Comp (comparative) titles are books you can point to as an example of what an agent or editor can expect when reading your manuscript. Listing two or three comp titles in your query letter or during your pitch gives an agent a quick idea of where your book fits in the marketplace.

When you want to convince an agent to take a chance on your novel, the immediate temptation is to compare your book to whatever's at the top of the bestseller list, but this could hurt your chance with an agent more than helping it. You should use...
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​The Three R's of Picking a Comp Title:

A good query letter is broken down into three parts: the quick intro, the pitch, and the bio.  Strangely enough, the third section (the bio) often generates the most questions and uncertainty with writers. In fact, when I speak at writers’ conferences on the topic of how write a query letter, there are typically a ton of questions about this small paragraph. With that in mind, I have cobbled together some notes on what to include and what not to include in a query letter at the end when you’re talking about yourself and your writing.

FICTION VS. NONFICTION

The bio section of a query letter is a completely different beast for fiction vs. nonfiction. If you’re writing nonfiction, the bio section is typically long and of the utmost importance. This is where you list all your credentials as well as the greatest hits of your writer platform. The importance of a nonfiction bio cannot be overstated. It has to be fat and awesome. Fiction bios, however, can be big or small or even not there at all. Most of the questions and notes I address below are discussing the murky waters of fiction query bios.

YES: INCLUDE THESE ELEMENTS IN YOUR BIO

• Traditionally published books. This is the top bio credit you could have — past traditionally published books. Always mention the title, year and publisher (and hyperlink to more info about the book). Beyond that, you could quickly mention an award your previous book won, or some praise it received.
• Any published short stories. If you got paid for them or they ended up in a respected journal, that is always a great thing to mention. It immediately proves you’ve got fiction writing cred.

One of the questions I hear frequently at events is a complicated one: “Do you need multiple literary agents if you write in different genres or categories?” This is a tricky subject, but one that I want to address, since I myself have multiple agents.

Some writers get into writing with a clear focus in mind, such as penning young adult fantasy novels. Other writers want to compose books in different areas. Sometimes it’s not a far stretch to jump,  from young adult to middle grade, say. Other times it’s a whole new world, like making a jump from paranormal romance novels to nonfiction books about gardening.

THE 3 PROBABLE OPTIONS:

Here are the three likely ways this will happen if you have a literary agent and want to branch out into new genres or types of books.

When contacting agents, the query process isn’t as simple as “Just keep e-mailing until something good happens.” There are ins, outs, strange situations, unclear scenarios, and plenty of what-have-you that block the road to signing with a rep. It’s with that in mind that I have collected 9 of the more interesting questions submitted to me by readers regarding protocol during the query process. 

1. Can you query multiple agents at the same agency?

Generally, no. A rejection from one literary agent usually means a rejection from the entire agency. If you query one agent and she thinks the work isn’t right for her but still has promise, she will pass it on to fellow agents in the office who can review it themselves. Agents work together like that.