I wish I'd had this guide when I started querying a couple years ago! I spent months listening to interviews, scouring websites, compiling information... If only this had been available then!
The Modern Guide to Querying Literary Agents covers SO many things, from query letter structure to researching agents and filling out their QueryManager forms, to what to ask on the call, if you should get so lucky as to receive an offer of rep. It's absolutely brilliant, easy to understand, relevant and up to date. I can't recommend it highly enough!

Thank you to NetGalley and BenBella Books | Matt Holt Books for the free e-book ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a phenomenal piece of kit for any author faced with the daunting gauntlet that is the query process. I feel better informed and will be recommending it to the writers in my audience. I plan to buy a physical copy when it releases for my own reference as I begin to query.

If you have a manuscript ready, this is the perfect time to read this book. A detailed step by step approach to querying is provided, with each component of the query letter discussed. Little things like salutations and adding personal touches to queries can make a huge difference. I also appreciated the part where what happens on a call, and even after the contract is signed was explained. The best part, from my point of view, was the section on the statistics - timelines, reasons for rejections, what's important for agents on a call - so informative! This needs to go right next to your 'Save the Cat' and Chicago Manual!

As someone who has been querying for six years, I will say that this book is something every querying author should have in their arsenal. A lot of it was stuff I already knew just from my own experiences querying as well as some classes on the business of publishing through my MFA program, but I still found it to be incredibly useful. Having worked with Alyssa on my most recent (and still in progress) project, I can confidently say that she knows her stuff. She’s an absolute joy to work with. And Patrick has created something amazing with QueryTracker and QueryManager. The combination of both of them has been a book that is a must read, especially if you’re new to the querying game. This process can be incredibly difficult—and at times disheartening. But knowing more about the process really helps to remove that industry opacity and put things into perspective. Which, honestly, really helps with your mental health while in the trenches. My take? Read the book. Whether you’re familiar with the process or not, you’ll find something that will help!

Huge thanks to BenBella Books | Matt Holt Books and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

I've been watching Alyssa Matesic's youtube channel since she had 6k subscribers, now she has over 170k, and it's one of the most informative yet approachable sources of information about writing with intent of traditional publishing. When I saw she has a book coming, I had to check it out.

It's co-authored with Patrick McDonald, the creator of query tracker, which is a beloved online tool for authors querying or planning to query traditional publishers.

I must say, I was impressed. It's concise, to the point, based on personally collected data both from authors and agents, well organized step by step and giving actionable advice. Too many non-fiction titles these days are full of bloat and reiterating the same points to pad the page count, not this one. It's lean and no clickbait.

I've been a user of the subreddit r/pubtips for many years and I've seen first hand the amount of basic, repetitive questions asked every week, month, year. Rejoice! Now all these questions are answered in this one handy book. It won't go in-depth how to write a perfect query, albeit it does provide the basic structure guidelines and a few examples, but it covers everything else you'd want to know about the process, but maybe were afraid to ask because it's "silly" or "obvious". It's not, as this is a fairly opaque industry with its own quirks.

There's an ongoing community debate whether to send the queries in batches or not, and the authors here are in favour of batching, but that's one point someone can argue the market has changed too much to support this practice.

But otherwise? It's chock full of great info, including how to spot scams, how to vet agents, how to discern is a rejection a "form" (i.e. a copy-pasted premade reply), how to navigate querying by mail vs online form vs query manager, what to ask on the call with an agent, how to nudge and is it even worth to bother, and confirms some common beliefs with data (yes, the author's platform matters a lot for non-fiction, but not as much for fiction, for example; or that agents get way too many queries and will reject easy red flags like too long wordcount or ai-generated writing).

So yes, you could sit on r/pubtips or a similar space for months or even years, trying to passively soak the information, or you can read this book in one day and have the myths dispelled and information provided, divided into clear sections for the reader's convenience.

I especially liked the statistics part, showing where the opinions converge (for example, vast majority of agents prefer to be notified if you get another offer of representation) and where it varies a lot (for example, how long it took from starting querying to getting an offer).

I think a title like this is sorely needed to dispel fears, provide step by step how-to guidelines and serve as a reference material to point people towards when they're hopelessly lost. I fully recommend it to any author who learns one needs to "query" as a first step towards publication and feels a deer in the headlights moment.

Thank you Netgalley, BenBella Books & Matt Holt Books for the ARC!

Matesic and Mcdonald are the perfect pair for this phenomenal primer. They know the industry and querying process backwards and forwards, and their text illuminates it for the rest of us in an approachable, informative manner. As someone who has journeyed into the query trenches myself, I was reassured by the hard data presented and the welcoming tone taken throughout. This isn't an easy process, and even with the right tools the success rate is low, but the authors help aspiring writers feel like they're not alone.