All About Queries to VKABefore you send us a query, it is well worth your time to read the following content carefully. Following the guidance here will reduce the odds that your query ends up being rejected or bounced. Details on when and how to actually submit your query are found at the bottom of this page. Briefly: What we're looking for in a queryFirst thing: You're going to send your query to the very people you want to look at, and be impressed with, your manuscript. The people you are trying to convince to pitch it to the actual publishing industry on your behalf. The people who routinely see the very best from some pretty amazing authors. That's exactly who we are and what we do. We represent amazing authors. In fact, we only represent amazing authors. So. What you need to do is prepare your query letter with at least as much care and skill as you put into your magnum opus. Pay just as much attention to the grammar, spelling, pacing and so on in your query. When submitted by post, the query letter is written on its own page or pages, and should be on the very top of the rest of the content. When submitting by email, the query letter must be in the body of the email: it must not be contained within an attachment, or the query will be discarded. In both cases, make sure you provide an email address where we can contact you. Next, don't go long. Make it one page-ish. Within that constraint, use your writing skills to get the following across to us:
Don't worry about us taking it badly if you have to tell us "I have none of that" for any of the above bullet points. Tell us anyway: it's important that we know. We're considerably more likely to reject your query because you didn't cover those points than we are to reject it because of a lack of experience or accomplishments. Further, you need to work the above list in such a way as to seriously impress us within the context of the query letter itself. Every word in your query matters, as does its structure and content. You're a writer... so write! Some things to avoid in the query letter itself:
Dictation, grammar- and spell-checking software can all introduce problems. Spell-checking software does not pick up errors when those errors are the wrong word, spelled correctly. It is also far too easy to select the wrong word to replace a word the spell-checking software has highlighted for you. Your intention is, of course, to type or dictate the correct word, but — particularly in the case of dictation software — if a homonym is available, it can end up in your manuscript. Queries and submissions should not be sent out to an agency or an editor without a thorough reading, not only by yourself but (at least) a first reader and even better, a second reader as well. Next, for all email submissions provide just a few pages of the work you are asking us to represent as an attachment. For postal submissions, include the same as hard copy. They don't have to be the first pages, either. Something you think will catch our interest. Attachments should ideally be in plain text form. Send this to us with the query; don't wait for us to ask. If your query is well written and your subject matter interesting, we will look at the attachment or printout, and what we find there will most definitely count towards whether we develop an interest in your work, or not. When you submit, you need to understand that we get a lot of queries. A lot. This means that there exists a long line of hopefuls ahead of you who got their work to us first. The only way we can really be fair is to examine each submission in the same order it came to our attention. So be patient. Craft your query with as much loving care as you can muster, send it along, and then... find something else to do and try to forget you sent it. If your work is really good, you may be assured you will hear from us, as we'll be wanting to see the whole thing. Which will then call for another period of patience. Finally, when we reject a query, you'll hear from us: we'll send an email. If you submit and don't get a reply within just a few business days, that means we didn't reject your query based on the query letter itself. At this point, the actual material submitted will (eventually) be read. Most queries don't get this far; so lack of an immediate reply is itself a bit of good news. Hopefully you're getting a feeling for the process now. Nearly every step for a work that is destined to go forward typically involves waiting — and then waiting some more. Waiting for the query process to produce results, working through any changes required, waiting for submissions to publishers, waiting for actual publication, and then waiting for the book to earn. We wish you the best of luck. Querying the Virginia Kidd AgencyWe are currently accepting carefully crafted queries from prospective and published authors during most of the year. VKA is seeking quality, marketable fiction with an eye toward strong character development and fresh storytelling. While our focus remains on science fiction and fantasy, we will represent works beyond that if the story is compelling. We consider SF/F, dark fantasy, historical fiction, popular fiction and adventures. Cozy mystery and romance too. Overall, the characters, their story and the quality of the actual writing are more important than the genre. We only consider manuscript in Standard Industry Format. Please be aware that turnaround on queries is generally about three or more months. If you can offer extremely high quality work, and you prefer to send your query by post, please send it to:
Attn: Queries If you prefer email, then submit your query here: subs@vk-agency.com Notice: We do not accept queries during the following periods:November 15th through January 15thClick here to return to the VKA Home Page |