Be Ready When the Luck Happens
The obligatory I-survived-the-query-trenches-you-can-too! blog
(Sorry, Ina Garten, I stole the title of your memoir for this blog.)
Real talk: I get irrationally irritated when I see querying authors snag an agent and immediately start dispensing advice with a certain tone. You know the one: The haughty air of an expert in their field. Because if I’ve learned anything over the course of the last two years, it’s that querying is 95% luck, and you can’t convince me otherwise.
Sure, you can (and should) educate yourself on the components of a successful query letter, learn how to craft a masterful blurb, and strategize your optimal querying approach. (And write a great book, obvi.)
But in the end, there are many more factors beyond your control than within them. The agent has to, first of all, even see your query amid their overflowing inboxes. And after that, they need to be interested in your genre, be in the right headspace at that very moment to get into your story, love your writing style, have the capacity to take on new clients, have space on their list for what you’re writing, not already be pitching a book that’s too similar, know an editor they think would bite, etc., etc.
For all of those stars to align? That’s just damn luck.
And it’s maddening. Because you can’t control luck. It just … is. Or isn’t, as the case may be.
I finally started to feel (marginally) better about the querying process when I really, truly came to terms with that concept versus just paying lip service to it. Yeah, maybe sometimes a rejection has to do with talent. But maybe sometimes it doesn’t. It’s also about all of those tiny, uncontrollable factors coming together. It’s the place where good luck and hard work meet in the middle.
Luck comes calling
My own stroke of luck came (unbeknownst to me at that moment) on January 3, and it all happened because I was really, really sick of reading my own book.
It was late in the evening, and I should’ve been finishing the last pre-querying round of edits on my fourth novel, STILL LIFE WITH DANDELIONS. Instead, in true ADHD fashion, I decided I felt like playing around with graphics. I had seen other authors making “agent guides” on Instagram and I adored the concept of it (even if I never really, not even for a second, believed that any agent was looking at any querying author’s Instagram accounts and reading their promotional materials).
So instead of trying to trim words from my bloated manuscript, I immersed myself in Canva and created a multi-slide promotional package for my manuscript, including the blurb, comps, photos to capture the vibe, and even playlists for each character. It scratched the creative itch, sure, but I had no doubt the effort would be futile. I went to bed feeling slightly guilty that I hadn’t completed my editing.
The next afternoon, I was walking home from my shift at Books & Books when I absently checked my author email … and found a message with the subject line I’d LOVE to see STILL LIFE WITH DANDELIONS! The email was from a literary agent (one I planned to eventually query), and though she acknowledged this wasn’t her normal technique for requesting submissions, she had spotted my agent guide on IG and thought STILL LIFE sounded right up her alley. Despite being closed to queries at that moment, she requested a full manuscript.
Calling my reaction stunned is putting it mildly. I hadn’t even started querying yet. This was too good to be true. I instantly suspected a scam. So I reached out to the agent on Instagram, just to be sure.
It was legit.
Cue deepening disbelief.
And so began three absolutely surreal weeks that proved that the querying process is so, so, so, so slow … until it isn’t. And that the adage “It only takes one” sounds so trite … until it happens.
Less than a week after I sent that agent my full manuscript, she reached out to schedule “The Call.” You know, the one you hear about at writing conferences, but which feels like it will never happen to you. I sat through it tongue tied, dazed. She was talking about my characters like they were real people. She was talking about how the conclusion “blew her mind” and how she literally yelled as she reached the end.
Is this real life?!
After that, I nudged everyone who had a query or submission—and that triggered a series of additional requests as my query, once relegated to a bottomless slush pile, got pushed to the top.
Before the month was out, I had thirteen full requests, five offers, one R&R, and had signed with my agent, Kimberly Witherspoon of InkWell Management.
(I did not end up signing with the original agent, which was an incredibly, incredibly difficult decision.)
So, if you’ve read this far, know that I don’t consider myself an expert. I’d like to think I wrote a good book, but I also know there are countless “good books” that go unnoticed by agents due to those myriad factors above. So, I’m happy to call myself lucky. I’m feeling very, very lucky right now.
And now for my unsolicited advice …
All that said, here are a few lessons learned throughout the querying process that I hope could prove helpful to others preparing to leap into this insane process1:
• Create a separate email address for your writing: The only thing worse than receiving a rejection is receiving it in the middle of a great day (especially when you suffer from ADHD-induced rejection sensitive dysphoria). Imagine rejections scattered in among your emails from friends, popping up unexpectedly in the middle of the workday or a dinner date or right before you go to bed. Having a mailbox dedicated to your author-related messages ensures you’ll only see your rejections (and submission requests!) when you’re in the proper headspace.
• Don’t hesitate to promote yourself: I get it: It can feel odd to shout about your book from the rooftops before you have an agent or publishing deal, and awkward to tout yourself personally at any time. But swallow your discomfort and put yourself out there. Post quotes, agent guides, character snippets, mood boards, etc., etc. You’re going to be expected to promote your book once it sells—start practicing now. You never know what will come of it!
• Sign up for QueryTracker: QT is the absolute most important tool you have at your disposal as a querying author. For a modest annual fee, you can research agents, save them to your own personal list, and track queries, manuscript requests, submissions, etc. It’s worth every penny and then some.
• But maybe don’t rely exclusively on QueryTracker: That said, using only QT to track my agent adventures was a mistake I perpetuated through three rounds of querying. I found myself overwhelmed almost immediately, especially after querying dozens upon dozens of agents. Maybe it works for writers who don’t have pinball brains like me, but I found it much more helpful to also maintain a visual spreadsheet in Numbers (the Mac version of Excel) separated into To Query, Queried, Requested, Rejected. I included the agent’s name, agency, what they were looking for (the things I wanted to cite in the personalized part of the query letter, such as “upmarket fiction” and “dysfunctional family stories”), when I queried them, when they replied, etc. I highlighted requesting agents in green—a simple but surprisingly motivating action.
• Use Publisher’s Marketplace wisely: If you’re not familiar, Publisher’s Marketplace is a great website that outlines all of an agent’s deals, so you can assess their sales success rate, who they rep, the kinds of genres they rep/sell, the imprints they’re selling to, etc. It’s also quite pricey: Whereas QueryTracker is $25 a year, PM is $25 a month. I convinced myself I “needed” this site when I first began querying in 2023 but if you let your membership linger like I did, it adds up fast. Just sign up immediately before you begin querying. Get in, get the info you need, get out. Copy all of the relevant into your spreadsheet and be done with it.
• Always be working on something: My friend Dana Swift, a YA fantasy author who runs our writing critique circle at Books & Books, told me early on to always, always be working on something. You finished one book? Good for you, start the next one. It’s easy to get mired down in the idea that the first book, the book of your heart, just has to be the one that gets published. I, too, was (am) emotionally attached to my first book (which is why I’ve rewritten it three times and counting). It doesn’t always work like that though. It might be your second or third or tenth book that gets you your agent. And maybe once you get your agent, you can revisit those past books, see if they’re suitable for something more than lingering in your desk drawer. But don’t get bogged down by them. Keep producing art. You’ll keep getting better, and you won’t get hung up on the idea that one book is the key to your future. YOU are the key to your future. Keep going.
• Find yourself a writing community: Fellow writers are your friends, not your competition. Get yourself a solid group of writing friends who can be your critique partners, cheerleaders and therapists. I could have never gotten to this point without the love and support and encouragement of my Miami writer girls. Not sure where to look? Check with your local independent bookstore or library, or scan the listings in Meetup. Can’t find an in-person community? Join one online! Last night, I participated in a Zoom writing session with Beth Morris and several other Instagram friends scattered all over the country. It was hugely productive and also so comforting to be able to share our current triumphs and struggles!
• Take classes: There’s no finish line for writing skill—there’s always room for improvement. My favorite classes are taught online by agent CeCe Lyra from P.S. Literary. Her writing at the line level and tension courses were both absolutely essential to helping me craft my latest book. I’ve also loved the classes at DFWCon, an annual writing conference in Hurst, Texas. There are countless writing conferences around the country, all with varying resources, so if you’re willing to travel, it’s a great way to learn and make new writing friends (and, often, pitch live to agents).
• Embrace the cheesy ass mantras: Some of these really did help reframe my thinking. Maybe they’ll help you too. Maybe not.
- What’s meant for you will not pass you by.
- No writing is ever wasted.
- The only unpublished authors are the ones who give up.
• Stay positive and remember that everything can change in an instant: Oh, god, more cliched advice! But seriously: If you would have told me in December that I’d have an agent before the end of January, I would have never believed you. But nothing—good, bad or indifferent—is permanent. Just because you don’t have an agent today doesn’t mean you won’t have one tomorrow. Tomorrow could be the day everything changes. When I pushed publish on my Instagram agent guide on Jan. 3, I had no idea that come Jan. 4, everything would change.
Right now …
What I’m writing: Prepping STILL LIFE WITH DANDELIONS to go on submission (OMG that still feels so surreal) and working on my fifth novel, AMPERSAND, the anti-SUCCESSION set in a Midwestern bookstore.
What I’m reading: I started a zillion books in January but due to the circumstances outlined above, have been struggling mightily to focus. ORBITAL, SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE, WE BEGIN AT THE END, ONYX STORM — they’re all in various stages of progress. I’m most actively reading MY DARK VANESSA by Kate Elizabeth Russell, a modern day LOLITA set at a Maine boarding school. It’s depressing and traumatizing and disturbing and beautifully written and I can’t look away.
What I’m watching: I’m comfort watching THE DAILY SHOW lately. If you can call it comfort watching with everything going on in the world … Looking forward to the return of YOU and BOSCH: LEGACY in the next few weeks.
What I’m listening to: I’ve been listening to my STILL LIFE playlist non-stop lately. The highlights on repeat include “Come Undone” by Duran Duran, “Life in Mono” by Mono, and the Howie Day version of “Don’t Dream It’s Over.”
What’s sustained you through the querying trenches? I’d love to hear in the comments! And thanks so much for reading!
If you need evidence of just how crazy the querying process is: The same day I announced signing with an agent, I received a rejection for my first book. The one I queried in Spring 2023. I didn’t even recognize the responding agent’s name. When I looked up the query on QueryTracker it was … wait for it … 629 days old!
You are such an inspiration! I’m so so happy for you. I can’t wait for it to happen to me too. Thanks for the encouragement!
It feels like yesterday we were commiserating about the query process in that little coffee shop… and now you are AGENTED! It’s been so amazing to cheer you on as you reach this goal. And I love all of your thoughts here! I am especially bad at self-promoting, but you’ve inspired me to push myself in this area.