Dear Sir or Madam

Hello, dreamers. The waiting continues.

So this past week, I did in fact nudge one more of the agents I haven’t heard back from yet (the other two stated they won’t respond if not interested). Thus, in this current round of queries, I’d say I’m down but not out. I’ve yet to hear anything more from the first two, but that’s to be expected.

I’d be more distraught were it not for my eagerness to move on with Aquarius 1. I feel better and better about this voicey multi-POV sci-fi novel with each passing day. And, of course, my feelings regarding Seven Days on Samarkand were buoyed by the initial response from one of the agents I nudged. The one that confirmed I’m in her “maybe” pile.

However, casual readers who’ve never been through the query process might be wondering, “What the heck is a maybe pile?”

Call Me “Maybe”?

It’s worth remembering that there are no laws, or rules, or even rough guidelines that say when or how an agent should read your query. And it’s well known among querying writers that each agent has their own system. Many read queries in the order they were received…but not all. Most agents take at least a brief glance at every query as it hits their inbox…but some don’t. And while some agents will respond to queries sequentially, many will instead set aside queries they’re on the fence about.

Those queries end up in what’s called the “maybe” pile.

The maybe pile is exactly what it sounds like: queries an agent finds intriguing enough to warrant careful consideration, but don’t exactly jump right off the page (in a good way or a bad way). As I’ve said, an agent may leap at a query that’s impeccably well-written, or (more commonly) one that falls within an extremely marketable genre or subgenre. Dark rom-coms and dual-world Dungeons & Dragons adventures are particularly hot right now. On the flipside, any query that throws up red flags will trigger the dreaded “rapid rejection”. But if your story doesn’t look instantly marketable or terrible, you’ll likely end up in the “maybe” pile.

How to Know If You’re in A “Maybe” Pile

So, as I’ve said, I’m in an unusual position for a querying writer: I know I’m in an agent’s maybe pile. And I know that because she told me.

This, it’s important to note, is highly irregular.

Typically, an author never really knows whether or not they’re in an agent’s maybe pile. But with a small amount of sleuthing, you can get pretty close to a definitive yes. Or…you know, maybe.

QueryTracker Premium

While QueryTracker is free to sign up for and use, they do offer a premium feature that provides additional data. The service is very cheap (around $30 per year). And among other things, it allows querying writers to actually track an agent’s interaction with each individual query they receive.

For premium users, an agent’s queries over the past year are displayed on a timeline. Your query is highlighted, so if you see rejection after rejection broken by your unanswered query, that probably means the agent has set your query aside for further consideration. You’re in the “maybe” pile.

Of course, as I said, not all agents work through their inbox the same way. An agent may have skipped your query by accident, or because they’re reading by genre. Or they may have decided to simply not respond (a CNR, which I explained last week). And of course there are agents who tell you up front they won’t respond unless they’re interested, in which case their timeline tells you nothing.

Despite the trifling expense, I still haven’t upgraded to premium, because I know myself too well. I’m already stalking QueryTracker and Submission Grinder on a nightly basis, agonizing over potential hints like I’m tracking the Zodiac Killer. If I could actually watch agents’ individual timelines I’d never get any actual writing done.

QueryTracker Basic

Besides, you can still learn a lot from unpaid QueryTracker. Even free users have access to a raft of statistics, which among other things displays average response times for positive and negative responses. Reading between the lines can offer clues.

Basically, if your query moves beyond the average response time for a rejection, there’s a good chance you’re in a maybe pile. However, there are also the “no responses” to consider. The agent may have simply decided not to respond at all.

What to Do When You’re in A “Maybe Pile”

Wait.

I know, I know, that seems to be my answer to “what to do” in almost every instance of querying barring a rejection or a request. But as I’ve said, waiting is a big part of querying. You wait to hear back on your query. You wait to hear back on requests. You wait a lot. So, why should being in a maybe pile be any different?

But if you are in a maybe pile (or you’re pretty sure you are), it tells you something. Something that, if you’ve been querying for a while, you probably need to hear:

It’s working.

Of the agents you’ve queried, at least one of them feels your work is worth serious consideration. For writers like myself who work in more niche genres, that matters. It’s a sign that you’re making progress. If nothing else, you’ve at least gotten to the point where agents aren’t immediately throwing away what you’ve sent them.

This really hits home for me, because as this second round of queries drew to a close I’d grown disheartened. I know it sounds silly to start losing hope after just two rounds of queries, but again, I write in a niche subgenre. One where the market is always healthy, but generally small (like epic fantasy).

It’s worth noting, of course, that for me, “losing hope” doesn’t mean “giving up on querying”. Rather, I began to wonder if it would be best to wait until I’ve finished my current work-in-progress and try again with that. But I’ve never stopped believing in Seven Days on Samarkand. Even if I end up querying for years and strike out, I still won’t abandon it. That won’t mean I can never publish it. It’ll just mean I’ll need to find a different novel to get my foot in the door.

Learn, adapt. Pivot. But never give up. The world deserves your story, and only you can tell it. – MK