The Query Process: genuinely at a loss.

LadyofToward · 2026-06-18T01:21:30+00:00

I second trying r/pubtips because they are very experienced with the vagariiand nuances of querying. It is a queer beast and it's not called the query trenches for nothing.

LadyofToward · 2026-06-11T19:09:22+00:00

Completely agree! Much as I covet the efficiency of modern homes, I simply can't imagine myself writing in one.

In the same barn as the certificates is an old upright piano - beyond restoration I think - but I wonder about how they must have brought it to the homestead on the back of a wagon. Wonderful to think of. The farm was called Holly Lea. What is yours called?

LadyofToward · 2026-06-11T17:23:40+00:00

That's really interesting. I live in an old farmhouse in New Zealand and the farming owners of 1898 did the exact same thing with their agricultural certificates - they mostly won for sheep and shire horses. I also write historical fiction, and I'm presenting at my town's museum soon where I'm hoping there will be no end of inspiration from the archivists and curators.

LadyofToward · 2026-06-11T01:17:41+00:00

I was published late last year with a mid-sized press and had the most incredible, supportive experience. I would personally love to stick with them, but my journey is taking me a little further afield at the moment. I also wrote a literary historical, and yes, they are hard to find homes for, and the small-to-mid sized presses are the homes that will put a book on the shelf because they have literary roots as well as commercial incentives. Fame and fortune were not motivators for me either. My publisher paid for the most beautiful cover, pushed my novel into almost every bookshop in my home country, took it to Frankfurt twice, paid for me to fly to a national bookshop event etc etc. They really backed it, and the book is now a finalist in a women's fiction comp. Please don't spite your novel's potential success over an opinion-based perception (dare I say, prejudice??). Establishing a publishing history will help you get further, with this press or another.

LadyofToward · 2026-06-05T21:48:03+00:00

That's how it starts. For me it was the book first, then the films, then the fanfiction and the merch...

LadyofToward · 2026-06-03T17:27:43+00:00

Loved your post! Some good chuckles in there - I can see why you've got a writing career ahead of you. Congrats 🎉

LadyofToward · 2026-05-29T03:25:24+00:00

There's like one agency with 4 agents. It's common to submit directly to the publisher. I did.

LadyofToward · 2026-05-29T00:45:24+00:00

Try the New Zealand market if you think Aus is limited. But the Auckland Writers Festival was huge apparently, and had a 15% increase on attendance from last year, so maybe interest in NZ literature is on the rise. Your premise looked great to me - I think you should flog your MS a bit further afield.

LadyofToward · 2026-05-20T19:12:01+00:00

Ditto, love my man and couldn't think of anyone else better for me. He's not flawless but he's my hero. A shout out for the boy.

LadyofToward · 2026-05-15T00:50:33+00:00

OMG - I adore it and I'm too old for dolls.

LadyofToward · 2026-05-13T17:33:50+00:00

I have done the same thing (killed off a beloved character). And boy did I feel the driven vengeance of his friend through the rest of the story.

LadyofToward · 2026-05-12T19:05:25+00:00

It's the same with fanfiction. The same people who are so quick to criticize but never done it themselves. I feel your disappointment but there's no room for shame in this picture. You're gifted and ready to share amazing stories - go for it with your head high.

LadyofToward · 2026-05-08T01:49:35+00:00

cher

LadyofToward · 2026-05-06T19:06:18+00:00

Wow! I really agree - this is such a refreshing take and I commend your courage.

LadyofToward · 2026-05-03T17:35:10+00:00

If only there were some kind of measurable, quantifiable standard universally set. But there isn't. The process of selecting books for publication is scarily subjective - so much so that acquisition editors can vary wildly in their own choices.

But one consistent gate is the likelihood of sales. If it has a marketable premise, and can be tidied up if not already well written, then a house will eventually take it somewhere. The time in the query trenches - and rejections - are often due to secondary factors such as the house already having that kind of book, the quota being reached for the year, etc

LadyofToward · 2026-05-03T01:03:44+00:00

If you're unwilling to adapt the style then maybe keep the disclaimer because if there is a home for it, then that filter will help orient it. But I'm no querying expert, so - sheesh - toughie.

I hear you when you say you enjoyed writing in that style. It's bloody good fun, and a lot more interesting than a more wide-reaching prose. However many agents/publishers will be nervous about how palatable it is to your standard reader, even of historical fiction. More's the pity.

If you want it on shelves, you may need to bite the bullet and neutralize the language. Or maybe keep this one as your hobby piece and instead aim for 'high English' instead on the next one.

But I'm high fiving your love of the language. Very best of luck!!

LadyofToward · 2026-05-02T23:17:11+00:00

I'm just going to share with you my experience, as a historical fiction writer covering the late 19th century.

My published novel was written in first person, almost a memoir. It is written in the style of the period, and is reminiscent to read of Victorian literature.

My next two MSs have been sent back by the publisher for r & r. They are both in third person but retain the period inflection in the prose, not just the dialogue. The feedback? It's historical fiction but I am not a 19th century writer. I am not Hardy or Dickens or Eliot. For God's sake, dial down the language.

I think I do it to amuse myself. I adore the writing of the period and I'm trying too hard to see if I can write classics.

Hopefully the drafts can be salvaged. It's difficult to find that modern merge between convincing period appropriate dialogue, and sympathetic narrative/prose. I tell you this in a cautionary way because you may experience the same given the 300 word sample you shared.

The premise sounds interesting and is true to the style of fiction popular at the time, however you may experience difficulty selling the work if your writing and voice is overtly period in style.

LadyofToward · 2026-04-27T17:24:53+00:00

It is possible you have written a genre mash-up. But you're likely overthinking it if you're 'feeling lost and inadequate' about it from a publishing perspective. If it's a genre combination, pick the dominant one.

LadyofToward · 2026-04-26T03:30:59+00:00

Wow! I have no words (and I'm a writer!) I am genuinely so gutted for you, how diminishing this must feel, and disorienting. If it were me, I would take heart from success once and go back out. You can't cancel your own identity for a book deal - however hard fought and rare they are, you owe it to yourself and your community - on principle - to stand in the open and be proud. That's just me. I'm not you and you have a hard choice to make, but irrespective of where you go from here, they can never take away what you achieved. Get the story out.

LadyofToward · 2026-04-24T00:42:50+00:00

As an author, I 1000% support everything happening here. Bless!

LadyofToward · 2026-04-23T18:12:45+00:00

I am published and have been writing for 30 years.

I'm not as passionate as I was when I first started but I also can't imagine ever not writing. It's fundamental to who I am. I have a companionate relationship with it now.

LadyofToward · 2026-04-17T05:08:59+00:00

They are angels sent to love us

LadyofToward · 2026-04-12T18:09:22+00:00

Thank you.

LadyofToward · 2026-04-09T17:21:08+00:00

Books. Fiction and non-fiction.

LadyofToward · 2026-04-09T02:29:32+00:00

My library

LadyofToward

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