My Time Querying ‘The Cards We’re Dealt’
- Rhian MacGillivray
- Mar 2
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 10
In today’s blog post, I wanted to tell you a little bit about what came before my decision to self-publish.
After typing THE END on my novel and finishing my edits, I decided to try my luck at finding a literary agent to represent me in the hope of landing a publishing deal with a publishing house. Sounds easy, right? It’s really not that simple!
What is querying?
“Querying” in the publishing world means sending emails to literary agents to ask if they’re interested in representing you and your work.
Each agent has a specific list of things they’re looking for called a manuscript wish list. Maybe they’re looking for horror or historical fiction, maybe they want strong female characters, maybe no romance. They also set guidelines you have to follow when emailing them with your query package.
Your query package consists of:
- your query letter (your pitch basically, introducing your novel, you, and why you think you’d be a good fit with the agent)
- a synopsis (summary of your novel – with spoilers!)
- and usually the first three chapters of your novel.
Then, if the agent likes what they’ve seen, they’ll request more chapters or the full manuscript from you to read before making a decision: rejecting or making an offer of representation.
Easy enough? Think again, because there are other factors that stack the odds against you.
The querying slush pile
Literary agents open and close their inboxes periodically throughout the year because they can receive HUNDREDS of queries into what’s known as their “slush pile.” Some receive hundreds in a day.
Recently, I saw one agent on X say she’d received over 1000 queries in the single week she’d been open so far this year. Imagine trying to wade through 1000 queries in a slush pile!
I’m quite sure some agents don’t read every query they receive as time is money, so that’s stumbling block number one as a querying author.
Then, it might depend on what they’re looking for at that time, or what other clients they have are working on (they might not want a book that’s similar to something they already represent). Or maybe they woke up in a good mood that morning and want something funny. Or maybe they woke up sad and want something uplifting. Or maybe, or maybe, or maybe…
The publishing industry is so subjective.
Waning hope as a querying author
Against this backdrop, the chances of securing a literary agent’s services are very low. This website says the odds are 1 in 6,000, which is… less than encouraging to say the least.
I can’t say my hopes were ever high when I began querying literary agents as I armed myself with this information beforehand, but I don’t think I was prepared for the sheer number of agents who just never bother replying in any shape or form. You start to wonder, did my email even send? Has it gone to a spam folder?
It gets to the point that when you do get a standard template rejection, it doesn’t seem like a bad thing! You’re delighted to have some form of closure, even if it is a no, and an impersonal one at that.
I can think of no other industry where business owners completely ignore potential customers and expect to have them return with future business opportunities one day. Why would I want to query a literary agent again in the future with a new book when they can’t even be bothered to set up an automated “Thanks for your query, I’ve received it” email on their inbox? Or fire off a quick “Sorry, but this isn’t for me”?
It doesn’t fill me with much desire to return to the querying trenches with future novels, and I wonder if I’ll simply always choose self-publishing, especially since traditional publishing is so slow anyway.
In traditional publishing, things do not move quickly…
People who are lucky enough to secure representation with a literary agent then often have more edits to do with their agent. Once those are done, the agent will send out the novel to editors at publishing houses who they think might be interested in the book. Then, you wait.
If, somehow, you are offered a publishing deal, that means more rounds of edits with editors at the publishing house, followed by proofreading, marketing plans and more.
From finished book to agent to submission to publishing deal to publication, you’re often looking at a time span of TWO YEARS.
Quite frankly, I don’t think I have the patience.
The self-publishing landscape
More and more authors are choosing to self-publish these days for the creative freedom it gives them, not to mention the better royalties and reduced time frames.
You skip the publishing gatekeepers and middlemen. And you retain ALL YOUR RIGHTS to your work. No signing them away to publishing houses. Your book is yours. You’re in control.
Of course, self-publishing has its challenges, but more on that in another post!
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