No Agent love, so now what?

[MrPinot]

I haven't hit a wall yet, but I can see it looming on the horizon. I submitted a query for my upmarket mystery to about 25 agents last November. I only got rejections or no replies. Then I came to this site and camped out on the Query Hell forum for a while. I quickly realized how bad my query letter was and spent two months and six drafts on a new one that I was felt a lot better about. That went out a little over two weeks ago and so far, it's been crickets and tumbleweeds. I know I could still get a request weeks or even months after sending the query. But based on what I've seen on Query Tracker, requests tend to come sooner then later. My real problem is I've put a lot of effort into finding agents that I think would be into my work. And if I had to go for a third round, I'd be submitting to agents who aren't really looking for my genre. I have found four publishers that are looking for mysteries and accept non-agented submissions. I'll wait a month before submitting to them, but after that, I will have officially hit the wall.

My focus now is starting a new book so I'm not dwelling on agents. It's my first book so maybe it wasn't meant to find a home. I'm sure others have been in the same boat. Any thoughts on how to move forward?

 

[alexp336]

It's a disheartening process, I know, but two weeks is absolutely nothing in publishing terms right now. Most of the agents that I've seen chatting about their backlog on social media are talking about getting hundreds of queries and it taking months to work their way through.

I think starting a new book so that your mind isn't stuck on the querying process is a great idea. But you're very early in the process to be giving up on the queries you have out currently.

 

[lizmonster]

Yes, you need to write the next book. alexp336 is right, too - you're giving up on these queries too soon - but think of it this way: if you get an agent, yay! You'll need another book after the one you have. If you don't get an agent, sigh. But you'll still need another book.

(I also like to remind people that QueryTracker data is self-reported, and trying to extrapolate anything about your particular situation will be more likely to drive you up the wall than give you anything useful.)

 

[JackieMcMahonWriter]

Agreed, two weeks is way too early to throw in the towel! Just try to put it out of your mind and chug away at the next manuscript. I know, easier said than done, but it's the best advice I can give you.

I've sort of reached the point myself where I'm assuming that my querying manuscript is probably not going to get an agent, but having my new manuscript to focus on and feel passionate about has eased the sting. Having something new helps you look towards the future.

 

[mccardey]

Many, many congrats for finishing your book and I hope it finds a home. You already know that two weeks is nothing in Publishing Time, so I won't repeat that - but do remind yourself, as every creative has to, that you're aiming for a career rather than a home for just one book. Take a break to refresh yourself, because finishing a whole novel is quite the job - but then start your next book. You'll need it if this one gets picked up, and you'll need it if this one doesn't get picked up - and besides, a career is built on lots of books.

Finishing a book is really hard, but it's what you do if you're a writer. Then you start the next one. Hugs to you - keep the faith! Keep writing!

 

[Gehenna]

Some time ago, while licking my wounds after my first abysmal query failure, I remember a woman from a FB group posting about getting her book sold. She then shared her stats- this was her thirteenth queried book, with a second agent representing, third to be pitched to publishers, and the first to be published soon. She got her first agent around book 8 or 9 I think.

There I was moping over my 1s book failing and this woman spent over a decade fighting for her dream. How strongly do you want this? The book is not dead yet, but what if it dies later?

I know we all want to land an agent on the first try. I see examples of people writing a book in less than a month, going through 4 drafts, and getting 3-4 offers for representation. That's not my path. Maybe it's not yours. And that's fine.

 

[SAWeiner]

Welcome to my world. I had worse with a murder mystery of mine. Unfortunately, sometimes people just don't want to read what you write. I wish I could sugarcoat this possibility, but it does exist and it is indeed frustrating and painful. Anyway, as others have said, I wouldn't panic or despair quite yet. Some agents are tortoises. Also, there are more agents out there--and some publishers accept direct submissions. As to me, I just put the prior book aside and am working on a new project that hopefully will have better traction.

 

[Golak]

First of all, congrats on finishing your book, that's a huge success on its own. I'm on the same boat, and I definitely get where you're coming from. I just read something on Twitter the other day that I think might be relevant to what you're planning. An agent that I've been following for a while had suggested that as soon as you start sending out queries, you should start working on your next manuscript too. That way, your mind wouldn't be stuck on this long and tiresome process; plus, you get to enjoy writing creatively again.