The Book That Gets You Published Probably Isn't the One You're Writing Right Now

Somewhere right now, a writer is on their fourteenth query revision of the same manuscript. Nobody ever told them this one thing that would increase chances of both securing representation and getting a traditional publishing deal.

So I’m going to tell you.

The book that gets you an agent is rarely the first one you write. And the book that gets you an agent? It’s rarely the first to sell to a publisher.

Yup. Let it sink in.

Most writers don’t know this going in. So they do the logical thing: they write a book, they fall in love with it, they decide this is the one. They pour everything into it. Time, money, beta readers, query coaches, revision after revision. That manuscript becomes the whole dream. And every rejection doesn’t just sting, it feels like a verdict on their worth or an attack on their talent.

It isn’t.

When a query comes my way, the first thing I’m looking for is whether or not it’s an automatic “no.” Meaning, is it a genre I don’t represent? Is it so wildly outside of word count norms that it isn’t ready for representation? (I frequently receive picture books that are 3,000 words long. I once got an epic fantasy that was 3 million words long!)

If it’s a quick no, I reply right away. That way, an author isn’t waiting on me. But if it passes that layer, next I’m looking at quality. I get a lot of really strong concepts with writing that is underbaked. Things I would represent if the author had spent more time with it before sending it my way. So if it needs too much work, I’ll pass.

But if the quality is there, the next layer I’m looking at is how it fits into the current market. Would this project be in competition with another manuscript I already represent? Do I have contacts who would be excited to see this in their inbox? Is the timing right for the concept? Is this an author whose career I can build up over time? Is this a person I’d enjoy working with?

I say this with love…but the first book you write is not likely your best manuscript. Which makes you less likely to be making it to that final layer of consideration—and you might not even know it until looking back. With very few exceptions, a pass from an agent is a pass on that manuscript, not on you. Which means that every new manuscript you write will open a new door, a new opportunity. It also means that if you try forcing that first manuscript to fit into someone's list, opportunity will feel scarce.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Every book you write is a fresh query to every agent on your list. If your craft has grown—and it will have—you’re querying as a stronger version of yourself.

Plus, just because a manuscript doesn’t sell now doesn’t mean it never will.

Let me repeat that.

Just because a manuscript doesn’t sell right now does NOT mean it’s “dead.”

There are lots of reasons a book might be a poor fit for an agent or a publisher at the moment. Timing is a big one. What wasn't working eighteen months ago sometimes works now. What's saturated today opens back up. An agent who was closed to a certain concept last year signs something strikingly similar this year because the cultural moment changed. Agents rarely represent single manuscripts. They rep writers. You just need one manuscript to get your foot in the door.

Some books sell on option as part of a later contract. They get shopped on exclusive submission after an author has built a real relationship with an editor through their debut. They get sold on proposal once an author has the track record. The door closes on one book, and then the author writes the book that opens a different door, and suddenly the first book has somewhere to go.

But only if you kept writing.

You can love a manuscript and still write the next one. You can believe in a book and still acknowledge that this particular market moment isn’t its moment. Holding on to one project as your only project doesn’t protect it. It just limits you.

Publishing is a business. I know that’s not romantic, but it’s true, and writers who understand it early have a real advantage. Talent matters. Craft matters. But a brilliant book at the wrong moment still struggles, and a skilled writer who stops at one manuscript never gives the right moment a chance to arrive.

If you want help figuring out whether your manuscript is ready, or just want someone in your corner while you write the next one, here are all the ways I can help.

Here’s the tldr:

Write lots of books.

While you’re querying your current manuscript, start the next one. Writing is how you get better at writing, and better is always useful.

Don’t make any single manuscript the whole dream. The dream is the career. The career is built on more than one book.