I just have to say this now

Don’t send me something from your back catalogue that’s been out of print ten years. Don’t send me your oldest shoved-under-the-bed manuscript that’s reeking of mothballs and doesn’t represent either what you write now or want to write in the future.

Send me sample chapters of the best thing you’ve ever written, that you’ve written recently, and best reflects you the writer today.

Does that make sense? Hope so.

Should I use a pen name?

When querying an agent, no. When you send in your sample chapters and synopsis, I am looking only at the writing, not the writer. It does not matter:
- whether you are male or female
- how old you are
- what you do for a living (if anything)
- whether you have three heads or a penchant for musical keyrings, etc.

Thus, there is no need to disguise yourself with a faux name. I’d prefer to be sure that the person querying me is a real person, and therefore name, address and telephone number please.