A Decade in the Making: My Query Journey
I stopped tinkering with my manuscript in Summer 2023, then began querying in September and got my first full request in October. After sending just fourteen queries, I got my first offer of representation in March 2024 before signing in April.
Does this sound like a stroke of luck and perfect timing? Yet another short timeline, instant success story?
Not quite.
Nothing is ever as it seems, and behind every success there’s a story of grit and perseverance.
It’s a cliche because it’s true, but an agented or published author is truly just an author who refused to give up. And considering this blog is over a decade in the making, I urge every querying writer to remember this. As we said at my high school: “NGUNNGU.” Never give up, never, never give up.
2011: The Beginning of an Idea
This story begins at that same high school in November 2011, in an algebra classroom in Washington State. I was a freshman and, as anyone who knows me is well aware of, not a huge fan of math. While I had a great teacher, I spent more time writing scenes in the back of my notebook than paying attention. And during those dark, rainy afternoons, it was there that I first encountered the simple idea that became the genesis of my main character, her ability, and her world.
2014: First Full Manuscript
It wasn’t until my junior year of high school, in 2014, that I finished my first draft of this story and my first completed manuscript. I believed age and youth should be no barrier to publication, so after a year of revising, with a query letter that should never, ever be seen again, I eagerly sent a handful of queries for the 110k YA mystery novel. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t hear a peep back on my queries. It hurt, but I was okay with it. This was my first ever manuscript. Everyone says that the first is just practice. My writing and the story wasn’t quite ready yet, so I dove back into the manuscript.
2017: Starting Over
I continued writing and building the world as I went off to college. As I left home, my world expanded and my story changed with it. My little Washington State-based story set sail for a much grander adventure, gaining a new title and expanded world in 2017.
In the midst of polishing up my manuscript and preparing for my second effort at querying, I signed up for my first Writing Day Workshop Conference to pitch an agent. I spent weeks preparing and practicing my pitch to my housemates before nervously taking the bus across the city to attend the conference by myself. My stomach twisted in nausea as I sat in front of an agent and publicly shared my blood, sweat, and tears for the first time.
While my pitch to the agent didn’t stick, she was impressed with my passion and determination and offered me an internship. I eagerly accepted. At that time, the agency didn’t have interns or an intern program. Though disappointed about a closed door for my manuscript, I was thrilled that my courage to pitch led to an open window.
As I interned, I saw the slush pile for myself and the hard choices agents have to make. I learned the do’s and don’ts of querying and decided to take my second shot, sending to about a dozen agents. Despite two partial requests and a full, all the requests came back as no’s. After much frustration and prayer, I accepted that it was still not yet the time for my book. I’d have to keep working and keep waiting. I focused on my internship and learning as much as I could over the next year with the agency. I continued dreaming and building the world of my series.
2017 and 2018: The Adventure Begins
That summer, I went abroad for the first time with my university’s Creative Writing in Rome program. For six blissful weeks in 2017, I wandered the cobblestone streets of Rome, doing nothing but pushing my creative mind, eating copious amounts of gelato, and learning to capture the sights, sounds, and culture around me with words. I realized my story, and the series to come, needed to have a global reach. I quickly began thinking and rewriting, plunging the roots of my story deeper and wider.
Fast forward through another year of writing, revising, researching, planning, and dreaming. In summer 2018, while sitting at the top of a double decker bus in London during my second study abroad program, I opened an email that would change everything. I was accepted into an internship in DC, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that would expand my perspective, and novel, yet again.
Throughout the three months of my internship, and the two years of working in DC beyond that, my actual writing paused, but my imagination never stopped. I saw the intricacies of prestigious and revered organizations, the impact of the media, and the world of sensitivity and secrets that surrounds the federal government. My book became cloaked in the navy and gold that surrounded me on a daily basis and my characters began to move with the regality and formality of the people and history I worked alongside.
2021: Returning to Roots
It wasn’t until Summer 2021, when I came home to my Pacific Northwest roots, that I truly returned to my book. Surrounded by the peace of the lake, the mountains, and the simple, honest, people of a small town, I slowed down and recalled the rollercoaster of adventures that had been the last few years. What was it all for? I’d met so many different people from across the country and the world, cementing what I already knew: we’re all just looking for hope and purpose. I realized that through this story, I wanted to create something that was fun, entertaining, and different, but also something with authentic meaning. I recalled middle school, when I was most vulnerable and unsure of myself. This delicate time of coming of age, especially now with the digital dangers today’s kids face, struck a chord. I soon discovered that there were few Upper MG or Lower YA books to help kids and tweens transition into the teen years. My book needed to change yet again, and I finally got back to work.
2023: The Final Round Begins
After two years of focus and grit, I proclaimed my manuscript ready in Summer 2023. I finally had the courage to share it with the world. From my lovely seventh grade neighbor and her friends, to beloved friends from D.C., to my boss’ sixth grade daughter, I became more comfortable sharing my story. Somehow, I knew it was finally ready.
I began my third round of querying in September 2023, nearly a decade after I first began, with what I thought was a polished query letter (it was not folks – I highly recommend you have a professional look over yours). Quick form rejections led to a lot of discouragement, but I pressed on. I knew what I had was different: Lower YA, genre-blending, slightly high word count, etc. My book was high-risk, high-reward, so I continued to have faith that an agent would see the potential and take a leap of faith with me.
Then, in mid-October 2023, after a handful of form letter rejections, fear seeped into my mind. I began asking myself the same questions that plague all querying authors. Was I wrong? Is my manuscript not ready? Is there something wrong with my pages or query, or is this simply the numbers game? With form letters, it’s so hard to know why an agent passed. You could have a product that needs a lot of work, or your product could be perfect but just not what they’re looking for. As one of my good friends continually reminded me through this process, querying is like going to an Italian restaurant: you don’t know whether an agent is in the mood for pesto, alfredo, or marinara. It’s all pasta, delicious pasta each with unique and satisfying flavor profiles, but maybe you served an agent pesto on a day they were really hungry for alfredo.
So here I was at a crossroads: I didn’t want to continue blowing through one-time opportunities if there was an issue with my work. But maybe I just hadn’t found the right person yet. It was too soon to tell, but I knew in my heart that it was time to query again. So why was it not working? I went to bed discouraged, unsure of what to do next.
The very next morning, I woke up wide awake at 4am (extremely unusual for me). I checked my phone to see a text from a good friend from D.C., who still lived on the East Coast.
“Sooo really random but this YA author/junior agent just popped up in my Twitter feed. Unprompted or anything,” my friend said. “Found her Manuscript Wishlist,” my friend continued, telling me that the agent loved Disney and had upcoming pitch dates at a virtual Writing Day Workshop conference, the same organization where I pitched my first agent seven years earlier. “She randomly popped up on my Twitter without looking for it!!” my friend continued. “Could be fun just to give it a shot and see!”
The agent, Andie Smith, with the Booker Albert Literary Agency, would be attending the two-day Online Seattle Writing Day Workshop conference and taking virtual pitches the very next morning, on Saturday, October 14th.
So, at approximately 4:05am, I emailed the coordinator for the conference and asked if I could still sign up.
I attended my second WDW conference that day and the next, and pitched Andie via Zoom. We hit it off. I sent in my query the next week. She requested my full manuscript three days later. I sent it in. Then, the waiting began.
2024: A New Era
As the weeks and months passed, I signed up for two more writing conferences and pitching opportunities. I sent more queries and I watched in QueryTracker as Andie’s full requests slowly trickled down from 45+ down to two. At the beginning of March 2024, just my manuscript and one other remained unanswered.
The week of March 4th, Andie started tweeting cryptic texts about a project she was loving, but I didn’t dare consider that the project could be mine. Though I had a great feeling about Andie and was so hopeful she was the one, I began to prepare my heart for a no.
Then on the morning of March 7th, 129 days after my submission, “Query Reply from Andie Smith” hit my inbox. For the next few hours, I allowed myself to suffer through the anxiety of not opening the email (y’all, don’t do this. Be kind to the friends and family who suffer with you!). I wasn’t ready for a “no.” Afternoon drifted into evening on the East Coast, and on the off chance Andie’s response was positive, I wanted to respond in a timely manner.
Then after much more stalling, I finally opened the email. I couldn’t believe it, but I had a yes.
The email wasn’t an official offer of representation, but was very, very close. Andie asked if I was okay with a few minor revisions, and if so, requested a call.
I had my offer call with Andie the next day: an utterly surreal hour and fifteen minutes of hearing someone talk about my book with the same passion. She formally offered representation.
In the end, I sent fourteen queries and/or pitches from September 2023 to March 2024:
Six form rejections
One CNR
Two helpful passes (one citing that Lower YA wasn’t for them)
Five full requests
The Road Ahead
Now, a decade and three manuscripts later, this story will finally be going on submission this fall. The journey to publication has barely begun, but this is the end of the chapter of waiting, trusting, and continuing to have faith through the brutal process of querying.
To querying authors: I urge you to keep having faith in your story. If you love it, an agent will love it too. If it’s different from what we see on shelves right now, an agent wants to see it too. When you see others finding success before you, know that your time is coming too.
Trust your gut. Be patient, don’t rush, and take breaks or revisions when you see fit. Time changes your work for the better. Seek wise counsel and get as much feedback as you can. Keep building your world. Listen to writing podcasts. Get plugged into the writing community. Don’t be afraid to attend conferences and pitch.
And most of all, believe in the story you love, even if it doesn’t fit the trends. Take the risk of doing, and being, something different, even if the current is against you. Know that you have a story worth telling, no matter who you are or where you come from. No one has told your exact story before.
Regardless of the years, the pile of shelved manuscripts, the success of others before you, or the number of no’s, remember NGUNNGU: never give up, never, never give up. You never know when your “yes” is coming. It will come when you least expect it, and when it does, everything will change.
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For practical querying tips, check out my post here.
