If Your Novel Doesn't Get Agent Traction Immediately, It Doesn't Mean It's "Dead"

And other mistakes I see writers making more and more.

Hey all!

Long time, no see. I originally started this Substack wanting to post something every week, but I think I’m going to limit myself to posting here once every other week or when I have something important to say. Considering I have so much stuff to balance now involving school, work, and writing, I’m going to give myself a bit of grace - which I will talk about a bit more in my next Substack article: Balancing Writing, Education, Podcasts, Pitch Events, Industry Jobs & More. Check that out in the new year for a more in-depth update about how I’m doing, generally, and how I coordinate my schedule.

For now, though, this article is being written with a risk of making some people very upset. I’ve been considering writing this for a while, and after encouragement from several agented writers I’m friends with alongside my agent and agent siblings, I’ve decided to take the plunge. Because the truth is this: I’ve seen a lot of writers, especially recently and on Twitter, pull their books from the query trenches after only a couple of months of querying, and then lament about said books being “dead” or “not finding representation with a story they were sure would get them an agent”.

I’m here to break the unfortunate and perhaps obnoxious news to you: your book isn’t “dead” after a meager couple months in the query trenches. In fact, if you’ve been querying three months or less and decide to pull your novel, you’re demolishing your chances of getting representation and you’ve only scratched the surface.

THE TRUTH ABOUT QUERYING FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME

I’ve had my fair share of experiences talking writers down from (a) not querying anymore, (b) not writing anymore, and (c) breaking down while on submission. What triggers most of those much-needed chats? The misconception that things go fast in the publishing industry. There’s a reason the makeshift motto of this industry is “hurry up and wait”. Things in publishing go slow. Heartbreakingly, terribly, annoyingly slow. I’ve known writers who’ve queried for ten years before landing an agent. I’ve known writers who’ve been on submission with twelve books before getting a book deal. Although it can often feel like it’s more common to get agented (and quickly) than not, especially with the recent querying climate, rest assured: this is a false assumption.

I’m going to dive into the realism of querying, how long it takes to get an agent on average, and everything that factors into you getting an offer of rep — also noting a bit of misinformation about the current offers of representation you might see floating around on social media as a querying author. That’s actually where I’m going to start.

WHY IS EVERYONE GETTING OFFERS RIGHT NOW?

I think it’s easy to assume, throughout this past year, that it’s easier to get an agent than to not get an agent, and that if you don’t, you’re simply “not good enough”. Let me give you a reality check with some context: I have several author friends. Many agented, many un-agented, and all equally talented. Out of all those I’ve spoken to who’ve been querying (or have been following the querying trenches) for more than the past two years, they’ve ALL pointed out how odd 2025 has been in terms of querying and offers of rep in terms of statistics.

Aka: the amount of offers going around isn’t normal. Usually, this many offers doesn’t occur in such a short span of time. In fact, this is more of a cyclical pattern than anything else, and it happens every 3-5 years in the industry overall, but this year in particular has been INSANE. The amount of agent offers going out right now is completely abnormal most years…but there are a few reasons behind it, and here’s what other authors have talked with me about in regards to those reasons:

1. Two years is generally when agents and authors can tell if they’re going to make any leeway with their existing projects, and the time line in which they’ll decide if they’ll continue to work together.

I.E. many agents are letting go of their clients or vice versa every couple years. Two years is generally the “breaking point” for most writers and agents. If there’s been no progress on either end, or if the client/agent doesn’t feel like they get along nor can benefit each other anymore, they tend to part ways. Two years is the sweet spot because it’s how long most agency contracts are documented to writers for, as well as a respectable time frame to give an agent to sell a book of yours before seeking alternative rep (at least for most people — though I have some opinions about how the market fluctuates and how “not selling” doesn’t mean your agent isn’t a good match…which would be a good topic for a potential future newsletter of mine).

2. Agents leave the industry.

Granted, I feel like this has been more common in terms of this past year than in many years prior, but it is a definite factor in the amount of offers going out. With agents leaving, new agents have also arrived to fill the gaps left behind — though more agents are leaving than coming in. This is often caused by agents realizing the workload is too much, or a dozen other reasons that are equally important to their personal lives. Perhaps agents leave because they need to focus on family, or focus on education, or focus on mental health, or focus on school. The political climate is also a factor for many agents keeping up their positions in the industry, and most agents work multiple jobs in order to afford working as an agent because they earn revenue based on book sales (aka commissions) through the publishing line of work. Sometimes, the balancing act of being an agent is too much for people to handle, and there’s no shame in that.

3. Writers are getting better at writing.

The quality of writing, I feel, is constantly going up. When people get agented, it’s often after they’ve discovered they need to improve in some way, and they work on their writing until its at the level it takes to get an offer of rep — which can take years to accomplish, and LOADS of relentless practice. I’ve read dozens of agented author interviews and success stories and HIGMA posts, and many authors find their “permanent” agent after at least 2-3 years of querying, which also fits into the cyclical run of a bunch of offers happening every few years.

There are dozens more reasons for this past year having such a great “shuffling of cards” as I’ve termed it, but me and several other experienced writers feel like these are some of the most prominent.

Keep in mind: most authors query 2-4 manuscripts before getting enough traction to garner an offer (and this is usually due to gaining experience while querying). Most writers query for 2-3 years before getting an offer. Anything sooner than that is a formidable accomplishment, because it’s not usual. So many good books gets passed on every day. I should know. I’ve talked to an agent recently who said they had six manuscripts they wanted to offer on out of recent subs they’d requested. But that’s simply not plausible for them. This agent already has a large roster of existing clients, and offering on six manuscripts is a lot to take on at once. Your manuscript might be remarkable, and yet it might get a pass for this exact reason. Or any reason, really. Agents, unfortunately, need to be extremely picky so as to not overwhelm themselves, to not let their clients down, and to not let you down, either. One of the worst things that can happen to a writer is accepting an agent offer only to never get your book where you want it to be.

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU QUERY BEFORE PULLING A BOOK?

Another harsh truth for querying writers: query for as long as it takes. Maybe don’t query with a singular book throughout your entire journey, but I’d personally recommend querying each book at least 6 months each, if not an entire year (and of course being willing to make changes as needed as you go) before pulling your book from the trenches. I queried BONE DUST and BENEATH THE WAVES OF THE LABYRINTH SEA for far longer than 6 months apiece. Pulling a book from agent hands at three months or less is…to be honest, unrealistic. Unrealistic expectations for both yourself and the agents you’re querying. There are so many agents out there, and I queried well over 200 fantasy-repping agents while searching for representation. There’s always someone else to query, or revisions plausible to make.

Yes, there are some writers who get agented within a couple months of querying a book, but those people are called unicorns for a reason. We see those stories often online, but you have to remember that the algorithm matters in terms of what you see on social media. Success stories that are exceptional, especially in terms of literary success, get popular and frequently seen because of exactly that: they’re exceptional. They’re unicorns. It is. Not. The. Norm. No matter what social media would have you believe.

Think about it this way: you wouldn’t go and tell everyone online that you’d just bawled your eyes out after having a terrible day, where personal and terrible things happened in rapid succession (at least, not most of us, and not immediately/as it was happening). However, almost everyone likes to post about their successes, if only to inspire others. You don’t often see, on social media, how hard a person worked to accomplish what they’ve set out to achieve.

SUCCESS IS NOT ALL THAT IT SEEMS

A good example of this is my recent (or not-so-recent, by the time this newsletter goes up) announcements about becoming a reviewer for Uncharted Magazine and Fractured Lit as well as a reviewer for SFF Insiders. To outsiders, it might seem like this happened immediately and spontaneously and like I didn’t even have to work to garner these positions. My friends, if you think this…you’re wrong.

I put myself through days and weeks and months of collaborating with agents and talking to other writers (big and small) and making connections and specifically/especially making my resume stronger to be able to acquire these positions. I spent weekends vomiting from stress because I was scared about a message I sent to whatever agent or whatever industry professional in whatever space. I spent nights crying out of embarrassment that I’d said something stupid. I’ve sobbed while texting people congrats for their good news, been jealous while celebrating others’ wins, the whole shebang. But I kept it up and kept making these connections, kept doing so genuinely.

Writing and industry work is very much like teaching in the way that you have to love it. Not only that, but you have to be doing it for the right reasons. I do everything I do — hosting Books And Beyond, managing PosterPit, reading submissions for magazines, writing Substack articles just like these, and so much more — because I truly, really want to help other writers. I want to see others thrive alongside me in the publishing industry. Yes, you can bolster your resume by accomplishing some of these things at a base level, but unless you’re doing it to push yourself and the community forward, others can tell your intentions are more self-centered or self-oriented, and it shows. It takes time to build connections, to prove you want something so bad as to try your hardest to accomplish it.

Being willing to be there for those who need it or deserve it rather than succumbing to the sadness, inferiority, and jealousy we all feel will get you farther than anything else possibly could. Don’t do things just for the money or just for the reputation — do them because it makes you happy, because it makes others happy. I promise you, I wasn’t primarily thinking of my own success when crying on my couch, wrapped in blankets after a painful rejection, typing “congrats! so well deserved” on the latest offer announcement prior to my own agented era. The industry requires patience, and what better way to acquire it than focusing on lifting up others and celebrating their accomplishments?

SO… WHAT AM I SAYING?

This has been a bit of a tangent (and I don’t have many fun pictures to add to this newsletter, oops), but let it be said: don’t give up after two months of querying. Stick it out. Your book has so much more in it, and so do you. And if you feel like you have to pull a book after a mere six months or less of querying it, then I’m sorry to say this, but you won’t get far. Publishing is unpredictable. So much can go wrong at so many stages, and many aspects of the industry simply aren’t fair. Give yourself — and your books — all you’ve got, and then give them more. You, and your stories, deserve it.

Until the next one.

— Mylee J. Miller