New thoughts on "batching" queries
Over a year ago I had a post about batching queries, and why I didn’t understand the reason authors did this1. “Batching” means sending the query out in batches based on some sort of metric of value placed on the agents. Online, some writers recommend sending to junior agents first, because then you’ll get feedback on how the query is working and can make tweaks before sending to senior agents or your higher-ranked agents. Some writers recommend sending to your highest-ranked senior agents first because they might take the longest to respond. But the general sensibility was that the first batch, like the first pancake, is a trial run. Based on feedback received from this first batch, the writer can adjust, and have a stronger query for the next batch.
I wrote the original post after a few situations where I received a query on a Monday and then by Tuesday it had an offer — and I suspected that it wasn’t the case that all agents got the query on Monday, and one read overnight and offered. I suspected (because writers say they do this on r/PubTips) that the writer got an offer from an agent in one batch of queries and decided to query all their other agents right before The Call. I was trying to figure out what this meant: was I this writer’s second-round senior agent or the last attempt to just try to get anyone else to bite?
Ultimately that doesn’t matter; we’re all just sending emails in the hopes that someone responds.
But I saw a more recent post on r/PubTips that did a better job articulating why “batching” in this way: starting low to high, or using the first batch to adjust your query to get responses from “better” agents2 in subsequent batches, isn’t effective in 2026. Most agents are not giving actionable feedback on the query.
