Hi all — looking for a quick gut check from people who’ve been through this stage.

I’ve completed a military/political thriller (Second Edition), currently in the polishing phase after a full continuity and line-level pass.

Here’s where I’m at:

  • Manuscript complete and revised
  • Query letter drafted and tightened
  • Agent list built and tracked (≈100 agents), researched for genre fit and individual submission requirements
  • Beta readers secured and tracked via spreadsheet (feedback starting to come in)
  • Submission tracking spreadsheet set up for queries, responses, and follow-ups

At this point, I’m planning to start querying once beta feedback is incorporated and final polish is complete.

My question is simple: what am I likely missing or not thinking about at this stage?
Not craft-level feedback — more process, strategy, or common oversights that first-time queriers tend to overlook.

Appreciate any perspective from those further down the road.

  • I regretted sending out a few (well, 27) queries too soon, because after 27 with no requests, an agented writer gave me a "beta read" of my query and told me what was wrong with it. The rewritten version netted me requests and, eventually, offers. But I don't know how to advise people to tighten up their query letters based on my feedback - I did take several rounds of feedback on my query letter, including from published authors, but somehow that one person was able to do more for me than everyone else. And I don't have their genius for query letters, so I can't easily pass it on, though I do my best.

    I did find that reading a bunch of r/PubTips posts, thinking critically about their queries, and leaving my own critiques helped me understand a bit more mechanically what a query should be composed of. But mostly, I don't know, jump in and don't overthink it. Here's a couple of (mostly psychological) tips that helped me:

    • Try not to get too attached to any individual agent before you've got (at least) a full request. Remember, you're gonna be sending out 100 of these, and anywhere from 50 to 99% of those are gonna result in a "no." So try not to stress out over a "no!" That's just getting you closer to a "yes"!
    • Personalization is either not that important or not useful at all. If you find it's taking you a very long time or stressing you out, you should consider cutting it out of your process entirely. Those 27 queries with no requests were personalized - the two that got me offers weren't. I stopped doing it after I saw a thread on The Website Formerly Known As Twitter talking about the value of personalization - every single reply from an agented author said "it doesn't matter that much," and the people who were very concerned about it didn't seem to be agented. So I assumed the anti-personalization crowd had to be doing something right, at least!
    • Do not subscribe to QueryTracker Premium. I never considered doing this because I'm cheap as hell, but it seems to be a significant contributor to people's stress.
    • Remember that querying someone isn't a binding contract - if you query someone and they come back with an offer, you can still always turn them down if it doesn't feel right.

    And good luck! I think your odds are decent. I can't seem to read your query letter (I see the post, but it looks like black text on a dark gray background to me?) but your writing is polished and your book is short - 82k is a nice fast thriller. I think it caused me trouble that mine was 90k-100k.

    parent

    This is really helpful, thanks for taking the time to write all of this out. The psychological side of querying does not get talked about enough.

    And honestly, the advice about not getting attached to any one agent made me laugh. I do not know enough about any of them yet to get attached anyway.

    Really appreciate you sharing what actually worked for you after some trial and error.

    parent root

    hopefully, you can read this one:

    https://preview.redd.it/ay7uhi1j1q7g1.png?width=468&format=png&auto=webp&s=76e719f0228aa00278f5c8a9b7dffe43bc72b252

    Dear

    Chuck Brandau knows what it’s like to fail under pressure—because for decades, he was the one expected to succeed when everything else broke down. A retired Naval Special Warfare warrant officer, Chuck built a career planning missions where hesitation got people killed. When his wife, Kim, is abducted overseas, he does what he’s always done: disappears, follows the trail, and applies the discipline that carried him through decades of classified operations.

    Operatives have engineered Kim’s abduction to exploit the one thing Chuck cannot ignore: his drive to save her. Every move he makes plays right into a carefully orchestrated global chemical terror plot. Every instinct he follows, every choice he makes, tightens a trap built around his predictability. The people manipulating him know exactly how he will respond, and his every move feeds their plan.

    As governments scramble to contain a threat they barely grasp, Chuck moves through hostile countries, compromised allies, and prolonged isolation. Survival comes with a cost not measured in blood alone. Violence is constant, but it is never clean, never heroic, and never free. Some decisions can’t be undone, and some losses can’t be survived intact.

    THE ADLER COMPOUND is an 82,000-word standalone thriller with series potential. It blends grounded operational authenticity with a psychologically driven narrative that emphasizes consequence over spectacle. Readers of Jack Carr, Brad Thor, and Don Winslow will recognize the DNA, but the engine of the story is interior as much as external—built on pressure, restraint, and aftermath rather than body count.

    This manuscript is a substantially revised second edition of a previously self-published novel. The original edition is no longer available.

    I am a 32-year U.S. Navy veteran who served across special operations support, submarine and surface forces as an independent duty corpsman, and later as a Nurse Corps officer specializing in emergency and trauma care. My background includes service with Marine units, submarines, amphibious forces, and Joint Task Force operations, informing the novel’s operational realism and its focus on isolation, moral injury, and leadership when no backup is coming.

    Thank you for your time and consideration.

    Sincerely,

    parent root

  • I created a comprehensive You’re Not Ready To Query post with a checklist that should help!

    I’d like to highlight the point in it about making sure you’re not querying schmagents—NEVER pay to trad publish!

    You can post your first 500 words here or your first page in r/betareaders’ highlighted posts if you want as well.

    Hope this helps!

    parent