How To Get Out Of The Slush Pile And Make Your Agent Say Yes

In the literary world, the term slush pile refers to a stack of unread, unsolicited manuscripts or queries from aspiring novelists. Authors can often find themselves in the slush pile due to cold queries, unprofessional letter formatting, or a generic pitch.

Are you facing constant form rejections to your queries? Here is everything you need to know to get out of your publisher’s slush pile.

Customise Your Query

if you approach an agent as just another name on your list, they will treat you the same way. Agents and publishers receive an ample amount of queries every single day, many of which are cold queries that are automatically rejected with form responses. As an author, it is your job to create a compelling query that hooks your agent in.

The easiest way to do this is by customising your query letter.

I have already talked about easy ways to do this in some of my earlier blogs, but here’s a quick rundown of how to customise your query to hook your literary agent:

Start with their name

Queries that start with ‘dear agent/team’ have a higher chance of ending up on an agent’s slush pile. It’s important to address your agent by their given name both at the start of the query letter and somewhere in between it (something as simple as ‘this is why I chose to work with you, their name’ can work wonders).

Avoid using any terms like miss/mrs/mr since you might end up using the wrong term for an agent and get off on the wrong foot.

Why them?

When trying to convince your agent why they should pick you, it’s important to show them why you picked them. This helps create a bond of trust and makes your agent know you aren’t just blindly sending out queries to every agent who works in your genre.

When I was querying agents, I would always make sure to include a line that went as follows:

I found out about you on manuscript wishlist and decided to get in touch with you since you expressed interest in the genres and themes The Traitor’s Throne incorporates.

I would then make a quick nod to anything they might have said on their MSWL, agent page, or Twitter. A great way to do this is by scanning their manuscript wishlist for certain phrases that fit your book. Maybe they showed interest in a ‘high stakes murder mystery’ or ‘swoon-worthy romance’. You can use these short phrases to customise your query, so long as they fit your book.

Mention their past projects

Can’t find anything on their MSWL that fits your book’s themes? Instead just mention a past project of theirs that follows the same themes as your book. A quick line such as ‘your previous work with (author name) for (book name) encouraged me to get in touch with you’ can seamlessly customise your query without feeling too overbearing.

Remember, only two to three lines of your query letter should talk about your agent. The rest is supposed to be about your book and your experience as an author. I would recommend putting this section at the end of your query letter, right before your synopsis and sample pages.

Follow Their Guidelines

Most literary agents and publishers have a set of guidelines in place for authors looking to query them. These guidelines help them sort through the queries and also ensure your query isn’t marked as a spam email.

Some agencies will ask you to customise your subject line a certain way, others will ask authors to answer a set of questions that help them gain insight into your project.

When querying an agent or publisher, remember to always check their website’s submissions or contact page (even if you’re reaching out via query manager or query tracker) and follow the guidelines mentioned there.

This helps your agent know you were genuinely interested in reaching out to them and also ensures they actually read your query.

Keep Things Simple

One of the most important things to remember when querying is to keep things simple. Don’t overstuff your query with information, don’t dive into a detailed analysis of what happens in every chapter of your book in the synopsis (unless the agent asks you to).

The point of your query letter is to hook your agent, not bore them with the details. Make your query simple, short, and intriguing. Drop an introduction, hook your agent with the first paragraph, and end your query letter strongly.

Here is how to format your query letter to make your agent say yes:

The introduction. One or two lines about your book’s details. The title, the word count, the genres, and a brief description of your book—something like ‘this is a novel about an old con’s path to redemption’.
The hook. This is the most important part of your query letter! It’s where you draw your agent in and give them a compelling hook that convinces them to read your sample pages. Keep things brief, about 150 to 300 words. Remember, you don’t need to talk about the story, but tell your story. Hooks generally read like the blurb of your book.
The author introduction. Author introductions for first-time authors can feel like a jarring feat. If you’re a first time author, just create a brief author bio that mentions any experience you have in the literary industry or any hobbies you have that are relevant to your book. For example, I made sure to mention my blog and internships as a content writer in my author bio because this shows my agent that I know how to market my book.
The customised one-liner. As mentioned above, consider dropping a quick one-liner about why you picked this agent for your manuscript. Remember to keep this short and don’t go into too many details.

Stay Professional

Always remember to be courteous and professional when you’re interacting with an agent or publisher. Start and end all of your emails properly, make sure your query doesn’t have any SPAG mistakes, and always treat your agent kindly. Even if they reject you.

Imagine how embarrassing it would be if you did end up getting an agent but they called you up one day and said their friend or colleague mentioned you sent them a very rude email after getting rejected!

Maintaining a positive impression of yourself is always important. Remember, these agents might end up being important industry connections in the future. Or, they could casually mention your poor mannerism to other agents which could ruin your chances of getting traditionally published.

It is good practice to follow up rejection emails with an email thanking the agent for their response and asking them whether they have any colleagues or fellow agents in mind who might be looking for a project like yours.

Some agents might just ignore this message, but others will provide you with at least a couple of agents you can get in touch with. This gives you the advantage of a referral, and also makes the agent see you in a positive light, which can be beneficial when building industry connections.

Conclusion

I hope this blog on how to get out of the slush pile and make your agent say yes will help you in your writing journey. Be sure to comment any tips of your own to help your fellow authors prosper.

Want to learn more about me and my writing journey? Visit my social media pages under the handle @hayatheauthor where I post content about my wip The Traitor’s Throne and life as a teenage author.