QueryTracker

Free online database of literary agents for writers seeking representation.

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

SO many querying authors stress over their author bio, but honestly, it should be the easiest part of your query.

And no, you do NOT need a bunch of awards and publications to be taken seriously!

Don't overthink it. Your bio really only needs 3 things:
✅ Any writing credentials you might have. If not, it's OK, I promise! Just leave it out.
✅ Your professional background
✅ Where you're based

Agents will want to know a little bit about you, but it doesn't need to be long. 2-3 sentences is perfectly fine.

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

Here's my best trick for catching bad dialogue in your manuscript:

Read it aloud.

If it sounds unnatural coming out of your mouth, it will read as unnatural on the page. Your ear will catch what your eye misses every single time.

Pay attention to the moments where you stumble, or you have to do a second take. Can you smooth them out?

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

Too many writers forget this:

Your first draft is NOT your final draft. It was never supposed to be.

It's simply the raw material — the clay from which you'll craft a beautiful sculpture.

So don't get down because it's not a work of art yet.

What you do with it from here is where the real artistry begins. ✍️

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

I discovered something interesting this week...

On @QueryTracker's list of Most Requested Fiction Genres, upmarket is #3, but it's nowhere on the top 10 list of what genres writers are submitting.

So what's the deal? Are writers really not writing upmarket fiction, or do they just not KNOW they're writing it?

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

The most brutal part of querying isn't the rejections. Or the waiting period.

It's writing a synopsis. 😫

As much as it feels pointless, the synopsis is a strategic tool that gives agents crucial information about your story.

It helps them assess:
✅ the overall viability of your plot
✅ whether your story suits genre expectations
✅ major plot holes or twists that don't work
...without having to spend 8-12 hours reading the entire manuscript.

So don't fear the synopsis! Here are my 4 biggest tips to help.

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

Saying your book is like "The Hunger Games" or "Gone Girl" may actually be hurting your query letter.

If you're wondering...

How do you select appropriate comp titles?
Should you comp to mega bestsellers?
What about classic novels?

Here are your answers!

[Tommy Dean (is open to queries) @TommyDeanWriter]

Plenty of time to sign up!

New Generative writing class! Building Fictional Relationships through Dialogue, Ritual, and Objects

September 22, 2026 Time: 1:00-2:30 pm ET
online/Live Zoom
Cost: Pay what you want/can

[Tommy Dean (is open to queries) @TommyDeanWriter]

I’m catching up on queries! Just a heads up that I will close to queries from December 1 to January 14!

There’s still time to send me your query for mystery, thrillers, suspense, upmarket, literary fiction, and reported/researched True Crime!

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

I've never done a public query letter critique, but with the launch of THE MODERN GUIDE TO QUERYING LITERARY AGENTS, the timing felt right!

See what Patrick of @QueryTracker and I have to say about two very different query letters — and check if yours has any of the same issues.

https://t.co/PAiuToRHFv

[Tali Shammas @talishammas]

I've started a new series on my Substack where I feature resources for debut writers (and those who aspire to be). The inaugural issue came out today! Let me know what you think

https://t.co/HCjdc3F9pt

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

Here's the part of the query letter that authors tend to get the most (unnecessarily) anxious about:

The bio.

It's the final day of Query Prep Week, where I'm sharing free querying lessons to celebrate the launch of THE MODERN GUIDE TO QUERYING LITERARY AGENTS! 🎉

Good news: the bio is the easiest section to write, and it carries far less weight than you think.

The fear I hear constantly is some version of:

“I’ve never published anything, so I have nothing to put in my bio. Won’t an agent immediately reject me for that?”

No. Agents sign debut authors with no writing publications or credentials ALL the time.

In fact, in our survey of agents we conducted for our book, 60% said the average new author they sign has “no formal writing experience or credentials.”

If you have experience, great! But if you’re a newbie, no sweat, and you’re in great company.

You simply want to tell the agent who you are in a few sentences and highlight anything that makes you especially suited to have written this particular book. That’s it.

Here's your assignment today:

Write your bio in 2-3 sentences. What I would mention (in order):

✅ Prior publications (if you have them). Short fiction, essays, journalism, anthologies, other books (even if in a different genre). If you don’t have any, skip this.

✅ Writing credentials (if you have them). An MFA, a notable workshop or residency, an award. Only if it’s substantive — a general creative writing course anyone can take doesn’t necessarily need a mention. Again, skip if you don’t have any.

✅ What you do/did for work. This helps the agent understand how creative writing fits into your life and what background you bring to your story. It’s interesting for an agent to know, for example, if you’re an ER nurse writing a medical drama, or you spent a decade working in the region your novel is set in!

✅ Where you’re based. Agents will eventually need to know this if you engage in a professional relationship, and it’s helpful context since they’re hearing from people all around the world.

Here's what to leave out:

❌ Your age, or how long you’ve been working on the book
❌ Unrelated jobs or hobbies
❌ Your educational background unless relevant to what you’re writing
❌ Your plans for future books (you can discuss this with any interested agent on “the call”)

Viola! Easy as that.

Everything else you need to know — including how to build an agent list, how to strategically send your queries, and how to interpret the replies — is in our book.

Thank you for making launch week so special. Now go forth and query with confidence!

https://t.co/idFNz3JlrU

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

I know many of you are gearing up to query (or send out a fresh batch of queries) after Labor Day, so I've made it my mission to help you ensure your letter is top-notch.

It’s Day 4 of Query Prep Week, and today we’re tackling the part of the query letter authors dread most:

Comp titles.

I promise, they’re not as difficult as you think!

I’ll often hear authors bemoan that there are simply no comp titles for their book because “nothing like this has ever been published before.”

They think this is a good thing, that it means their book is incredibly unique and special.

But it’s actually missing the point.

Comps are meant to illustrate to an agent — and your eventual publisher — that there is market and reader demand for your book.

So if you’re saying there are no comp titles, you’re saying there is no market for it.

Agents need to picture:
👉 the reader who will pick up your novel
👉 the shelf it sits on
👉 the editor they’d send it to

And good comps are how you paint them that picture.

Here's your assignment today: Identify FIVE potential comp titles.

You aren’t going to use all five (I recommend 2-3 max), but you want to widen your options in case some don’t end up being a good fit.

Now run each one against the following criteria:
✅ Published in the last five years. You want comp titles to reflect the current book market and reader demand. No classics!
✅ In your genre and age category. If you’re writing an adult thriller, don’t comp to a YA thriller or an adult fantasy novel (unless you have very good and clear justification).
✅ Traditionally published. You’re querying literary agents because you want to be traditionally published, so the comps you use also should be traditionally published.
✅ Successful, but not a phenomenon. Skip all mega-bestsellers (looking at you, Gone Girl).

For the comps that meet all of these criteria, the next step is to figure out what exactly your book shares with each one.

Read (or at least read a substantial portion of) each finalist and ask:
❓ What about this is similar to my book?
❓ What common ground would a reader notice across both stories?

It might be:
👉 the structure
👉 the tone
👉 the setting
👉 the voice
👉 a character
👉 the theme

Make sure to mention that specific element in the query letter so the agent understands why you chose that comp.

THE MODERN GUIDE TO QUERYING LITERARY AGENTS gives you an insider look into what actually works when querying:

📈 What percentage of successful query letters contained comp titles
📈 How many new clients agents sign on average per year
📈 Real data on agents’ average response times from millions of queries
📈 How many queries authors sent before getting an offer of representation

Grab your copy today!
https://t.co/hAJyMxVQFc

[Li-MOON-Al @MoonHoneygrove]

This indie bookseller just got her copy! 🥰

@AlyssaMatesic

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

This launch week has already been a dream come true, from being a #1 New Release to seeing so many of you take pictures of the book!

But let's get down to business, because I want you all to feel confident heading into querying season.

It's day 3 of Query Prep Week, so let's talk about some critical pieces of your query letter that don’t get nearly enough attention:

Your book’s “metadata."

Many agents will check 3 key facts about your book before even diving into your description:

👉 Your genre
👉 Your age category
👉 Your word count

Not all agents represent all genres and age categories, so getting those wrong means querying agents who were never going to say yes, no matter how good your pages are.

And a word count far outside the industry norm can hurt your odds.

Let’s audit your book’s metadata together to make sure you’re presenting it accurately.

FIRST: Identify your age category.

Who is your target reader? Don’t say “everyone!” While your book very well may appeal to people across ages, you need to know who the bulk of your readers will be.

Here are the four age categories typically used in traditional publishing for fiction:
👉 Picture Book (ages 4–8)
👉 Middle Grade (ages 8–12)
👉 Young Adult (ages 12–18)
👉 Adult (ages 18+)
👉 Note: New Adult (ages 18–25) is sometimes considered its own category, and sometimes treated as part of Adult.

NEXT: Nail down your genre. Our book contains an exhaustive list of all the genres available in QueryTracker.

The best way to confirm you chose the right one: read recent books in the genre you think you’re writing in. Would yours appeal to the same readers? Authors regularly discover their book actually belongs somewhere else — and that changes your entire agent list.

Many authors blend elements from multiple genres, which is great, but for querying purposes, you’ll want to identify the primary genre. For example, if you have a novel set in a historical period that also has a romance subplot, it’s probably still historical fiction rather than romance.

FINALLY: Check your word count. Manuscripts that are way over or way under the standard length for your age category and genre are more likely to be rejected.

Here are some general guidelines (yes, there are always exceptions, but try to keep within these if possible):
👉 Picture Book: 500–1k words
👉 Middle Grade: 20k-50k words
👉 Young Adult: 50k-90k words
👉 Adult: 60k-100k words

Put all this info together at the beginning of your query:

TITLE is an [AGE CATEGORY] [GENRE] novel complete at [WORD COUNT] words.

We know querying is riddled with questions, and these tips are just the start.

Our book answers all the stuff you’re losing sleep over, like:
❓ How long will agents actually take to respond to my query?
❓ What are the top reasons agents reject queries?
❓ How many queries does the average author send before signing?
❓ How much writing experience are agents looking for in new authors?
❓ What are my real odds of getting an offer of representation?

Grab your copy today!
https://t.co/idFNz3JlrU

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

Yay! Let me know what you think 🤩

[Anne R. Allen @annerallen]

When and How to Nudge Agents https://t.co/Ap7pp0g8Sj via @janefriedman

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

We won’t sugarcoat it: querying is extremely challenging (read the book to learn exactly how many offers of representation are extended every year), but the more you know about what to expect, the better equipped you’ll be to navigate it.

It’s officially Day 2 of QUERY PREP WEEK, so let’s get to work on what’s arguably the most important part of your query letter:

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

Take your time, there's no rush! It looks beautiful on your desk 😍

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

Woke up today a published author, and I can't believe it.

The Modern Guide to Querying Literary Agents is OFFICIALLY HERE! 🎉

And it's a #1 New Release! 🤯

Thank you, thank you!

I’m so excited for you to get your hands on it and dig into all the data and statistics we’ve gathered from @QueryTracker, which have never before been available to querying authors.

[Alyssa Matesic @AlyssaMatesic]

Cheers to helping as many authors as we can get OUT of the querying trenches and onto the shelves! 🥂