Caragh O'Brien Interview Part 2

First off, I've decided to bite the bullet and query my first agent tomorrow. Cross your fingers for me! Secondly, Caragh has agreed to answer a few questions for aspiring writers, or anyone else who is curious about the process of trying to get an agent. I would like to give a big thanks to Caragh for taking the time to answer some of these questions. I've been researching the process for a while, and she was happy to shed some light on some of the grayer areas. Hopefully this will help out anyone else who is trying to secure an agent. Best of luck to everyone who is! Caragh has also posted this exchange on her blog at http://www.caraghobrien.com/book/birthmarked/agent-query-questions.

When an author has no publishing experience, what are some good ways to beef up the author bio portion of the query letter? How important is that part of the query letter?Be honest.  If you have no previous publishing experience, you’re an unknown with a clean slate.  Briefly state your education and your two jobs because they demonstrate your passion for ya lit, and that counts.  Your book info is what will intrigue the agent or not.

After you've queried an agent, will they provide feedback if they request all/part of your manuscript?If they’re interested, they keep asking for more.  Once they’re not, they politely pass and wish you well with your writing and with finding representation elsewhere.  In rare cases, if they’re on the fence but super interested, they might ask you about what you might revise, with no promises to represent you.
 
Can you query an agent a second time?Why would you want to?

I've read on a lot of sites that I should expect a lot of rejection. How often do agents actually request partial/full manuscripts?They request them whenever they encounter an irresistible idea.  New agents seeking clients are particularly receptive.

How many agents did you query before you found your current agent?I queried 40+, in waves.  Details of my search are on my blog.
 
Do you have any tips for making the query letter stand out?Your letter will probably be in the strongest twenty percent simply by being clear and coherent.  After that, your ideas are what matter. 

I can see you’ve looked into this process a lot already, which is great!  Being informed is so helpful.  I can’t recommend AgentQuery.com highly enough for tips and searching info.  I’m sure you’ll look into which agents are most likely to be interested in your work, and you’ll follow their submission guidelines on their sites to make it easy for them to consider your query.  If you send out half a dozen queries and no one asks for more, that could be a sign to revise your query before you try the next batch.  Keep trying.  If your novel reaches the right agent at the right time, you’ll be on your way.  If you don’t find representation for this book and the writing makes you happy, keep on writing.

Thanks again, Caragh!