Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.

An agent’s Monday starts out much like yours, I bet, but you tell me. Here’s a typical Rachel Monday:

The alarm clock rings, and I hit snooze. This process repeats itself until I know that if I don’t get out of bed, I’m going to be seriously late to work. I already sacrificed the time for my shower two or three snoozes ago. Good thing the people at work understand and also usually look a little rumpled on Monday.

I get ready for work and grab the most important meal of any Monday–my coffee–then it’s off to the office.

On arrival, I take a quick inventory of my workload.

Email box full? Check!

Query box full? Check!

Stack of mail at least two feet high? Check!

My calendar is pretty clear today. Personally, I don”t like having Monday phone calls because I need Mondays to get revved up for the week. If there’s an emergency or if there is no other day that could work for a call, I’ll of course have a Monday call, but if I can avoid ‘em I do.

I typically spend my Mondays clearing queries. At Books & Such, this used to involve hours of sending individual replies to each author. This last year we made a change; we now inform authors on our website and with an auto-reply that we’ll only reply to the queries that seem to be a good fit for our agency and that intrigue us enough to ask to see more. This was a necessary step because queries were eating away our work time (we can’t earn a living just by reading queries), and it has really freed us. Now query review is as simple as reading queries and sorting them into the appropriate email folders. If I see something I like, I send a request for a proposal. If the book isn’t a proper fit for our agency, we put it in a sub-folder marked with the current month and year. The time we save by using the standard reply allows us to read the letters we receive more thoroughly, too.

I also spend time on Monday answering emails from the authors I represent. Their notes are very important to me, and I try to answer them as quickly as possible.

By the time 5 pm rolls around, Ive worked up an appetite and am ready for dinner.

Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office

Weather: 89º and sunny

Yesterday I shared Susan Lawson’s journal entry. She, like so many waiting writers, asks what to write next? It’s a valid question. Does one begin the second book in a proposed series? Does it make more sense to start something fresh? Or should we think economically and keep from writing something that may never sell, holding off until someone shows interest in our first book?

Before I answer those questions, let me go back to something we’ve discussed here before. Too often a writer’s first book is far better than the next few. Strange, when we expect a writer’s skill to grow with each book, but here’s what too-often happens: a writers lavishes time on the very first book. It may go through edit after edit. The writer faithfully takes it to critique group and might even employ the help of an outside editor. The book is polished until it gleams. There may be years from first concept to contract. If that book releases and is successful, a second book is contracted. The writer may have nine months to write that book–maybe even less if the publisher wants to satisfy your emerging fan base. It begs the question, can you write a second book in nine months that compares with a first book that took half a decade to perfect? Maybe, but maybe not.

One way to anticipate this sophomore slump is to begin to build “inventory” while you wait for that first contract. When you’ve typed “the end” on one book, open up a file on the next book. To paraphrase Thoreau, move confidently in the direction of success. What do you have to lose? Some time, if you never do get published, but if you don’t love those hours spent writing you’re in the wrong business anyway. Look at successful authors. Many of them were able to go back and sell multiple books they wrote in those early years.

It doesn’t make sense to be time-stingy at this point in your career. In most industries we are encouraged to consider ROI– Return On Investment. At this point in your career you have no idea if there will ever be a return on your investment of time but perfecting your craft takes practice. If you are committed you need to keep writing until you decide to hang up your dreams.

Susan asked what to write. She’s a novelist and has a three book series planned. She already has book two and three sketched out. I would advise her to leave those for now and write something new. That way if book one never resonates with agents or editors, she’s on her way to a fresh possibility. As for the book she’s circulating, since she’s already spent time with the settings and characters it will be easier to pick this up and move forward if book one is contracted.

For a nonfiction writer there are a couple of possibilities. If you are well-branded and the book that is circulating is your signature book– the book that encapsulates your philosophy or your message, you might want to start working on some connected ideas. Line extensions are always an interesting way to go. For instance, if your flagship book is How To Talk Your Way Out of Anything, you may want to start on a book for women called How Women Can Talk their Way Out of Anything. Or instead, perhaps you need to turn your message on its head and write the opposite How You Can Talk Your Way Into Success.

If you are not a well-branded, go-to person you may just need to explore other nonfiction subjects and come up with your next new idea. Nonfiction writers can fill time by writing articles as well. You build writing credits, get exposure and make some money– all at the same time. Not a bad way to wait.

You need to use your waiting time well. Think how happy you’ll be when an editor asks you, “What else do you have?”

Let me ask you: What do you write while you are waiting for that big break?

Location: Tehachapi, CA

Weather: Breezy and beautiful

Last time I blogged, I talked about query letter dos and don’ts. Mostly the don’ts. I want to follow that up with the next step–what to do once you’ve got that book done, the queries and proposals circulating, and you are in that interminable wait. I’ve been planning the posts for a couple of weeks, but just this morning, as I sat in Lauraine Snelling’s living room, one of our writing friends read a journal entry that succinctly captured the uncertainty and vulnerability of that waiting time. Susan Lawson, who’s in the process of looking for an agent, gave me permission to share this with you:

I send off the query letter that I have wrestled to the ground in order to make it witty. I want the agent who reads it to be captivated by the letter and to pant to see my book. I know agents are mega busy, so after I send it off, what do I do while I’m waiting? If this agent passes and the next and all the other “nexts,” what do I do? I have an idea for my second book in the series, so do I start on that, even though no one wants the first? My feelings of “not good enough,” which apply  not only to the book, but to me, will increase exponentially. I expect to be the receiver of understanding nods which mean, “You’re a wannabe.  This is a dilettante thing.”

All the people I have interviewed to get background for my book will have wasted their time. Will I become the not-so-literary Mrs. Winchester, the woman in San Jose who believed she would never die as long as she kept adding extra rooms to her house? How ridiculous can you be, I thought after I climbed the stairs in her open-to-the–public mansion only to find they led nowhere. Is that the direction I’m heading? Am I pounding my head on a door that exposes only empty space? Will it feel good when I stop?

Most of us can identify with Susan. The longer the wait, the more time we have for self-doubt and second-guessing. That’s counter-productive. If you are serious about becoming a career writer, now is the time to be proactive. Once your book is contracted and you are on your way, you will find yourself carried along on a whirlwind. You’ll be writing the third book, doing edits for the second book, looking at the page proofs for the first book and planning a marketing push for your debut. Never again will you have this gift of time. You need to proceed with confidence and use this waiting period to set up your infrastructure, build inventory, connect with colleagues, perfect your craft and pre-market yourself. We are going to address all of those things this week.

But let’s put first things first. Use this time to continue to perfect your craft. Read every writing book you can get your hands on. Take classes and attend workshops. If you get feedback from your queries and proposals, go to work making any valid changes. Learn, learn, learn. Once you are contracted you are going to have to fight for the time to experiment and grow as a writer.

And read! Read everything important in your genre. Read the bestsellers so you know what’s happening in the industry. Nothing will help you perfect your craft more than reading. If you are reading good books, you gain techniques almost by osmosis. Good writing will become instinctual.

If I could give you one piece of advice, it would be to move forward with confidence. Plan for success and use the gift of time.  Henry David Thoreau said it better: “If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

May your wait be measured in uncommon hours.

Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office

Weather: 82º (Ten degrees hotter than yesterday)

Great comments so far on queries. Today we are going to get into some dos and don’ts. Let me say again, these are not rules, they are suggestions and they are subjective. My don’ts might just be another agent’s dos. But discussing it will only help us examine the process further.

When you are sending a query, don’t try to be clever. I know you want your query to be memorable, but humor is the most subjective art form there is. Think about what makes you laugh out loud. I’ll bet you have a friend who is annoyed by the very same thing. I love Garrison Keillor. If I could chose a spiritual hometown it would be lake Woebegon, but I have friend who finds him obnoxious. Go figure.

The only exception to this “rule” is if you are writing humor. Then your query needs to reflect that. Other than that, beware. Let me show you some carefully redacted “clever” queries. None of these even hinted what the book was about so don’t worry that I’m divulging any intellectual property.

My name is [John Doe] and I’m an enigma. I’ve also written a [umpteen] word manuscript or else this query would really be a waste of your, mine and our time.  I believe in capitalism but don’t want to work for the man.  I believe in freedom but don’t want to fight for it.  I’m against war but stay silent, mostly, on America’s practices of exploitation.  I grew up in an anti-Communist America, but think the government should help me out while staying out of my personal life.  In short, I am conflicted.

<SNIP a ton of superfluous details>

Suffice it to say, my [describes book]. It is stupid in its brilliance and brilliant in its stupidity…tragic in its verisimilitude and verisimilitudey in its tragicness…It is both an indictment of the vapidity of pop culture and a sentimental journey through a mind obsessed with it.  In short my new friend, my book saves lives.

<SNIP another two pages of stuff>

Right now—at this very moment—I am entering the stretch run of my college career.  I am [00] years old and am about to graduate from the [a university].  {The aforementioned dog is graduating from the [another university], with a degree in aeronautics or barking or something…it’s probably barking, which is where we dropped her off}

Okay. Clever? Did it appeal to you? Do you see the risk the writer took in trying to be edgy? Picture an agent trying to squeeze in queries at the end of a long, trying day. This doesn’t work. Clever is a huge risk. It may have worked for another agent but for me— it just made me cranky.

So how about this clever one. It’s a reply to the email I sent this writer telling him he just queried the wrong address and offering him the correct address:

Whatever. You have a “finger” right?, you can send it cant you? Geeeese. Just forward the message. This is one of the greatest stories EVER told. I dont have time to waste.

Now that’s certainly a humorous way to endear yourself to an agent. Or how about this one?

It’s almost not fair. Actually it isn’t fair. It’s so not fair.  Here I am, left with a page, one page, just one page, to grab your attention and set aside my query letter from the rest of the hundreds and maybe thousands that you get on a weekly basis, so you contact me back to read my manuscript. But that’s what they say about life right? It’s not fair, or is it that it’s like a box of chocolates? No, that was Forest Gump, good movie huh? If it was a true story then it’d be a great movie. I wanna be like Forest Gump, but I’m not slow, so I’ll be the smart Forest Gump and go on and do great things(have I gotten your attention yet?) Well If not then let me keep going….

You don’t know me, as an author, but you should. You know why you should? Well do ya? I’ll tell ya why, because I am a best selling author. That’s right a best selling author, if this was 8 to 12 months from now.  Ooops, I know I’m not supposed to say that, boast about the books. So I just broke the rules of querying an agent with that one. But hey I gotta get your attention some how right?

Well now let me stop making you laugh…be boring and briefly tell you about those several books I have.

Does this help you understand why agents get cranky about queries? I’m not disparaging these writers. I understand they are trying to find a way to be distinctive, but humor is subjective and therefore risky when querying.

Don’t do it.

Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office

Weather: Return to May sunshine

Great responses yesterday.  You communicated the limitations and frustrations of the query system. Truthfully? It’s one of my least favorite parts of this job. I agree that you can’t capture the essence of a book in a page. The best you can do is pique the interest of your target agent enough to make him ask for more. Katie mentioned that she met her agent through a writing conference. That’s where I’ve connected with the bulk of my clients. There’s nothing like having time to eat a meal together and look at more than a page or two. Contests are another way to get your work in front of agents and editors. But conferences and competitions aren’t possible for everyone so the query remains your introduction.

Before we get into specifics, let me address some common misconceptions. Just remember that these are my opinions and preferences– there is no one size-fits-all when it comes to agents.

Myth #1: When I get a form letter or no response at all, it means either my book is no good or my query was no good. Debunking that Myth: You cannot make that leap. You don’t have enough information. In a perfect world you’d receive  a response telling you why the agent passed on your query. Unfortunately we live in a fallen world. There is not enough time to answer the sheer volume of queries. Not even if I worked twelve hours a day– which I sometimes do. And even worse, if, in a moment of weakness, I have taken time to give a reason for passing on a query, I invariably get a return email asking for clarification, seeking help, proposing rewrites, arguing with me or just striking up a relationship. We’ve all learned we cannot risk opening the dialogue. Sad, but true. So what does the form letter or no response mean?

• It could mean that the agent can’t think of a particular editor for your book at the moment. It might just be that the editors in her particular Rolodex aren’t buying that kind of book right now. Could it change tomorrow? You bet.
• It might mean that the agent’s client list is full or nearly full. It takes a huge chunk of time to take on a new client. The agent needs to set up files, become familiar with the body of work and all the projects underway. It’s a significant commitment to take on a new client. We open up our calendars and think long and hard before making that decision. No agent reads a query and asks to see a partial on a whim.
• It could mean the market is not right for your subject or genre now in that agent’s opinion. And of course, this is subjective. And even if you knew this it wouldn’t help because the next agent may be looking for that exact thing.
• It could mean that the book just doesn’t interest that agent. Again, totally subjective. Nicole commented yesterday that she wished agents would give a list of books they love to help writers unravel this subjectivity. It’s an interesting idea and we do it here on the blog with our “What I am reading” feature, but. . . I represent a wide variety of books and authors. My personal reading tastes are far narrower than the breadth of wonderful books I represent.
• It could mean the crafting of the query indicates that the writing may not be good enough.
• It could mean that the writer didn’t do his homework and the query represents a book outside the agent’s area of interest. I can’t tell you how many queries I receive for books on generic “spirituality” or novels with “hot, hot sex.” *rolls eyes*

So what do you do when you don’t get any information? You keep doing research and you keep sending queries. After a number of passes, you may want to revamp the query in case that is the problem. You’ll also want to hedge your bets by saving your pennies to attend a writing conference and enter writing competitions that are judged by agents and editors.

Myth #2: If I don’t follow the rules for a query an agent will dismiss it out of hand. It’s easy to debunk this one. You will make yourself crazy trying to find the secret decoder ring for the perfect query. Every agent is different. If you follow agents on Twitter, note what they call a #QueryFail one day. You might see them say the exact opposite the next. For me, it’s more about grace than the letter of the law. I may not like queries that open with  rhetorical question but I sure wouldn’t discount a promising book and author on that one point. Don’t obsess about the “rules.” Write a query that uniquely represents the book and the author.

Myth #3: Agents remember the queries they receive. If I sent an amateurish query early-on to an agent I’ve got that mark forever against me. I’ll speak for myself here. There may be agents with photographic memories but I am not one of them. I do not keep a log of rejected queries. I remember stories so yes, I may remember seeing a particular query if I receive a duplicate but I will never remember the author’s name. You can always count on me to see you with fresh eyes.

I’ve only skimmed the surface here, but it’s a start. Any other things you’ve heard about the query process you’d like me to address and possibly debunk? What do you think is the one most important thing to know about the query process?

Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office

Weather: May flowers mixed with May showers

If you are familiar with Twitter then you’ll be familiar with the title of this week’s blog entries– #QueryFail. That’s a hashtag* for complaints about the query letters writers send to introduce themselves and their book to agents. When you see this hashtag it’s usually from an agent commenting on some aspect of a failed book query. I know #QueryFail raises the hackles of many writers but I think it’s time to address some of the realities and many of the problems with queries and with the system.

Tomorrow, I’ll debunk some commonly held misconceptions about queries and then we’ll have some fun with dos and don’ts. I’ll even give examples from real queries. Don’t worry that your query will show up as a cautionary tale. Details will be changed and identities carefully obfuscated.

But. . . before we start I’d like you to tell me your frustrations with the whole query system. I want to give you a chance to weigh in (and sound off) before I begin. Please use the comment section and tell me what you think of the system and how you’d change it. Don’t be shy. Jump in and tell us what makes you crazy and what, if anything, works.

So let’s roll up our sleeves and dig into the subject of query letters.

* Hashtag is the Twitter term for a subject grouping. It’s always preceded with a #. Readers can use the hashtag to pull up that subject and follow all the tweets in that grouping.

Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office

Weather: 67º and cloudy

First, let’s talk about yesterday’s worst case scenario– when your queries go out to a dozen agents and . . . nothing. I appreciated the responses. Excellent.

Here’s what I offered as options:

A. You wait patiently to hear from the seven potentially open queries. Several of you said this would be your first instinct but then most of you decided to move on to a more proactive approach. Good for you. While one or more of these of these may eventually come through to request the proposal your time is as valuable as the agent’s. And when an agent is too swamped to read a query it’s probably inevitable that they are too swamped to take on new clients at that moment. When you don’t hear or you get a non-descriptive “no” it means nothing. Let me repeat that. When you don’t hear or you get a “no” it means nothing. Don’t extrapolate any meaning from that. It doesn’t necessarily mean the query is bad, the book is not viable, the writing is lacking or the author is uninteresting. You can’t read meaning into it– there’s not enough information. It could mean the agent has no time, it could mean he’s full, it could mean he has a client with a similar project, it could mean he doesn’t have the kind of contacts to sell that particular book. I know there’s nothing more frustrating to a writer than no feedback but unfortunately that’s what happens. (As to the why, we could do a whole blog post on why editors and agents don’t give feedback when we pass– suffice to say experience has taught us that feedback begets arguments or dialogue or offers to rework, etc. When we pass we don’t have the time to invest on correspondence. Sad but true.)

B. You decide the squeaky wheel gets the grease. You recontact everyone, giving more information and even a little nudge or two along the way. A couple of you chose this course of action. As Jen said, things do get lost. Bill and Kathleen suggested that it was the proactive course. While this would not be my top choice, it is business-like and there is nothing wrong with it. I’m not sure how effective it is because most agents respond to queries pretty quickly if they are interested, but it is appropriate and should not be considered out of line. Of course, you may not hear back even after the nudging.

C. You reconsider the query itself, the chosen recipients and the method of querying. More than half of you chose this option. And it would be the one I’d recommend. Take a good hard look at the query. Is it the best it can be, describing the book and introducing the author? If so, okay. If not, time for a tweak or two. When you start to get feedback in the way of a personalized response or requests to send the proposal and/or partial, you’ll know you’ve found your effective query style.

Then look at the agents you first targeted. Did you read the websites and query them according to their guidelines? Our guidelines state that we only take e-queries, giving a specific email address for queries and yet every day I get dozens of queries sent to my working email address along with a handful of snail-mailed queries. Those I throw in a basket to answer if I ever get a chance. So far, not many have been redirected to the correct query protocol since it falls outside of my routine. So, pick the target agents carefully and send them exactly what they need.

And then consider changing up your method of querying. Sarah suggested conferences– meeting the agent in person. Excellent. I would guess that a good percentage of my clients I met or observed at conferences long before I signed them. You notice I said observed as well as met. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get to formally meet an agent at a conference. We are there with your eyes open and very often we are impressed with a writer long before that writer is ever introduced.

D. You give up. You gave it your best shot and failed miserably. A number of you said that this is your default but that you pick yourselves up and eventually choose another option. Good. Somehow you have to separate emotions and this career or you’ll get beaten to a pulp. Silence upon submission is not a commentary on you or your writing. It can mean any number of things, most often that the open slots are few and there’s precious little time agents can spend responding to writers they can’t fit in. It’s an unsatisfactory state of affairs but it’s reality.

So. . . that brings us to tomorrow’s worst case scenario. Here it is:

You have an amazing book burning a hole in your life. You have the material, you have the expertise but you have no platform– no built-in audience– where you can help market the book.  What do you do?

A. Throw in the towel. It’s hard to sell a book these days even when the author has a well-established platform.

B. You find an expert or a celebrity who has a huge platform to co-write with you.

C. You self-publish.

D. You begin to build a platform.

Which of these would you do? Please feel free to comment, choose your strategy and tell us why. Again, if you have real world experience with this, please share.

Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office

Weather: 61º and rainy

Early on in my life I learned that if I pictured the very worst thing that could happen and figured out some strategies for dealing with it I could defuse a whole lot of anxiety. There’s something very freeing about picturing yourself losing your job, running out of money, selling all your possessions and living the life of an ascetic.

Or not.

This week I thought it would be an interesting exercise to examine four worst case scenarios. I’ll set up the scenario and give you some possible strategies. You can use the comment section to tell me which strategy you’d choose and why. (Hint: There will not necessarily be one right answer.) Or if you are of the shy persuasion you can note your choice at home. The following day I’ll tell you which strategy or strategies I’d recommend and why. And then I’ll set up the following day’s worst case scenario. Hopefully, by the time we’re done, you’ll have pictured the worst possible outcomes of your writing adventure and have some strategies ready to redeem the situation.

So let’s start. . .

Worst case scenario: You’ve spent years honing your craft. You’ve written a book, researched the market and set out to find an agent. You’ve crafted a query letter, polished it and sent it off to twelve appropriate agents. Three letters came back in the SASE by return mail with a form letter with some kind of variation of “does not meet my needs at this time.” Of the email queries, you received two return emails saying that the query was received and if you didn’t hear by xx number of weeks the agency was not interested. You had two nice email rejects with no specific information, just a no thanks. Five months have passed and you’ve had no further correspondence. What do you do?

A. You wait patiently to hear from the seven potentially open queries.

B. You decide the squeaky wheel gets the grease. You recontact everyone, giving more information and even a little nudge or two along the way.

C. You reconsider the query itself, the chosen recipients and the method of querying.

D. You give up. You gave it your best shot and failed miserably.

If it were you, what would you do? Please feel free to comment, choose your strategy and tell us why. If you have real world experience with this, please share.

Location: Old New Castle, Delaware

Weather: 59º and sunny

As we continue talking about the writer’s journey let’s look at the second step.

Step Two: The Threshold

This is the jumping off point for the adventure. Once past this threshold, the hero enters the unknown—a world filled with challenges and danger. At the threshold the hero encounters beings or situations that block his passage (guardians or gatekeepers). When the hero is ready to meet the challenge the guardians will stand aside or even become a helper or friend.

This is where so many writers get stuck. We receive the call and embark on the journey but once we hit up against the realities of the publishing industry, which include seemingly insurmountable odds and some of the most ferocious gatekeepers, we shrink back.

A popular theme in writers’ blogs is the unfairness of the query system or the difficulties encountered trying to get the proverbial foot in the door. When considered in light of the hero’s journey, it makes sense. Many who answer the call will fail shortly after the threshold—the challenges seem overwhelming.

Tom Hanks was quoted as saying, “If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. It’s the hard that makes it great.” How true.

I thought Mark Healy, a columnist for The Globe and Mail offered an interesting premise in an April 21, 2009 article Generation Y Wants it Now:

“There is a generation coming through school now, just starting to hit the workforce, and already a powerful consumer segment, which hasn’t really waited for anything. Ever. And our business world isn’t quite ready for them.

Think about it. This generation — which sails under many flags: Gen Y, Millennials, Echo Boomers, Digitals, etc. — is growing up in an economy which is vastly different from that of Gen X (my cohort), the Baby Boomers, and the Old Guard before them. Millennials discover music they like and download it immediately. They process three or more simultaneous, continuous streams of information and communication — conducting history research, while texting friends, and updating Facebook. The idea of a store isn’t necessarily relevant. Nor is the idea of investing, or putting in your time. So — they don’t wait to communicate, even one-to-many, they don’t wait to accumulate and process mass amounts of information, and they don’t wait to purchase and consume. They are hyper-efficient. And that’s the problem. A lot of our business models either put up with, or to some extent depend on, inefficiency.”

When you realize that the threshold to the world of publishing is populated by gatekeepers who depend on inefficiency to help filter the masses, you can see the conflict. And in publishing, it’s not just the Millenials—I see the impatience cross-generationally.

The reality is that there are far more writers—even good writers—than there are publishing spots. Face it; there are more writers than there are potential readers for that writing. Not everyone who embarks on the journey will make it past the gatekeepers.

It will take heroic efforts.

How about you? Have you stepped over the threshold in your writer’s journey? What kinds of gatekeepers or situations have blocked your passage? What can you do to be ready to meet the challenge? Have you every had a guardian or gatekeeper become a mentor or an ally?

Location: Books & Such Central Valley, California Office

Weather: Cloudy and 67º

I guess you can tell that we’ve been talking about rule-following and judicious rule-bending this week. Let’s take a look at some of the rules you’ve heard about approching agents and editors or relating to your own agent or editor.

Just as in rules having to do with the submitting process, you’ll find that the “rules” often applied to the writer/agent relationship or the writer/editor agent are as different as the personalities involved.

Some editors are unapproachable, while others love interaction and thrive on relationship. Some agents prefer an arms-length relationship with clients, valuing professionalism and efficiency, while others are solidly on your team and part of your life.

What’s a writer to do?

If you are in the process of finding an agent:

• Follow the agency guidelines for contact. These can usually be found on the agency website.
• Never call. There’s nothing an agent can tell about your writing from a phone call. The reason agents ask you to query or propose is that it provides a window into your skill as a writer.
• You can often ignore the contact rules if you’re a successfully published author looking to make a change. Or if you’ve been referred by one of the agent’s clients. Or if you’ve met the agent in person and he/she has given you permission to skip the query step.

If you are just submitting to editors:

• Follow the protocol listed on the website unless you’ve met the editor in person and been given different instructions or told to skip a step or two.

If you are already a client of an agent:

• While making the decision to sign with an agent you should already have learned that agent’s style. It doesn’t hurt to ask for specifics at any time. Questions like: How often will we talk? How do you like to be contacted, by phone or email? How long can I expect to wait to have a question answered?
• Be sure to communicate in the preferred medium for your agent. He or she probably has a system for dealing with and archiving communication. I use email primarily. When a client or potential client contacts me via Twitter or Facebook, it runs the risk of getting missed or misfiled.
• Make sure your agent is in the loop with any important discussions at your publishing house.

If you’re already working with an editor:

• Same thing goes. Find out how your editor likes to work– how involved do they want to be in the process?
• Find out the right person for the right issue. At times you may work with a line editor, an author relations manager or someone in marketing.
• Make sure not to copy everyone in the publishing house with every bit of news or every question. Most emails should be directed to one person. Every time you add another recipient you complicate things in-house—who is responsible to reply? Do all the recipients need to coordinate?
• Never tackle problems with your publisher on your own. You get to do the good stuff. Let your agent handle any potential thorny issues.

As for the generic rules? Just follow the rules of etiquette. Common sense and an attitude of graciousness and gentility will work in a pinch.

Now it’s your turn: Anything you’d like to know about working with agents and editors? What have you discovered?