Congratulations! 👏🏼💐🥳 I'm very early in the process of writing a manuscript but hearing your story is so encouraging! I hope your next steps fuel you and your book for its launch into the world.
Congratulations! It's so lovely to hear about it while it's still fresh and not glammed up / mythologised by time. I'm hoping to query soon too, but seem in an endless loop of editing with my beta group. You've given me fresh hope!
Congratulations, Kailey! That's wonderful news. And I hope your readers got to the end of the post, that part about sending 58 query letters and receiving 28 rejections. I queried dozens of agents and received dozens of rejections before landing the agent who would go on to sell seven books for me. Rejection is an inevitable part of the query process, and it is common to get many rejections before getting a request for full or partial manuscript.
And, crucially, you waited until you had a complete, revised manuscript before querying--because when someone asks for the manuscript, you have to have something to show them.
Your story is edifying for writers on the search for a literary agent, and it shows how some things haven't changed. Write a good book. Write a good query. Send it to a lot of people. Be patient. Be professional. Don't expect to hear from anyone in August, when the publishing world entirely shuts down.
Your success is a sign that you took the process seriously and waited until you had a REALLY GOOD MANUSCRIPT to begin querying. I look forward to hearing what happens next!
Congrats! Thank you for sharing your journey. I love the visioning you have for yourself. You will do all that and more. Just the reminder I needed today :)
Congratulations!!! I’m just starting to send out query letters and I’d rather write a whole new novel than deal with this part of the process. Here’s to a fabulous launch and huge success.
Great news, congratulations 🥳. Really interesting to read about the journey - thanks for sharing that. I’m interested that you queried as both literary and upmarket - did you have separate query letters and synopses for this? I’m not sure where my novel lies between the two and hasn’t thought of submitting it as both. This hint might save my life 😄
Thank you, Ali!! So I actually did not send two separate letters. My comps were SWEETBITTER BY Stephanie Danler and WRITERS AND LOVERS by Lily King—both of which have literary and commercial appeal so that might be why this worked for me. I felt like it opened a door for me because there were some agents that only wanted literary and some that only wanted upmarket, or expressed interest in more book club fiction. I think right now anything that has a little more commercial appeal is being sought after! Do you know your comps yet? I think as long as those are on the line of literary and upmarket, you probably don't have to write two separate letters!
I adore this! SUCH AMAZING NEWS!
Thank you, Laura!! It still doesn’t feel real lol
Congratulations! 👏🏼💐🥳 I'm very early in the process of writing a manuscript but hearing your story is so encouraging! I hope your next steps fuel you and your book for its launch into the world.
That is so exciting! Good luck to you as well, Katrina!!
Congratulations! And this post will be helpful to so many authors in the trenches.
Thank you!! And I hope so. I love talking about the process 🤌🏼✨
Congratulations! It's so lovely to hear about it while it's still fresh and not glammed up / mythologised by time. I'm hoping to query soon too, but seem in an endless loop of editing with my beta group. You've given me fresh hope!
Thank you! All that editing is so important so you are doing the good work! haha good luck!
Thank you :) It definitely feels tighter for it!
Congratulations, Kailey! That's wonderful news. And I hope your readers got to the end of the post, that part about sending 58 query letters and receiving 28 rejections. I queried dozens of agents and received dozens of rejections before landing the agent who would go on to sell seven books for me. Rejection is an inevitable part of the query process, and it is common to get many rejections before getting a request for full or partial manuscript.
And, crucially, you waited until you had a complete, revised manuscript before querying--because when someone asks for the manuscript, you have to have something to show them.
Your story is edifying for writers on the search for a literary agent, and it shows how some things haven't changed. Write a good book. Write a good query. Send it to a lot of people. Be patient. Be professional. Don't expect to hear from anyone in August, when the publishing world entirely shuts down.
Your success is a sign that you took the process seriously and waited until you had a REALLY GOOD MANUSCRIPT to begin querying. I look forward to hearing what happens next!
Thank you so much, Michelle! This feels very validating given your own success. :)
Wow, 3 months!!
Yes, 3 months is very quick!
Congratulations! I appreciate you sharing your process, and good for you for finding your dream agent! Great instincts on her colleague's part.
I know, right? Seems like they are a good team. And thank you!! <3
I’m so glad to hear this!! Congratulations!
Congratulations! This is such an inspiring story and I'm so happy for you! I can't wait to hear more.
Thank you, Jessy! <3
Congratulations! Thank you for sharing this process with us! Such exciting and inspiring news!
Absolutely thrilled for you. Made me teary. Congratulations, Kailey!
Thank you so much, Courtney! 🥹💕
Congrats! Thank you for sharing your journey. I love the visioning you have for yourself. You will do all that and more. Just the reminder I needed today :)
<3 <3
This is incredibly inspiring. Thank you for sharing you journey and a huge congrats. Enjoy it!!!
Congratulations!!! I’m just starting to send out query letters and I’d rather write a whole new novel than deal with this part of the process. Here’s to a fabulous launch and huge success.
Lol totally how I felt at first too 😆
Great news, congratulations 🥳. Really interesting to read about the journey - thanks for sharing that. I’m interested that you queried as both literary and upmarket - did you have separate query letters and synopses for this? I’m not sure where my novel lies between the two and hasn’t thought of submitting it as both. This hint might save my life 😄
Thank you, Ali!! So I actually did not send two separate letters. My comps were SWEETBITTER BY Stephanie Danler and WRITERS AND LOVERS by Lily King—both of which have literary and commercial appeal so that might be why this worked for me. I felt like it opened a door for me because there were some agents that only wanted literary and some that only wanted upmarket, or expressed interest in more book club fiction. I think right now anything that has a little more commercial appeal is being sought after! Do you know your comps yet? I think as long as those are on the line of literary and upmarket, you probably don't have to write two separate letters!
I absolutely love King's WRITERS AND LOVERS.
Congratulations!! What an exciting journey. Thank you for a very clear timeline as someone in the first draft of a first novel. 🙏🏽
Yay for starting your first novel!! Thats amazing and so exciting. Good luck 🤗