Surviving the Query Trenches
I don’t know exactly how many months, or years I spent in the Query Trenches. I sent my first queries in 2011 and I got my first offer in February of this year (2025), so I think it’s safe to say I spent the greater part of the last decade plus either querying, thinking about querying, or trying to relight my spark after burning out in the trenches.
The Query Trenches are not for the faint of heart, and if you’ve done some research already or you’ve been entrenched for any length of time, you’ve probably heard someone mention agents receive thousands of queries a year and only sign a handful. It’s a fact of the industry that is heartbreaking. The first time I heard those odds, I was ready to give up again. Spoiler: I didn’t. I changed my outlook.
We get tired of hearing that the industry is subjective, but it is.
Think about it like this: someone creates a special bookstore based on your reading wishlist. There are five thousand books specifically curated for you and there’s only one copy of each book in existence. You can take as much time as you need to go through them, but you’re only allowed to leave with five books. And, another catch: other people are getting to look at these same books, so there’s a possibility that something you were really, really excited about will get taken before you get a chance. You read by what excites you the most, what sparks that subjective joy you can’t really explain. You leave a lot of really wonderful books you would love AND you would buy behind, because you can only pick five.
I want to disclaim these numbers are not direct stats for agents, I’m just generalizing based off some I’ve seen shared. …and obsessive query tracker creeping.
This, I have to imagine, is what it’s like for agents. And honestly, for being on submission too (but more on that in a different post on a different day). Before anything, I think you have to have a good mindset when entering the query trenches. Understand that really, really good books are going to get passed on and really, really good books are going to get signed. It’s not about deserving it, and it’s not about being good enough. Sometimes, it really is “right desk, right time.”
Mindset won’t be the only thing to get you through, so here are some tips that helped me keep on keepin’ on this impossible dream:
Set attainable goals! I remember in earlier days, my goal was to be agented by X date. That kind of hope is a beautiful, rare thing indeed but it’s not kind to ourselves in the long term to set goals that are not in our control. At the end of the day, getting agented is not something you have any control over. You can set a goal to send 50, 100 queries for a project. You can set a goal to take a writing workshop every month. You can set a goal to write X amount of words in the next year. All of those are things you CAN control. Don’t set yourself up for failure.
Keep working on your craft! Too often, I see writers allowing themselves to grow stagnant—they don’t read craft books, they don’t try new writing exercises, they don’t push themselves. Sometimes the passes are because our writing isn’t there yet. And even after you get that yes, it doesn’t mean we’ve reached the final level of our skill set. Keep growing. Take the class, read the book, write outside of your comfort zone. It’ll keep you distracted from your inbox and help sharpen your determination to keep seeing this dream through.
Give agents no reason to say no!
Polish your manuscript. Work with other writers—have a few other people read it, even if it’s only for big picture/developmental edits before you get into the nitty gritty. And for the fine tuning, literary agent Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong shared this free (!!) resource for querying writers that I honestly will likely reference with every future manuscript. (you can find it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y6XGjRUW2Rr0o4aNrMkhMBkRDDQzZNxn/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106137326550720935355&rtpof=true&sd=true )
Research the Industry. Read in your genre, find comp titles for your manuscripts from the last few years. Know what word counts are normal for your genre and follow them. Make sure your manuscript can standalone.
Hone your pitch package. It’s like your outfit for an important job interview—if you show up in ripped jeans and duct-taped shoes, it’s very unlikely you’re getting the job. Now, does this mean that a single typo will make or break it? No, in fact I’ve seen many agents say that this won’t deter them from offering on a book they have to have. However, your query letter should have a strong hook, clear stakes, and hint at what journey your character will undergo to get to the end. Your pitches should be snappy and hooky. Learn to write a really good synopsis. These are all things you will have to do/write for every single book you want to take on submission for the rest of your career, so I cannot stress enough how important it is to really nail it.
Find community! Writing is a solitary craft, and our friends and family often don’t understand (or sometimes care) about the struggles and pitfalls of the industry. Social media and discord are great places to find writer community—there you’ll find beta readers, critique partners, friends that’ll end up in your acknowledgements one day.
Celebrate failure! I am known for the outlook of “rejection=treat” and it warms my heart to see like Pavlov, I have trained most of my writing friends to hear “rejection” and, like that bell, immediately reply with “TREAAAT.” I think a lot of people go for a sweet treat, but it doesn’t have to be food related at all. If you are addicted to buying enamel pins, treat yourself to a new pin. Make a wishlist of items within your budget and treat yourself to something when the rejection comes in. Or, “save up” your rejections and cash them in for that more expensive treat you’ve been eyeing. It doesn’t even have to cost money! “Treat” yourself to your favorite dinner at home, to a home spa day, to a rewatch of a favorite movie—do something that makes your soul happy.
Give yourself grace! I think we often forget to give ourselves the same grace and kindness we give to others. If you’re feeling burnt out, take a break and don’t feel guilty about it. (I mean it!) You can’t create magic if you’re pushing yourself too hard.
If you only take one thing from this post, I hope it’s this: some people query for a handful of weeks. Some query for a handful of months. Some years. And though I hope if you’re reading this, your stay in the query trenches is short, but how long it takes us to go from querying to an offer of rep is not fully in our control. You just gotta keep on keepin’ on with this impossible dream.