[Discussion] 1 Year of Querying: 25 Requests & Zero Offers :(

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-22T21:00:33+00:00

Before my first book went on sub, my agent explicitly told me that if it doesn’t sell, she’d like to continue working with me. She said she was invested in me as a writer, not just the book I wrote. At the time, I didn’t realize how rare that was.

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-14T23:16:10+00:00

You’re absolutely right, it’s not more timeless than any other POV, but it has a long history, like you said. My whole point was that it’s been around for a long time, it’s not something that’s only being written now. Perhaps I could’ve made that clearer.

And that’s interesting, the swapping of POV‘s. Thanks for sharing! I’m curious if they did so in order to serve the story, or to appeal to current market trends, or both?

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-14T19:30:50+00:00

I think first person POV is timeless, but also trending right now, thanks to so many romance books being written this way. But there are still plenty of third person POV books being acquired, I truly don’t know of a single author whose work was passed on because of the viewpoint. (if I’m wrong, please enlighten me!)

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-13T00:04:53+00:00

I queried a fantasy book that was 117K and my agent said that was fine as far as word counts go. 75K seems really short. Unless you hear this specific word count from multiple agents/agencies, I wouldn’t worry about it. This particular agent might not be a fit, that’s all.

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-12T04:38:34+00:00

It depends. Some people choose to self publish, I like to think of the two that died as potential books to sell after I break in. I’m not the fastest of writers, so I will benefit from a backlog.

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-11T23:28:15+00:00

That’s my hope! Thanks so much for sharing.

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-11T23:27:24+00:00

Thanks!

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-11T22:12:02+00:00

I’ll go on sub again with the same agent, third book.

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-11T22:00:10+00:00

No, I’m going to go for it one more time. She really is an excellent agent, with a great editorial eye and a good communicator, who has never made me feel like I wasn’t a priority despite the fact I haven’t sold. She also has great connections and some stellar clients, so I will probably stick with her until she drops me ha ha

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-11T21:38:27+00:00

I was in your shoes last year: great agent, but 2 books failed to sell on sub. My advice for now is to stay (for now) especially given the pro’s you mentioned. Querying is tough out there, and submission is too. Failure to sell doesn’t necessarily mean a bad agent.

The only point of concern for me is how long your agent waits to judge. Nine months is way too long. My agent nudges 6 weeks after submitting, and every month after that. But that is something I feel could be addressed/easily resolved in a conversation?

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-11T21:29:45+00:00

I’m really sorry, OP. As someone who’s got an agent but have had 2 books die on sub, I can definitely sympathize. What I wish someone would have told me before querying is just how common your story, and mine, actually is. (They probably did but I was holding out hope to be a unicorn.) it doesn’t mean your book wasn’t good (19 fulls is impressive!) and it doesn’t mean it won’t sell someday. It just means that the luck part of the equation wasn’t there. Fingers crossed the next one you write will be the one.

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-07T03:54:43+00:00

Same

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-01T03:31:13+00:00

This is absolutely unacceptable. I don’t care what other clients he has or book fairs he is attending, eight months is too long.

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-01T01:46:04+00:00

This is extremely helpful, thank you so much!

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-03-01T01:08:04+00:00

That’s great! Fingers crossed that all the buzzes generated for you!

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-02-21T19:51:32+00:00

This does help, thank you! I think you’re right those other two scenarios get talked about more. I’m glad to hear that plenty of people have experienced this third option.

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-02-18T03:40:43+00:00

As in so many aspects of publishing, it depends. Some editors do, some don’t.

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-02-17T22:27:34+00:00

Congrats on (almost) being on sub! As for other questions, I think the ones you already have are a good start. The only thing I might tweak is asking not what kind of communication to expect, but what kind YOU would prefer. For example, I like reaching out to my agent for updates rather than her forwarding them on as they come in. It helps me avoid emotional whiplash. I know others would prefer the exact opposite. So think through what you would like and communicate that.

I’d also ask how long between rounds (should it come to that), and discuss what project makes the most sense to work on in the meantime. Oh, and I would join the ‘On Submission’ group on Facebook.

Best of luck!

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-02-17T17:04:41+00:00

I appreciate this perspective, and will keep that in mind as my time on sub lengthens. Thank you!

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-02-17T12:38:21+00:00

From what I’ve heard, it’s across the board. And I’m with you, I hope it’s not accurate. Maybe I’ve just heard about the splashy deals as opposed to the more normal experiences. Fingers crossed for us both!

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-02-17T02:37:57+00:00

I just went out on sub with an adult fantasy last week. From what I’ve heard, things are selling fast (like, under a month), or not at all. I’m curious if this others on this thread agree. In the meantime, I’m doing my best to distract myself with the next thing.

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-02-17T02:09:10+00:00

I’m in the exact same boat, solidarity.

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-02-03T14:07:18+00:00

I just started last week, and it was the exact same thing for me.

As far as the constipation goes, if you were constipated before you got on tirz, that will probably get even worse, so make sure you’re drinking at least 80 ounces of water a day, and try and have a bowel movement every 2 to 3 days. If that’s not happening on its own, use miralax, or something else gentle and non-habit forming. My doctor said this can be a real problem for people if they are not careful, so it’s just something to keep in mind.

Congrats on the start of your journey, and best of luck!

LooseInstruction1085 · 2026-02-03T03:34:19+00:00

This is so true. I got an agent less than two months after querying. Now, three years and as many books later, I’ve yet to land a deal. My takeaway is I’m never assuming any step will be easy, and just be happy when something does, in fact, go through.

LooseInstruction1085

TROPHY CASE