly I’m not just saying that 🙂
Looking forward to reading it this summer.
Mira says
Nathan, I hope you’re happy that you did this. I imagine it was so much work.
Personally, I think this was an amazing experiment: Orginal concept, successful execution, and, most important, a lasting impression.
Thumbs up. Way up.
hannah says
Thanks, Alexa! And everyone who’s said nice things 🙂
Venus Vaughn says
FWIW, THE PREY was published in 2005, which means it was probably being written and shopped in late ’04 early ’05.
A good idea that came at the exact right time. And no, I still wouldn’t pick it because *I* didn’t love it.
Marilyn Peake says
Nathan said:
“I hope everyone who participated feels free to query me, though.”
Whoa. Seriously?
(I always feel so defeated after losing a publishing-related contest, even though my third pick, Query #10, might end up going on to get published. What’s up with me? Anyone else have the lose-a-contest blues?)
Bane of Anubis says
Marilyn – I’m with you – there’s only 1st place and everyone else comes in last 🙁 (and as far as my recollection serves, I’ve always been a bridesmaid – okay, groomsman – in a hideous dress/pastel blue, flared leg tuxedo 🙂
Marilyn Peake says
Bane of Anubis said:
“…I’ve always been a bridesmaid – okay, groomsman – in a hideous dress/pastel blue, flared leg tuxedo :)”
LOL! Thanks for that. Made me laugh.
TheDivaAgent says
Extraordinary. Absolutely extraordinary. The Diva Agent did not request a single published story. Of course the results are rigged, they must be. I am an agent acknowledged by her peers to be utterly brilliant in every possible way. It is inconceivable that I would be in error.
Disgruntled and Dismayed,
The Diva Agent
Actually, the reality is that this was loads of fun. I was 0-3, bummer. Still, I learned loads.
Thanks Nathan.
The Wad says
Nathan,
Do you manage any picture book or early chapter book authors? I’m pretty sure you don’t. Are you interested in seeing either?
Thanks,
Sharon
Lady Glamis says
Wow, lots of comments here, but I just have to say that you’ve made a ripple effect through the Blogosphere. It is amazing what writers have learned from this contest. Thank you so much!
Davien says
Oh well! =)
I’m glad you gave us the chance to do this. The insight is something I don’t think any book, course, or conference could ever have provided in equal measure. Not just for people who are down on agents, but also for writers who may not be as cognizant of the torture they unintentionally inflict on agents 😉
Dawn says
@Marilyn – I don’t have the loss blues. I learned a lot and that makes all this worth the effort to me.
I set aside ON ONE HAND to work on BROKEN, a m/m romance…this experiment has shown me that I shouldn’t neglect one kid for the other.
I hope I can make the manuscript the best it can be and somewhere down the line, a querying I will go.
Anonymous says
ummm,
i’m probably one of the ones that tortured Nathan.
(he was very nice about it though)
Wow, Dawn,
You are the writer behind BOTH of those?
Goodness!
I am impressed!
Dawn says
No, no, no.
My BROKEN is a m/m romance…not the one that was published…not the YA one.
Sorry for the confusion.
*eek*
hannah says
Dawn–coincidentally, I have a m/m YA romance about to go on submission.
Dawn says
Ooh, best of luck hannah. That’s exciting!
I’m a little embarrassed about the confusion there.
Hannah = BREAK, soon to be released and, I’m sure, brilliant YA novel.
Dawn = BROKEN, m/m romance, rejected six out of nine, but — I believe, nonetheless brilliant.
TheDivaAgent says
Loved 17 & 21. Requested #17.
TheDivaAgent says
Oh, I also loved #2, though maybe you couldn’t tell from my “humorous”? request. I REALLY want to read that one, Marilyn.
Freelance Writer says
I found the query letters educational; however, the results left me believing my work is out of step with what publishers want. (I only want to read one of the winners.)
Nathan Bransford says
Freelance Writer (and others)-
These are only three books out of the thousands and thousands that will be published. I’m not sure how you can look at three books out of thousands and conclude based on those that you’re out of step with the publishing world. Might want to explore a little.
Dorothy says
Groan. All 3 were on my short list and I opted for the competition every single time. I feel like the drummer who marches out of step but gets the paradiddles right.
Congrats to the winners.
And humble thanks to Nathan for the contest.
Jil says
Thanks a million, Nathan! This was a great learning experience! It also gave me hope and the freedom to write less “rule driven” queries.
As we are all individuals with our own likes and dislikes, I see no other way of having a manuscript chosen than by finding an agent with the same taste.
So,I’ll just keep trying and hope he or she turns out to be as nice as Nathan to work with.
Do we make you purr, Nathan?
Jill Lynn says
I only chose one of the published books, but don’t feel the other two I chose were incorrect. Just because they’re not published now doesn’t mean they won’t be.
I’m curious if any of the query writers who had a high success rate in the contest are actively sending queries? And, if so, are they getting many requests?
Nathan, thank you for your generosity. You provide guidance to writers in such a fun way.
Jen C says
I really hope that the authors of the (currently) unpublished queries keep us informed of how they went.
There are ones in there that I would be really, really surprised if they didn’t end up being published.. (Go 35 and 48! wooooooo!) Although, saying that, it’s hard to be certain without having seen the actual writing..
marye.ulrich says
Moth & Chennelly Congrats–It would have been too embarrassing if with 5 picks, none of us could pick the 3 right choices.
Just curious, Nathan did you see any promising queries in the contest entries?
Thanks to Nathan, his elves, and everyone who participated. Learned a lot!
Marilyn Peake says
TheDivaAgent,
Thank you so much. I did pick up that you were interested in my work, and your contest post cracked me up, especially about the fake title. Loved it! Thanks!
Marilyn Peake says
Here are some of the queries I found intriguing, with their fake titles:
Ones I chose for requesting full manuscripts:
# 9 (IF IT AIN’T BROKE)
# 10 (ON ONE HAND)
# 17 (INUGAMI)
# 39 (THE COPYCAT KILLER)
And here are ones I absolutely loved, but felt might not be published yet:
# 23 (QUARTZ SKY)
# 27 (GHOSTLAND)
# 42 (THE END)
# 50 (CROWMAKER)
Mira says
Yes, Marilyn,
I feel very sad.
But I’ve decided to channel my suffering into creativity.
Since I am a writer, naturally I will channel it into endlessly playing with my profile picture.
I just learned how to do it – isn’t that cool?! I don’t know why everyone doesn’t change their picture 10,000 times a day.
I will stick with my current snowstorm, though, because it is at least 50,000 degrees hot where I live, which is totally ridiculous.
Jill Lynn says
Nathan, would you be comfortable picking apart the query on The Prey, and telling us why you think it received such a high response rate from agents? I’m thinking her being a finalist in fourteen contests may have been key.
Robert A Meacham says
Hi everyone.
I am the author of query #11 The Release. The exercise was helpful and I appreciate all the feedback I received.
sharonedge says
I didn’t participate as an agent because of a time issue, but I read all the queries. My problem: there were fifteen of the fifty that I wanted to read. At least, I had the three published novels on my list, but it is obvious that I wouldn’t hack it as an agent.
I learned a lot from the queries, however. At least, I think I did. I saw what grabbed me.
Christine H says
Mira, you pretty much said it all for me… about losing, and the critique… everything.
We’re in the same sinking boat!
Christine H says
P.S. Yes, and I change my profile photo fairly often too! You should see how many “statuses” I post each day on Facebook. Or is that “stati?”
Marilyn Peake says
Mira, you are hilarious. I think you should write a book about the many ways in which writers channel their creativity away from writing. We all do it, and we need a guidebook. I joined Twitter a few days ago … and – wow! – I could spend the whole day on that site. Plus, I discovered a most amazing thing over there today. Paulo Coelho, one of my absolutely favorite authors, has signed up to follow me on Twitter. I’m no longer sad about losing Nathan’s contest – I’m too terrified that I’ll say something stupid on Twitter. Of course, Twitter posts can only be 140 characters in length. How many times could I say something stupid in just 140 characters? Don’t answer that.
Lori Erickson says
Marilyn,
Thanks for the vote of confidence. And that goes for the other folks who gave me a thumbs up, too, of course! I thanked everyone else earlier and completely spaced on mentioning the people who DID vote for me. Doh.
I gave a brief rundown on my blog today on some of the things I learned from this exercise, although I didn’t do complete justice to its usefulness. For those wondering, CROWMAKER is an actual manuscript, although it’s still in first draft and requires further work before I’m ready to query for real. If by some chance anyone wants to know more about it, my blog is listed in my profile. You are more than welcome to join the six other people who follow my day to day angst and tribulations. ;D
Lori, Query #50 (Crowmaker)
Christine H says
Marilyn, I don’t feel sad about losing because I never expect to win anything! Keep expectatations low, and you’ll never be disappointed.
I think I posted elsewhere that if someone offered me a cookie for my manuscript, I’d probably be so flattered I’d give it to them.
If it was a good cookie.
And, Mira doesn’t need to write a book on how to channel creativity… her website is enough! Do you hear that slurping sound? It’s all the time I spend at Come In Character that could be writing! (but it’s soooo much fun.)
I seriously think she’s invented a whole other art form over there. I could really post my whole novel in comments from the various characters’ points of view. I almost already have!
Jen C says
Marilyn Peake said…
I’m no longer sad about losing Nathan’s contest – I’m too terrified that I’ll say something stupid on Twitter. Of course, Twitter posts can only be 140 characters in length. How many times could I say something stupid in just 140 characters? Don’t answer that.
Oh. Are you not supposed to say stupid things on Twitter? I’m soooo in trouble…. I spent half of yesterday tweeting with a friend about building a time machine out of cardboard boxes, glitter and bendy straws.
Marilyn Peake says
Lori –
I’ll definitely check out your blog. I’m very interested in CROWMAKER.
Christine H –
I must begin to value cookies more. I already love Mira’s Come in Character blog.
Marilyn Peake says
Jen C said:
“Oh. Are you not supposed to say stupid things on Twitter? I’m soooo in trouble…. I spent half of yesterday tweeting with a friend about building a time machine out of cardboard boxes, glitter and bendy straws.”
Ha! Ha! Ha! That’s excellent. I want one of those machines.
Soratian says
Checking in to say I got O correct! 😀 This has been a delightful exercise, and a big Thank You to Nathan and the three published authors who graciously let their queries be “massacred”! You’ve all been great sports!
I gotta say though, that I’m still rooting for the books I picked ;), so authors of #10, #17, #31, #38 and #43, if you’re reading, pls buck up and get on with finishing your book and getting them agented and published so I can have the last laugh, okay? Get cracking!
Michael Pickett says
Thanks for telling us that you were among the agents who passed on Hannah’s query. I think when we get rejected we want to think that the agent is either mean and wants to squelch any sign of ambition from anyone who isn’t a member of the published club already, or they hardly have the intelligence to read a sentence containing more than six words. You showed me that a great agent may pass on a great book. That’s just the nature of the game. Better to smile about it and keep pressing on than to fume for days and days about it.