The Query Lab Apply for the beta
Beta round · applications open

You don’t just need help writing a query. You need help querying.

The Query Lab gives you a literary agent’s eyes on your submission package, and expert support the whole way through the querying process, so you can give your book its best shot.

To: dream.agent@literary.co
Subject: QUERY: THE SALT WIDOW (Adult Historical Fantasy, 94,000 words)

When the tide takes her husband and leaves his ghost behind, Maren Holt has one winter to decide whether to let him go, or follow him under.

There’s your clock. Lead with this.

I have been writing since I was seven years old and this book is my heart.

Cut. Let the story do this.

It will appeal to readers of two recent, same-shelf comps that sit right where this book would.

Swap the 2009 comp for something newer.
Ready to send.
Sample query · annotated in the Lab
Sound familiar?

Querying can feel like shouting into the void.

You spent years writing this book. Revising it. Polishing your query package. Researching agents. Trying to “do everything right.” You went to conferences and learned everything you could about the industry.

And now you’re ready to query, but you’ve heard the horror stories. Silence. Rejections. Confusing feedback. Panic spirals.

You’ve put so much into your writing career, and the idea that it could all lead to rejections with nowhere to go gives you hives.

The advice spiral

Everyone has a rule. Somehow none of them agree.

Reddit threadQuery in batches of ten.

Writing podcastNever more than five at a time.

Critique partnerNudge after six weeks.

Conference panelNever, ever nudge.

Discord serverPersonalize every single query.

Someone’s blogPersonalization doesn’t matter.

Group chatComps must be under three years old.

A guy on socialSkip comps entirely.

Forum, 2 a.m.Revise after 20 rejections. No, 50.

Batch size. Response rates. Nudging. Comps. When to revise. When to stop. You just want access to a professional who will tell you what to do.

The honest truth

There are things you cannot control in querying. There are things you can. The Lab helps you handle the second (and cope with the first).

Out of your hands

  • Agent tastes, and what they’re hungry for this month
  • Market conditions and timing
  • Whether a particular agent ultimately says yes
  • How long anyone takes to reply

We’ll help you cope with these.

In your hands

  • Your query, your opening pages, your comps
  • Which agents are on your list, and in what order
  • Your batching and nudging strategy
  • How you read, and respond to, what comes back

This is where the Lab does its work.

Now picture this instead

Can you imagine?

You hit send on your first batch knowing an actual literary agent has reviewed what you’re sending.

And when the responses start coming in, you already know exactly where you’re taking your questions, your confusion, and your occasional WHAT THE FUCK DOES THIS EMAIL MEAN?!

Your querying season, with the Lab
Before you send

You hit send and actually feel ready

Your query, pages, comps and agent list have been reviewed by an actual literary agent. You’re still nervous (of course you are), but you’re not lying awake wondering if you missed something obvious.

When the first no arrives

A rejection comes in and you don’t panic

Instead of dissecting every sentence and rewriting everything at midnight, you bring it to the Lab. Together, we look at what’s happening and decide whether there’s anything you need to do.

When you’re deciding what’s next

You know what to do next

Send another batch? Wait? Nudge? Change the comps? Adjust the list? Leave it alone? No three-hour Reddit rabbit hole. Experienced people help you make the call.

The whole time

Querying doesn’t consume your whole life

You’re writing the next thing. Sure, rejections still come, but you know you’re in good hands and you can keep writing.

Why an agent’s eyes matter

You’ve had plenty of advice from writers. Now you want advice from someone qualified.

Your critique partners can tell you whether they like your query. They can’t tell you how an agent reads it when it’s sitting alongside 100 other submissions.

If an agent says no because of market timing, or the fit isn’t right, that’s one thing. What you want to avoid is wondering whether you lost an opportunity because of something in your query, your pages, your comps, or your strategy.

An agent’s inbox, one morning↑ yours, #47 of 100

Three women smiling at a book event, two of them holding copies of a novel
Why now?

Right now, you have something incredibly valuable: options.

● queried  ○ still ahead of you. Your query, pages and comps haven’t gone out to your dream agents yet. That’s exactly when expert eyes change the most.

Your package gets edited by a pro

An actual literary agent reviews your query, opening pages and comps, and helps you strengthen them before you hit send.

You start with professional eyes on your work

Instead of wondering whether your package is ready, you send knowing someone who has sat on the other side of the submission inbox has looked at it.

Your early responses teach you something

When the replies (and silences) start, you don’t have to guess. You look at your actual results with an expert before deciding whether anything needs to change.

You don’t make decisions from panic

A rejection doesn’t have to trigger a midnight query rewrite. You have somewhere to bring the confusing email, the disappointing batch, or the WTF does this mean?! moment before you react.

You have somewhere to land

You’ll have people to lean on for the whole querying process, not just the part where you write the letter.

You get to be exactly who you are

Grounded and practical, or tarot-and-tea coded: your worldview and vibe are considered, so you can show up fully as yourself without minimizing or defending your process.

What you get · Three months

An agent’s eyes, a coach in your corner, and somewhere to land.

This isn’t a query critique you get once and then you’re on your own. For three months, the Lab stays with you through the whole querying process: before you send, while you’re sending, and when the responses start coming in.

Start here · watch anytimeRecorded by Linda & Monica

Querying 101

Short recorded lessons for writers who are newer to querying. Watch them on your own time, in any order, before your package review, so you walk into the Lab already speaking the language.

The basics, straight from someone who reads the slush pile.

With Linda

  • How querying actually works
  • Writing a query letter that sounds like your book
  • Finding comps, and choosing the right ones
  • Preparing your first pages and synopsis
  • Researching agents and building your list
  • Submission etiquette: nudges, exclusives and offers

With Monica

  • Becoming a business owner as an author: why your pitch matters so much, and how to shift from your writer brain to confidently championing your own work
At the startWith Linda Camacho, literary agent

Submission package feedback

At the beginning of the program, Linda helps you revise your query, synopsis, and first 10 pages to strengthen your submission package before you begin (or continue) querying.

Later on, you get one additional package review during office hours, so you can adjust based on what you’re actually seeing.

MonthlyWith Linda

Group strategy call

Each month, Linda hosts a live strategy session on the real, complicated realities of querying. Two or three writers bring their current situation (a query, a confusing agent response, a decision about submitting) and work through it with Linda in real time.

Interpreting responses · query strategy · when to pause or revise

MonthlyWith Monica

Group coaching

Querying is an up-and-down journey. These calls help you manage rejection, build emotional resilience, keep your writing momentum, and navigate the uncertainty without losing yourself in it.

For the part no query critique can fix.

Between callsWeekly office hours on Voxer

Support when the email lands

You don’t have to wait a month to ask the question that’s keeping you up. Weekly office hours on Voxer let you ask questions, get guidance, and stay grounded through the ups and downs of querying.

“Okay, so they said ‘not for me, but the voice is strong’… what does that mean?”

Two women laughing together outdoors
Writers deserve somewhere to turn when querying gets confusing.

You don’t want to enter the “trenches” alone. You want to know you’ve given this book the best chance it can get, with experienced people in your corner who can help you navigate whatever happens next.

Linda Camacho smiling in front of shelves of books
She knows the inbox from the other side. Now she’s on yours.
The literary agent in your corner

Linda Camacho

Senior agent · Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency

Linda is a senior agent at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency, where she represents writers and illustrators. Over the last two decades, she’s held positions at Simon & Schuster, Writers House, and Penguin Random House.

She received her MFA in creative writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, has a short story in the YA anthology Every Body Shines, and has been featured in Forbes, Writer’s Digest, and Latino Leaders Magazine.

She’s a native New Yorker, Cornell grad, and chocolate lover who believes in the power of storytelling. Linda adores narratives that make her feel in a big way, whether it’s elation, grief, fear, or everything in between.

In publishing
Two decades
Education
MFA, Vermont College of Fine Arts
Featured in
Forbes, Writer’s Digest, Latino Leaders

Her tastes are omnivorous. She represents

  • Picture books
  • Middle grade
  • Young adult
  • Graphic novels
  • Select adult fiction: romance, women’s fiction & literary horror
The coach in your corner

Monica Hay

Writing coach · Author · Host of the No Mess, No Magic Podcast

Monica is a writing coach, author, and host of the No Mess, No Magic Podcast. Her short fiction appears in Born of Rage: An Anthology Benefiting Women’s March.

With a background spanning publishing, literary agencies, social work, and creative practice, Monica helps writers understand and overcome the psychological barriers that keep them from writing.

Her work blends neuroscience, psychology, and self-compassion to explore writer’s resistance, creative recovery, and the inner game of building a sustainable writing life.

Master’s
Publishing, Portland State University
Bachelor’s
English Literature, UC Berkeley
Published in
Born of Rage anthology
Monica Hay smiling, sitting on stone steps
For the part of querying that happens in your head.

Monica’s work has been featured by

  • Dabble
  • Writing Romance Mastery Summit
  • Dirty Messy Alive: an embodied memoir-writing workshop series
  • Pencils & Lipstick Podcast
  • The Resilient Writers Radio Show
  • Basecamp to Brilliance: The Summit for ADHD Writers
  • Valley of the Sun RWA
  • Let’s Get Bookish
  • The Write Type Retreat
  • Woodland Writers
Is this right for you?

The Lab works best when you’re ready to actually send.

This is for you if…

  • You have a finished, polished manuscript you’re preparing to query.You’re at (or very close to) the point where it’s time to stop revising and start sending.
  • You haven’t started querying yet, or you’ve only queried a small handful of agents.Most of your agent list is still ahead of you.
  • You take your publishing goals seriously.You’ve put a LOT into this book, and you want to give it the strongest shot you reasonably can.
  • You want an actual literary agent’s eyes on your submission materials before you send them widely.You’re ready for professional feedback on your query, pages, comps and strategy.
  • You want guidance through the whole querying process, not just a query critique.You want somewhere to bring questions about batches, responses, nudges, rejections, strategy, and what the hell do I do now?
  • You know representation isn’t guaranteed.You’re looking for expertise, strategy and perspective, not someone promising you an agent.
  • You want help staying grounded while your book is on submission.You want to query this book without letting every rejection derail your confidence, your strategy, or your ability to keep writing.

Not right now if…

  • You’ve already queried this manuscript widely.The Lab is designed for before and during the early stages of querying, while there’s still plenty of room to adjust.
  • Your manuscript isn’t finished yet.This isn’t a program for finishing or revising a draft.
  • You’re mainly looking for developmental editing or craft coaching.We may spot something in your pages, but we’re not here to overhaul your manuscript.
  • You want a guarantee you’ll get an agent.We can’t, and won’t, promise representation. Too much in publishing is outside anyone’s control.
  • You want someone else to do the querying for you.You’ll still research, decide, send, and do the work, with expert eyes beside you.
  • You aren’t ready to actually query during the program.This isn’t three months of preparing to someday feel ready. The magic comes from doing the thing.
  • You use generative AI in your creative process.Built-in spelling and grammar checks in your writing software are fine.
Clear expectations

What the Query Lab is not.

We’d rather you know exactly what you’re signing up for. Here’s where the edges are.

Not a full manuscript critique

Linda reviews your submission materials and opening pages. This isn’t a cover-to-cover critique or a developmental edit.

Not a chance to query Linda

By joining, you agree not to query Linda with the manuscript you bring in. She’s on your side of the process, not evaluating your book as a potential client.

Not a guarantee of representation

We help you strengthen what you can control. We can’t control agent tastes, market conditions, timing, or whether an agent says yes.

Not a shortcut to trad publishing

You’ll still research agents, send submissions, track responses and make the decisions. We help you navigate it strategically.

Not unlimited agent access

You’ll have access to Linda within the structure of the program, not 24/7 feedback or on-demand private consulting.

Not agent introductions or referrals

Linda won’t personally introduce or refer you to agents. The goal is to help you query effectively through the normal submission process.

Not emergency support

We’re here for the emotional rollercoaster of querying, but this isn’t crisis support, therapy, or an instant-response service.

Not a promise of market success

You can have an excellent manuscript, a strong query and a smart strategy and still not find representation. Publishing holds uncertainty none of us can remove.

Not a rescue for a widely queried book

The Lab works while you still have options. We’ll ask in your application how many agents you’ve already queried.

Questions

Frequently asked questions.

Still wondering about something? Ask. We’d rather you know.

Have a question that isn’t answered here? Email us at support@monicahay.com, or use Monica’s contact form.

Do I need to have a finished manuscript?

Yes. The Query Lab is designed for writers who have a complete, polished manuscript and are ready to query literary agents during our three months together.

This isn’t a program for finishing your draft or doing a major developmental revision. You should be at the point where you’re thinking: I think this thing is ready. Now I need to send it.

What if I haven’t started querying yet?

Perfect! In fact, that’s one of the best times to join.

You’ll have the opportunity to get professional eyes on your submission package and strategy before you start working your way through your agent list.

What if I’ve already started querying?

That’s okay, as long as you haven’t queried widely yet.

The Query Lab is most valuable while you still have plenty of agents left to query and room to adjust your materials and strategy. We’ll ask how many agents you’ve already queried in your application so we can make sure the program is a good fit.

Will Linda read my entire manuscript?

No. This is not a full manuscript critique or developmental editing service.

Linda will review the materials relevant to your submission package, including your query, first 10 pages, and synopsis. If you’re looking for detailed feedback on your entire manuscript, this isn’t the right program for that.

Will Linda introduce me to agents?

No. There are no agent introductions or referrals included in The Query Lab.

You’ll be querying agents through their normal submission channels, just with a much better understanding of what you’re sending, who you’re sending it to, and why.

Can I query Linda after The Query Lab?

No. Participation in The Query Lab means you cannot query Linda with the manuscript you bring into the program.

Because Linda will be reviewing and discussing your submission materials as part of the Lab, she cannot later consider that same project through her agent submission process.

The Query Lab also does not provide agent referrals or introductions. Linda is here to help you strengthen your materials, understand the querying process, and navigate your submissions strategically. She is not here to evaluate your manuscript for her own list.

Think of Linda as being on your team for this book, rather than someone you’re pitching it to.

Does joining The Query Lab increase my chances of getting an agent?

Our goal is to help you give your book the strongest shot we can, not promise an outcome nobody can control.

We can help you strengthen your submission materials, query strategically, understand your results, and make informed decisions about what to do next.

We cannot control the market, an individual agent’s taste or list, timing, or whether your book ultimately receives an offer of representation. And we’re never going to pretend we can. That is unethical marketing.

What if I get an offer of representation during the program?!

FIRST OF ALL: YAAASSSS

And yes, we can help you navigate what comes next within the scope of the program, including questions you may want to ask, notifying other agents with your manuscript, and thinking through your decision.

Is this just a query-writing course?

No. There are plenty of resources that can teach you how to write a query letter. (We do include Querying 101, a short recorded course from Linda and Monica, to cover the basics. It’s your starting point, not the program.) The Query Lab helps you actually query.

You’ll be sending submissions, receiving responses, evaluating what’s happening, making strategic decisions, and navigating all the emotional weirdness that comes with putting your book in front of agents.

We’re with you while you’re doing the thing.

How is The Query Lab different from getting a query critique?

A query critique gives you feedback on your materials at one moment in time. The Query Lab stays with you through the actual querying process.

We’ll help you strengthen your submission package before you send, think strategically about your agent list and batches, interpret the responses you receive, decide whether the data suggests something needs to change, navigate the emotional rollercoaster of querying, and keep moving forward while your book is out in the world.

You don’t just need help writing a query. You need help querying.

What kinds of books is The Query Lab for?

The Query Lab is for writers pursuing traditional publication with fiction.

Can I use AI in my writing?

The Query Lab isn’t the right fit for writers who use generative AI in their creative process, for example to draft or revise your manuscript, query, or synopsis.

This doesn’t include the tools built into writing software that automatically check your spelling and grammar as you write. Those are totally fine.

How much access will I have to Linda?

You’ll have access to Linda through coaching calls, feedback on materials, and weekly office hours.

This isn’t unlimited or on-demand access to a literary agent. We’ve designed the program so you’ll have meaningful opportunities to get Linda’s professional perspective while maintaining clear boundaries around her time.

What does it mean that this is a beta round?

This is the very first round of The Query Lab, which means you’ll be helping us shape what this program becomes.

We’ve designed the Lab based on our combined experience in publishing, agenting, coaching, and working with writers, and we have a clear structure for our three months together. But we also know that the best programs get better when they’re built alongside the people actually using them.

Throughout the beta, we’ll be paying close attention to what’s most useful, what questions come up again and again, and where you need more guidance. We’ll ask for your feedback along the way and use it to refine future rounds of The Query Lab.

The upside of joining the beta? You get the most hands-on version of us. We’re intentionally keeping this first group small so we can learn alongside you, respond to what the group actually needs, and make this experience as valuable as possible.

In exchange, we’re asking you to come in with a little flexibility, a willingness to give us honest feedback, and an understanding that some details may evolve as we learn what works best.

How many people will be in the beta round?

We’re taking a maximum of 5–7 people, depending on who is accepted into the program.

When is the next round?

Honest answer: we don’t know yet.

This is a beta, which means we’re testing whether The Query Lab works the way we hope it will, for you and for us. After this round, we’ll look at what worked, what didn’t, and whether it makes sense to run it again.

It might come back. It might come back looking different. It might not come back at all. We’d rather tell you that plainly than promise a date we can’t keep.

If your book is ready to query now, this is the round we know exists.

How much does it cost?

The beta round of The Query Lab is $1,497, paid as a one-time payment. That covers the full three months: your submission package review with Linda, monthly strategy calls with Linda, monthly group coaching with Monica, weekly office hours on Voxer, and Querying 101, a short recorded course with Linda and Monica.

Why is the beta round priced lower?

Because you’re joining us for the beta.

This is the first-ever round of The Query Lab, and we’re intentionally offering it at a lower founding price in exchange for something incredibly valuable to us: your feedback.

If The Query Lab runs again, we expect it to be priced higher. But there’s no guarantee another round will happen, so this is the price for the one round we know exists.

Do you offer payment plans?

For this beta round, The Query Lab is available as a one-time payment only. We aren’t offering payment plans at this time. This may change in the future!

Do you offer scholarships?

We aren’t able to offer scholarships for this beta round. If the Lab runs again, we would love to make scholarship spots available as the program grows.

What is your refund policy?

Because The Query Lab is a small, hands-on program with limited spots, all sales are final and we do not offer refunds.

When you enroll, you’re reserving a spot for the full three-month experience and access to our time, feedback, and program resources.

Please read through the sales page carefully before joining and make sure you’re ready to query during our time together. If you have questions about whether The Query Lab is the right fit for you, reach out to us before enrolling. We’re happy to help you decide.

Once you join, your payment is non-refundable, including if you change your mind, decide not to query, or are unable to attend the live calls.

The beta round is open

There are no guarantees in publishing. But you can know you gave this book a real shot.

An agent’s eyes before you send. Experienced people beside you while you do. And somewhere to land when the inbox gets loud.

Beta founding price

$1,497

One-time payment · three months

  • Submission package review with Linda
  • Monthly strategy calls with Linda
  • Monthly group coaching with Monica
  • Weekly office hours on Voxer
  • Querying 101 recorded course

How do I apply?

  1. 1

    Press the button below. It opens the application: 22 questions plus 5 quick checkboxes. Set aside about 20 minutes, since a few answers ask you to write about your book and your querying so far.

  2. 2

    Tell us about you and your book. We’ll also ask how many agents you’ve already queried, so we can make sure the Lab is a good fit.

  3. 3

    We read every application and get back to you about next steps.

Apply for the Beta Round of Query Lab

Questions first? Email support@monicahay.com or use Monica’s contact form.