r/PubTips • u/justgoodenough Picture Book Author-Illustrator • 13d ago
Series [Series] Check-in: October 2026
Spooky month! Happy Halloween! Share your publishing journey thus far as a flash fiction horror story!
Or not. You can also just tell us what you’re up to.
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u/coffee-and-poptarts 13d ago
I'm a free agent!!!!
**sob**
My publisher declined my fourth book. So we will submit widely to other publishers, but only after I write the whole dang thing. Luckily, my agent still seems fully on board with representing me and says we will definitely find another publisher. I was worried she would drop me as a client because she has some other really big names and I'm, well, nothing.
Anyway, my third book releases this month, haha...yay...
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u/cornflakecake 13d ago
On to bigger and better things, by the sounds of it! Wishing you the best with the release and the drafting.
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u/livingbrthingcorpse 13d ago
my debut comes out in less than 2 weeks. my brain is full of rocks
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u/pentaclethequeen Agented Author 13d ago
Congrats! This is so exciting. What genre, if you don't mind me asking?
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u/livingbrthingcorpse 13d ago
thank you!! it’s a speculative horror with a sapphic romance subplot!
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u/charmedbychaos 13d ago
Went on sub
Started a new job
Got a puppy
Started a new YA slasher but couldn't dedicate as much time as I wanted due to things 1-3
Nothing bad has even happened on submission yet but I'm still feeling the stress. I get what you all mean now 😭
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u/BackgroundSpring2230 13d ago
Omg, you have had so much on your plate recently!!! Wishing you all the best on submission. Hopefully your new puppy can offer some distraction from all the anxiety! ❤️
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u/littlebiped Agented Author 13d ago
Nine months on sub… 🫠
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u/RoxasPlays Agented Author 13d ago
🫂 8 here
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u/AccomplishedBee0 13d ago
8 for me... second time on sub as well. First book died. But it's fine!
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u/RoxasPlays Agented Author 13d ago
Ugh, I’m sorry. This is only my first and it already sucks! At least we can commiserate. Wishing us both better luck soon
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u/Acceptable_Fox_5560 13d ago
Keep going! Love seeing your comments here and you deserve success!
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u/Prettyladydoc 13d ago
About four and a half months on submission with a debut adult mystery rom-com. Two passes so far with 12 still out. I’m begging the universe for an update of any kind, things are moving so, so, slow.
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u/BackgroundSpring2230 13d ago
Publishing is so slow! And I am sorry--that sounds really tough and frustrating. But I recently had an author pal who went to auction at 6 months, so there is still a LOT of hope. Wishing you all the best :)
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u/MeanLeg7916 13d ago
That’s slower than me!! I’m over 3 months out and have 6 rejections so far. What is happening?!
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u/pentaclethequeen Agented Author 13d ago
I've been out just around the same length of time with similar stats, and I'm hearing from everyone that it's just painfully slow right now.
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u/Xanthamglow 13d ago
Yeah, it's horribly slow. Out with 19 editors, and only 4 responses since the end of May.
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u/iwillhaveamoonbase 13d ago
I've heard that submission is glacial right now. Hopefully you get some news soon!
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u/Guilty-Agency1680 13d ago
same, friend. i've been out for five months now, 6 passes, otherwise silence.
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u/yeinethegrey Agented Author 13d ago
Solidarity, yall. 😭 Been out since July to 22 editors; only have 3 passes so far. I’m here for the group commiseration!
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u/Quick-Plastic-1858 Agented Author 11d ago
No don't say this! Argh! I just went out with my romcom!
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u/clinkingkeys 1d ago
I know exactly how you feel! Argh - the silence! In some ways it’s a relief to see we’re all in similar boats with the slowness of submissions… where are you guys based? I’m UK and only a month in on this book (first attempt died on sub).
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u/EmmyPax Trad Published Author 13d ago
I am back from all the summer book tour travel I did and so happy to be home!!! Most of the stuff I'm planning on doing vis a vis book promo for the fall should either be local or online, and I am very excited about this.
I'm planning to use all this time at home to knuckle down and do some SERIOUS WRITING. I'm halfway through drafting a new project that I'm really loving. And I'm also writing some stuff for an upcoming cozy video game that I am really excited for.
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u/WindowExcellent4506 13d ago
My debut finally sold at auction a few weeks ago; I had been on sub since mid-June. The advance was way higher than I was expecting which felt great (high for my genre I should say, quite low compared to other genres though).
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u/sm12121919 13d ago
If you don’t mind me asking, how many editors did you hear from before this auction?
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u/WindowExcellent4506 12d ago
I had calls with five different editors, but only four were ultimately able to make it through acquisitions.
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u/paolact 13d ago
My book finally went on submission last week. Told my agent to only let me know good news or actionable feedback, so radio silence so far. Feeling strangely flat about the whole thing, as I’m so utterly convinced the radio silence will continue indefinitely. This whole process has dragged on so long already the book is already kind of dead and buried in my mind. I’ve set myself a goal of finishing the first draft of book 2 by the end of the year so hopefully I’ll soon have something else to submit.
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u/Acceptable_Fox_5560 13d ago
I also told my agent I only want good news. He still leaks me rejections haha
Working on that second book is KEY for your sanity.
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u/LegitimateOwl1682 13d ago
Been querying my new project for exactly 1 month: 69 queries and 11 requests! One came tonight, after being referred within the agency to a different agent. She had read the 50 pages I submitted in a matter of hours after the referral email, and said she "absolutely loved" them. No matter what the outcome, I'll ride that high for awhile! Especially because this is an agent I self-selected against submitting to, thinking my prose wouldn't be literary/lush enough for her tastes.
On another note, I pitched on DVpit yesterday, and just for fun, pitched my dead-in-the-trenches project, too. That one somehow got 4 likes, and now I have 2 fulls out. One agent like both projects in different pitched events, and when I told her, she said to just send both!
TLDR: shoot all your shots, you never know!
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u/BackgroundSpring2230 13d ago
Omg wow those are amazing stats! All the best; I'll have my fingers crossed for you! I had an offer from both a referral agent and an agent I pitched to online, so you truly never know (as you said!) :)
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u/DaisyMamaa 13d ago
I finally signed my contract for my debut & it was announced! 🎉 Also got the first sketch from the cover artist today, so that's super cool.
My agent also said we're finally ready to go on sub again this month with an MS in a different (albeit adjacent) genre that we've been doing edits on for awhile. So, fingers crossed there!
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u/iwillhaveamoonbase 13d ago
My sleep was shot to hell for most of the month because that just is how September is ever since my mom died. Can anyone tell me when you stop being impacted by grief? Asking for me.
Barely wrote anything at all because I'm studying for a language test and I really want to pass this time, but the stress of the rising xenophobia here is also definitely not making me want to write
A book to look forward to: The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City by Susanna Clarke. Y'all are gonna pillory me for this, but this was my first ever Susanna Clarke book and I totally get the hype now. This reads exactly like an Arthurian language and I loved it
A book that's already out: Shield Maiden by Shannon Emmerichs. A retelling of the second half of Beowulf that includes the POV of the dragon and a romance B plot
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u/cornflakecake 13d ago
I'm seven years into the parental grief and no signs of stopping being impacted yet, but it's different every year. Last year on her birthday rage decided to be the emotion of the day. That was a surprise. One year I couldn't move all day. So I feel you, and I'm sorry you've been suffering with it so intensely rescently.
Thank you for the recs: Shield Maiden sounds very interesting!
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u/iwillhaveamoonbase 13d ago
I'm eight years in and it is still such a roller coaster. I don't want to celebrate my mom's favorite holiday at all still for a variety of reasons (my relationship with her was....very complex)
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u/cornflakecake 13d ago
I go the opposite way on that and just have a lot of decor that I know she'd disapprove of. Complex relationship here too. What a club to be a part of.
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u/iwillhaveamoonbase 13d ago
It's such a fun club because it's like...no, I didn't hate my mom. I loved my mom....I also feel a burning rage for her that rivals a volcano that I have to monitor for the rest of my life
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u/cornflakecake 13d ago
Nodding profusely to all of this. And it shows up in my writing alllllll the time.
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u/No-Scientist-9049 13d ago
Sorry about your mom.
I had no idea there was new Susanna Clarke coming! Slightly gutted to see that it's so short (really hoping for another Jonathan Strange length novel from her one day) but I'll take it.
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u/iwillhaveamoonbase 13d ago
Thank you!
I hope you enjoy the book! It's very fun, but it goes so fast
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u/BackgroundSpring2230 13d ago
I’m so very sorry to hear about your mum, as well as everything else that’s been going on. It sounds like you have a lot on your plate, and I do hope you’re taking care of yourself. Sending a big virtual hug your way ❤️
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u/Wonderful_Honey_1726 13d ago
I’m almost 20 years in with my dad who died rather young and unexpectedly and it still takes my breath away, I am now caring for my mom with advancing Alzheimer’s (as long as I can before she needs full time assisted living) so that’s like an extended grief that keeps punching me in the face. Probably why I’ve thrown myself into writing so much this year especially.
I’m sorry for your loss, grief is such an unpredictable monster.
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u/iwillhaveamoonbase 13d ago
Felt on the prolonged care thing. I was my mother's primary caregiver and it is a blessing, in a way, because you get so much grieving done during the care period, but then it also makes you feel so empty because you restructured your entire life around this one person and now they are just...gone
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u/MeanLeg7916 13d ago
On sub now over 3 months, 6 rejections, editors taking forever to respond and sending short form rejections. Kill me!
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u/pentaclethequeen Agented Author 13d ago
The rejections... I got one yesterday after several weeks of silence that had me like 😵💫
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u/Ok-Writing-6866 13d ago
Yeah I'm here too--3 months on sub (or will be on the 8th of this month). I'm on the "Only reach out to me with good news or actionable feedback" plan with my agent and so I have heard literally nothing.
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u/-participating_ 13d ago
I've been on sub since the start of September. Lots of passes which doesn't phase me, but I also have 2(!!!) editors interested!
The first is from a Big 5 imprint and has asked for an R&R, all of her notes have been spot on and I've been furiously revising to try and get it back to her ASAP.
The other editor is from an indie imprint and seemigly likes it as it is. She has requested to have a meeting next week! Which I am absolutely freaking out about, what happens in one of these meetings? What should I prepare for it?
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u/vastwaterscoveryou Agented Author 13d ago
Honestly? Prepare to be charmed! Editor meetings are lovely and an opportunity for the editor to get to know you a bit more. Questions usually revolve around what inspired you to write the story, your inspirations or favorite authors and what other books you're thinking of writing. It's a totally relaxed conversation so don't stress too much. It's also a great way for you to ask the editor about their working style, their vision for the book and any edits they envision for the manuscript as well.
Have a blast!!!
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u/-participating_ 13d ago
This is so helpful, thank you! Obviously my agent will be there as well and we're meeting before hand to go over everything, but it's so nice to hear from experienced people in this sub.
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u/vastwaterscoveryou Agented Author 13d ago
You're so welcome! And yes, having your agent on the call is great (says the person who forgot to ask certain questions and luckily their agent was there to ask those).
As a type-a person, I did write down some notes/answers to questions I thought the editor would ask on the call, plus questions for them (even though, as mentioned above, I forgot some!). But again, this is really just a vibes check for you and the editor. Remember to have fun and enjoy!!! It's such an exciting step.
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u/Saedrian 13d ago
My first time posting in this thread and I'm kind of nervous to admit I did not anticipate how poorly I was going to react to the querying process, which I've been at for a month. I absolutely knew it would be a lot of rejection and it would move slow, but actually experiencing it hit different. The number of quick form rejections I got kind of kicked me in the teeth and killed my creative drive for a few weeks. It's at the point that if I see an email from QueryTracker, my stomach just sinks (even before reading, cause I just assume). I've still got a lot of outstanding queries, so I keep reminding myself it's early and to just chill the hell out.
But, I am happy that I got the creative juices back and am almost done writing the first draft of the sequel (which, given the primary might not go anywhere, might not have been the best use of time). I've got an idea for a more hooky book I'll tackle after that. Just trying to keep trucking and prove to myself I can still do this!
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u/Wonderful_Honey_1726 12d ago
Even the books that go on to have success get rejections, either from an actual response or just ghosting. It helps to look at it in that perspective but it’s easy to feel defeated. Even most of the people finding success now have a lot of heartache from previous attempts.
The best thing to do is start the next project which you have, and if you hear back positively, even if it takes a few months you’ll have something else to show an agent too. I had an idea last night that makes me excited to start on it this weekend and that takes away some of the anxiety.
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u/Saedrian 12d ago
I appreciate it! The flash when you get a new idea and all the possibilities around it is almost like a drug in itself, ha. I hope it goes well!
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u/Acceptable_Fox_5560 13d ago
The CEO of one of the big five publishers told my agent he’s trying to get one of their imprints to buy the MS. At the same time, we’ve now gone to second reads at two MacMillan imprints and one Simon and Schuster, but still no offers.
I turned in my next manuscript last week. I tried to base it around a lot of the feedback we’re getting from editors. I really think this new project has a better chance than the book we’re on sub with now (a little less edgy, a little more timely). But I still really, really want this first book to find a home.
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u/Wonderful_Honey_1726 13d ago
Officially in the query trenches with my horror novel as of three days ago. I had my first full manuscript request in less than 24 hours which was exciting and for some reason terrifying.
Hopefully agents are in the mood to read more horror and spooky related stuff this month with Halloween around the corner 👻
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u/BackgroundSpring2230 13d ago
Oh, yay that's such good news! Congrats and good luck! Oct is DEF SPOOKY SEASON
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u/FunMediocre582 13d ago
On sub one month and have had a few calls. Waiting to see what happens next is as tedious as every other wait in this process!
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u/pentaclethequeen Agented Author 13d ago
Good for you! Things have been so bleak on sub for so many. It's nice to hear something good is happening for someone, lol!
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u/paolosfrancesca 13d ago
I am having issues with my option 😅 Editor really liked the project I pitched but the sales team (I think) wanted something a little different, so I'm trying new ideas now. I feel like I have wasted most of this year on projects that ultimately haven't gone anywhere, which is a little demoralizing coming on the heels of a book that I think might actually do okay when it comes out next year. But I have some amount of hope for the idea that I'm now trying to sell them, which I think would also be a fun project to write. So we'll see I guess. I'd really been hoping to be under contract for something new by now!
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u/cornflakecake 13d ago
Querying continues slowly. I'm now at the point where I'm sending them out if someone unexpectedly opens, otherwise pretty much done. I weirdly feel less in a rush to just call it quits and self pub than I did over the summer. Currently have 5 fulls and a partial pending. Managed to convince myself that they're all ending CNR despite no evidence. Surely everyone thinks the manuscript is so bad they can't even reject me??
27 queries pending, 5+ of those very clear maybe piles. I've started nudging those who asked to be nudged after a certain period on the older ones. So far no further responses from those on QM, but an email nudge resulted in my latest full yesterday (and it was kinda a "fuck it" nudge because I'd already marked it CNR on QT.)
Also I scrapped a fully outlined and first chaptered book 3 this month. I just wasn't feeling it. But I've stripped the world-building bones for a new story, which so far, I very much am feeling. We'll see!
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u/waitisaidmaybe 13d ago
Deflated after participating in DVPit yesterday. Apparently it coincided with a huge AALA conference yesterday and over all industry participation was very low. I saw some lovely pitches get absolutely no likes. Interestingly the only pitches that I saw getting likes were mostly fantasy with some romances.
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u/iwillhaveamoonbase 13d ago
The whole industry seems to have it's eyes on romantasy, fantasy, and romance
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u/Dolphin-and-Roses 13d ago
Which is funny considering how saturated the market for that is right now
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u/waitisaidmaybe 13d ago
Which is weird because everyone talking about publishing trends are talking about how the most requested genres on MSWL are horror and upmarket.
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u/Sadim_Gnik 13d ago
I'd like to think it's social media agents mostly. There's no overlap whatsoever between them and my query list.
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u/Synval2436 13d ago
I've noticed fantasy, romance and YA people tend to be more online. Meanwhile well selling genres like upmarket or mystery are not very represented online.
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u/Dolphin-and-Roses 13d ago
If this makes you feel any better, one of the rules for DVPit is that only agents can like or repost. Most other pitch events allow it so the majority of likes comes from writers boosting/supporting other writers
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u/Xanthamglow 13d ago
4 months on submission with 4 passes (only 1 out of those 4 even read it). Zero movement since the beginning of August, despite interest from two different editors. Last month marked me being "out on submission" for 2 years straight (with 2 books), and at this point, my patience is running on fumes. 🙃
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u/No-Scientist-9049 13d ago
Ah, that sucks. How do you know that the editors who passed didn't read it? Did they just come right out and say 'pass based on the pitch alone'? Were any of the passes from the editors who showed interest? It seems insane to say 'it's only been four months!', but... it's only been four months! There's still hope.
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u/Xanthamglow 13d ago
It was the speed and type of rejection: author has no platform + too similar to something on their list. Plus, it's an open secret that a lot of editors tend to only read a few chapters and/or the synopsis before rejecting.
None of the passes were from the editors who showed interest. But after 8 weeks, it's hard to believe the enthusiasm is still there.
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u/Dolphin-and-Roses 13d ago
Can I ask are you fiction or nonfiction? Are they rejecting fictions authors for small platforms now?
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u/happilyeverwriter Agented Author 13d ago
My debut is coming out in a month and I should be stressed but I just dgaf lol is this disassociation? Anyways, I'm finalizing social media content plans through the month, and need to throw a party I guess. And call book stores. Sigh.
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u/proletergeist 13d ago
I've been given an opportunity to network later this month with agents/editors through a contest, so I'm working on honing the pitch for my latest MS. I feel really good about this book (beta readers absolutely loved it), but I can see it being difficult to sell as a debut so trying to be realistic in setting my own expectations. Fingers crossed!
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u/Kjayes 13d ago
Still trying to find the rhythm with my agent as we work through drafting and revisions. I'm having a really hard time shaking the query mindset, though, like any wrong step and I'll be back in the trenches. She's given me absolutely no reason to think that way. She's super approachable, supportive, and really believes in the story, so hoping October will be the month it sinks in and I get more comfortable!
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u/JR_writing_ 13d ago
Feels kinda like admitting failure to say this one, but this is the anonymous-ish reddit void so oh well.
I've been querying the same manuscript lightly since February, and heavily since April (sent out big batches then). Since about June, I've been sending out queries here and there when agents open, or when I spot a new agent or whatever. It's been going pretty meh, some interest and semi-promising things, but overall just death by a thousand cuts. Then around a week or two ago I sent out a new query and got a day-zero full request, and suddenly I'm feeling optimistic. False hope keeping me alive for a bit longer!
I did not write at all in September. Kinda sucks. I think I should shelve this project and start on my newer idea, but it is intimidating because all my projects so far are fantasy and this is kinda literary-leaning, upmarket, real-world something. I feel like I don't know how to write it. How do you write books set in the real world? seems hard.
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u/simpleparmesan Agented Author 12d ago
It took me 10 months to my first offer. Don’t give up hope!
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u/artieshaw 13d ago
After three agent offers, I signed this week! Started querying in June and had 12 full requests.
Querying taught me so much. About my book, yes, but also about my mental health. I'm so glad it's over. But also, as I have explained to my family, this is just the foothills of another, even taller mountain.
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u/Wonderful_Honey_1726 13d ago
Congrats! I know what you mean about getting over one hurdle and then there’s just more of them waiting. Seeing all these people on sub lamenting about the process has me feeling anxious even if I do get an agent.
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u/natmski 13d ago
Part of the on sub club for one month! Have had a couple of passes (all of them very nice with some personalisation which helps soften the blow a little bit!). Very much learning that patience is a virtue if I want to be a traditionally published writer!
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u/Vollmond_Writer 13d ago
Wrote and queried my first horror novel (67k words) from February to June, got one full request that later turned into a rejection. Wrote and am in the processing of querying my second horror novel (77k words) from July to now. 0 full/partial requests thus far. And I’m about 40k words into my third novel for this year. I’m just trying to keep the momentum going without getting that crippling “why bother trying” attitude I’ve been known to have for 25 fucking years of writing lol
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u/cornflakecake 13d ago
Wow, you are crazy fast! That's impressive.
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u/Vollmond_Writer 13d ago
I don’t feel that it is, though lol I just draft cleanly and type fast.
Typing class saves lives lol
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u/IllBirthday1810 13d ago
I took the time to let my book rest and go over it again. I was surprised how few edits I made outside of line-level. I'm starting to send queries, though aside from a rejection that I got 5 minutes after the query, I know I'm likely in for a long haul lol.
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u/bringherhome2us 13d ago edited 13d ago
Got a few agent likes during DVPit yesterday (and an assistant editor like!) which couldn’t have come at a better time because I was just about ready to give up on querying this project. I still have two fulls out as well (one of which I suspect will never get a reply, but that’s beside the point). After I query this final subset of agents I think I’m going to call it on this manuscript. Might look into indie pub options but idk yet. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst, and also making slow progress on another (hopefully stronger) new manuscript draft in the meantime.
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u/TowelFunny7396 13d ago
I forgot the last time I updated my publishing journey on here. A lot has happened.
My mentor finally gave me feedback and gave me over 500 edits on my manuscript and tons of great advice. It was worth the wait. This rewrite was good, and I need to make more edits to make it great, especially with pacing. However, the last act was great.
Only got a like during DVpit. I did it for fun, but it motivated me to keep editing.
My writing group is reading my current manuscript, and they're at the midpoint, and the feedback was helpful. Pacing is the biggest issue (not surprised at all). They want me to cut another character (my mentor doesn't).
This is the hardest part of my writing journey so far. I want my manuscript to be the best it can be. (My highlighter and pen are ready for line edits.) The hardest part is gathering all this feedback and figuring out what to do. So much is conflicting, but I also have to remember to keep my book's vision first. I never had this much feedback before. I'll spend the next few days thinking about it.
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u/calliessolo 13d ago
The conflicting feedback drives me nuts. Good luck with figuring it out.
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u/TowelFunny7396 12d ago
Thank you! It's raining all weekend, which is perfect for me to have a gloomy fall editing session.
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u/icarusgrind 9d ago
One thing I’ve found useful when getting conflicting feedback is to separate the reader’s diagnosis from their prescription.
If multiple people are getting hung up in the same general area, that’s probably meaningful. But “cut this character” or “speed this section up” is their attempt to solve the feeling they’re having, and they may be completely wrong about the solution.
I’d probably be asking: what are these different notes actually pointing toward? What experience are the readers having that makes them want these changes? There may be one underlying problem producing several different suggestions.
And then I’d go back to what you actually want the book to be. The solution that strengthens that is probably more useful than trying to satisfy all the notes individually.
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u/Proof_Doctor1534 12d ago
Back to querying after two full rewrites of my horror romance manuscript. Its been three weeks and I've had zero full requests. I did get a very low number of form rejections though, so that's something. I can see that my package is in a lot of maybe piles of QT, so all I need to do is wait. Working on the next thing really helps, though! I get to be excited about something and keep my querying thoughts in the background
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u/simpleparmesan Agented Author 12d ago
My agent is really looking for horror romance right now. I can’t offer a referral but I can dm you her name to make sure she’s on your list and look at your package!
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u/Quick-Plastic-1858 Agented Author 11d ago
A lot has happened since the last time I did one of these
- I got agented! Got an offer of rep 2 weeks into querying and then signed with a still-pinching-myself-every-bloody-day powerhouse
- I went pedal to the metal with my edits (I chose the agent with the best vision but also the biggest edits lol) over the summer because they wanted to go on sub before Frankfurt
- Went on sub in the UK about 2 weeks ago and on sub in the US this week. Absolutely bricking it because what do you mean, people are reading my romcom (and from the first few reactions, are liking it) and have the power to really change my path?
- Looks like I'm one of the books the agency is pushing for Frankfurt so I am equally excited and anxious because it would be very emberassing now if I didn't sell.
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u/Significant-Shift669 1d ago
Keep us posted!!
Am in a similar boat (but not on the agent’s hot list 🫠)
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u/Word-Lover2024 8d ago
Picture book author, and I signed with an agent today!! 🎉long time lurker
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u/Krutoon 7d ago
Since mid-June, I’ve sent 49 queries, and I’ve only received rejections so far (20.) Until this point, I’ve been able to tell myself that a full request was coming, but I’m getting increasingly bummed with each rejection. Twice I had agent interest from pitch events, but neither ended up requesting a full. Starting to worry about my materials.
Of course I hoped, as we all do, that I was going to be one of these flash-fire quick success stories, but it hasn’t shook out that way.
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u/Guilty-Agency1680 13d ago edited 13d ago
5 months on sub. still overwhelming silence. might be losing my mind, thread by thread.
sent new project to agent, waiting to hear back. losing more threads.
cannot for the life of me get an idea nailed down to start writing new new project. had a sudden thought the other night of, "what if, in the opening scene, the person the FMC is talking to is actually a ghost?" and then realized that's already the plot to like six movies, so i guess we're back to the drawing board.
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u/salt-of-the-earthsea 13d ago
Naaaah, but there's still heaps of ways to work with this! Like the person is a ghost of someone they killed or it's a ghost of their murdered ex-husband or even the ghost of their mother, who exists to be vaguely disappointed at everything they do or say.
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u/OneMightyMagus 13d ago
But what if they were a ghost? Like, super ghost?
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u/Guilty-Agency1680 13d ago
oo i like this. maybe everyone is a ghost, including the manuscript. i'm sure that's a good hook, right?!?!
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u/Grade-AMasterpiece 13d ago
To beta readers go my final draft. Next stop, a query list.
Q4 will be a heck of a time to have a projected querying schedule, but no time like the present.
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u/OneMightyMagus 13d ago
20 sent out. Mostly to quick responders and random agents I'm not sure I'm super compatible with as testers.
5 rejections came pretty fast. 1 partial request which was a surprise. I didn't get a lot of positive feedback on my query here, so I had doubts.
Either way, we trudge on.
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u/video-kid 13d ago
Good: I've been prepping for my nanowrimo and have a really good idea for it.
Bad: I'm still freaking out about my query letter. I took some time off to reevaluate it and posted the sixth attempt, I got one piece of feedback which was encouraging, but part of me feels like I'll keep freaking out about it and change the whole thing, then repost it for feedback instead of just pulling the trigger.
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u/Sadim_Gnik 13d ago
31 queries sent in the past 10 days. 6 not-a-fit form rejections. 1 full request last month from LitConnect. Barfing out the first draft of my next book. Onwards and upwards.
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u/presidentknope2024 13d ago edited 13d ago
I got my second ms all ready to submit to SmoochPit and then realized a few days before that if accepted to the mentorship, you must withdraw all active queries, even on separate books. I had six fulls (one an R&R) still outstanding on my first ms, so I decided to not give up hope on that one. It paid off - since then, I’ve gotten two new full requests! This week I nudged several of the fulls asking (again) if they want the latest and greatest ms after the changes from the R&R, plus the agent that gave me the R&R. So fingers crossed I’ll have some movement soon.
December will make two years I’ve been querying this book. But every time I think I’m close to moving on, some new movement keeps me going. I’ve gotten 20 requests overall, so I’ve felt close for a long time. Fingers crossed it’s true this time…
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u/muskrateer 13d ago
Officially returned to the querying trenches three weeks ago and from 30 queries I've gotten 7 form rejections and 1 partial request that turned into a form rejection. I know it's VERY early, but its very hard to not keep checking in querytracker.
In the meantime, still working on my space whodunit. I'm about a third of the way through and redid the outline for the back half after getting frustrated with one particular chapter. After spending the last two years mostly editing, writing a first draft really does seem to push your brain more.
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u/casualspacetraveler Agented Author 13d ago
I'm officially one year out from publication! I hope things start happening soon, it's been very quiet and I'm not a patient person.
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u/Kamaka222 13d ago
Went on sub to early in September. One rejection so far, but I'm well into the first draft of my next project which has been fun.
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u/lynndjung 13d ago
I debut this month and I just turned something else in last week! I'm supposed to be on break, but I'm stepping out of my current genre for the Next Thing so I'm already itching to get back to it lol.
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u/yeinethegrey Agented Author 13d ago
Officially been on sub for 3 months so far and have gotten 3 passes (although I should hear from my agent soon about any new Rs that came in September). I also started drafting my next project this month, so that's great. (And it's horror! So October should lend the perfect spooky season vibes.) But oooof. If anybody wants to create an on-submission-summoning-circle/coven where we commiserate & cast good luck spells together, I am very down. 🤣🫠
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u/pentaclethequeen Agented Author 13d ago
Been on sub around the same amount of time. I’ll definitely take you up on that offer 😂
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u/yeinethegrey Agented Author 13d ago
Yessss! 🙌🏾 We can either do DMs, or if there are enough of us, a little discord or slack. We need community during all this! What’s your genre, if you don’t mind my asking!
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u/pentaclethequeen Agented Author 12d ago
I’m all for it! And I’m women’s fiction (with strong romance). How about you?
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u/yeinethegrey Agented Author 12d ago
Ooou, love the sound of that. I’m adult fantasy (with a strong b-plot romance)!
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u/Julia1370 9d ago
Can I join in on this? I'm going on 6 months of sub with a cozy paranormal romance and I'm in dire need of good luck 🫠😂
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u/Dazzling-Film-5585 13d ago
Has anyone here every felt like they've lost the ability to write?
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u/JR_writing_ 13d ago
Oh yeah, big time. I effectively finished my last manuscript in February, and all I have done since then is a plot outline and 8000 words of a new story. I'm hoping it "comes back" soon... Hang in there!
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u/ColonelBy 13d ago
I'm more starting to wonder if I ever had it to begin with. Currently 5K words into a new novel, with about 20K of outlining and background, and it is somewhat stupefying to realize that this is now the fourteenth time I've done this and never come close to finishing a single one. I added it all up and am sitting at nearly a million words of text across all of this futile effort without even one complete draft of any of them to show for it. Not even some kind of "pre-edit with rough patches" draft.
I'm not sure the length of a novel as a project is the problem either, as I also haven't been able to finish a short story in nearly five years. The last few that I tried to write all just ballooned into new (and subsequently abandoned) novels anyway.
It is certainly true that the early stages of a new endeavour can be more exciting and engaging than the middle slough, but so far I'm not even getting through that to find out what ending one feels like. It would probably help if I could, but who knows?
If I thought that I had at least improved in the craft along the way, honing tools and strengthening techniques for future energetic production, that might at least be some consolation. Invariably, though, I find the stuff I wrote years ago more lively and compelling than anything I've worked on recently, and I also can't recover whatever headspace or circumstance that enabled it.
My pleasure in reading remains undiminished, thankfully, but maybe I'm just never going to create something that brings that kind of pleasure to others. There are worse ways to fail, I'm sure.
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u/Dazzling-Film-5585 12d ago
My issue right now is more like I used to genuinely feel confident in my writing but now everything I write feels really poor quality and not good and I also am like.... have I always been bad at this and I'm not only starting to realize it?
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u/simpleparmesan Agented Author 12d ago
Agent says I can expect a response in the next two weeks to edits I sent her. Outlined and started book #2 in the meantime and feeling excited about it again. Got really into building my author insta even though it’s posting into the void right now. My hope is still to go on sub in January but we will see!
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u/ilovehummus16 Agented Author 12d ago
About to hit 5 months on sub with a very well connected agent and have zero passes and a lot of people "still excited to read" whatever that means 🤪
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u/Worth_Cherry2546 12d ago
that sounds really good to me. I have been on sub for only a month and lots of passes :(
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u/ilovehummus16 Agented Author 11d ago
Hugs, sub really sucks no matter what. I can only imagine the sting of rejections. The silence has felt very isolating at times but I’m trying to stay positive.
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u/Jellycato 11d ago
Coming up to 1 month on sub with 1 rejection so far and 1 on second reads for my fantasy debut. But a decent way into a new MS and starting to really find my rhythm again.
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u/DriftwoodMuncher 6d ago edited 6d ago
I am really freaking out, like badly. God. I could really need some comfort or something in this moment.
I just found out that for the past two months of Querying the title of my book in the 'title' portion of Query Manager read 'Beneath An Emeral Eye' instead of 'Beneath An Emerald Eye'. To those outstanding agents I could I sent a message explaining the mistake and apologizing for it, but am just feeling like I shot myself in the foot terribly over this. I may have just ruined it for myself, for a single careless mistake.
Literally the entire time I've been querying! God. I'm such a fucking idiot.
The title is correct everywhere else, in the letter, the pages, the summary, etc. Just at the top it reads wrong and I am just kicking myself with how stupid I am. God.
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u/vastwaterscoveryou Agented Author 4d ago
No agent worth your time will reject because of a typo. Multiple typos and grammar mistakes? Sure. But not such a slight error. They will still review and if the concept connects with them, they'll request. Remember they are selling books and they aren't going to pass on a concept that they think they will sell because of a single typo.
Completely understand the anxiety but I promise that you're okay. Anecdotally, I spelled an agent's name wrong and got a full request. Don't worry!!!
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u/SpencerUlfson 13d ago
Finishing up the final round of edits with an editor from Reedsy and continuing work with my illustrator for my dark fantasy book.
Labor of love and vulnerability for the last three years.
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u/lamusique712 13d ago
I attended a conference and pitch even last weekend, and an agent has expressed interest in my memoir!! Now I’m editing before I send it over. He also gave me some solid advice for building a platform so either way, I’m super happy to have attended this writers’ conference and pitch event.
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u/fireflight_stories 13d ago
So far I’ve racked up rejections from almost half the agents I’ve queried since the start of August. I got one full request but doubt it’ll go anywhere. Looks like it’s time to shelve it and write the next 🥹
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u/Cyber_Sorcerer 13d ago
Upwards of 50 queries sent out since early this year.
I've gotten quite a few rejections but I'm trying to not let it get me down. Working on outlines for the next few books has helped immeasurably.
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u/Mysterious-Leave9583 13d ago
Started querying for the first time. I will say, this is less miserable than short story submissions (maybe because I was more attached to my short story than this novel, despite how many more hours the novel took to write) but this still suuuuucks. On the bright side, I've hit 10 rejections, which means I got myself a commission as a reward.
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u/BerkeleyPhilosopher Trad Published Author 13d ago
In answer to your question, it took me two years before I felt I could make peace with my mother’s passing. Even so, it remains true that there are two kinds of people in the world: those with mothers and those without. It isn’t easy becoming this new kind of motherless person. Give yourself grace
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u/mhcs25 12d ago
Rounding the corner into 3 weeks on sub and crickets so far, but I'm buckling myself in for a loooooong wait (adult contemporary romance, subbing under a new pen name).
I spent half of September adding 30k of new words to my 2027 book that I'm miserable with right now -- an editor bought it last year and then immediately left the company, and the new editor they assigned me to pretty plainly doesn't like the book. The draft I sent to her was, conservatively, 80% horseshit, but the benefit of a low advance and other projects bubbling away is that I don't really care and she can figure out how to fix it!
Also, today I got paid for a film rights option that's still a secret that I'm SO excited about 👀👀👀
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u/IcyFerret7437 12d ago
I have decided to stop querying for the moment because I realize how I want to position myself as a memoirist and because I understand that if I am determined to publish with a Big 5 imprint I will need to build more of a visible argument for doing so. More than anything I feel excited about this decision and clear on my next steps. Hoorah!
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u/GlitteringLadder202 12d ago
I accepted an offer of rep yesterday (Oct 1)! It was a spectacular way to start off my favorite month!
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u/gabeorelse 11d ago
This September I got my edit letter for my debut and met with my editor. It was a wonderful and productive meeting and now I feel like a real author (so it does hit at some point!). I also got some exciting marketing adjacent news and it sounds like the imprint overall is really excited about my book and that's honestly really heartening. Honestly the querying process + long sub process lost a lot of my love for this book, but the edit conversation and a reread brought it back, which I didn't know was possible.
The book of my heart is dying on sub, but I strangely don't feel that bad? It took me five years to write, and at the end of the day, it was worth it. The experience taught me so much and paved the way for me to write even better books. I've also noticed I've acclimated quite a bit to the rejection and disappointment in trad pub, and who has historically been horribly sensitive to rejection, I'm really happy about that.
I'm looking to go on sub within the next few months/half a year with a speculative literary novel. I genuinely feel like it's the best thing I've written thus far, and my betas seem to agree, which is super cool! I don't know if it will sell, as the premise is not super marketable. That being said, I'm excited to see what happens. I think the low expectations are helping a little honestly.
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u/Unwarygarliccake 13d ago
Finished the second draft of my manuscript! I can’t wait for beta readers to find the stupidest plot holes
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u/GuessingGame707 13d ago
I'm quite excited to start something new in the short story space. Querying was a disaster for years; if it was hard pre-Covid, it's cutthroat post-Covid. I hope it's allowed within the context of this post, but if anyone wants to beta read for my short story mystery titled A CHILD SOLVES A MURDER (4k words), I would really appreciate the help.
(Dear mods, please remove if not allowed)
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u/Peytonjunewrites Trad Published Author 12d ago
I sent book three revisions to my editor and saw the final cover. Officially on sub for book four. In a weird waiting period, which always makes me too anxious to writing something new. I can’t believe how much has happened since querying in 2024!!!
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u/cashlikejohnny 12d ago
Writing something my betas are liking. Blocked on a section and have responded by moving all my work to Ellipsus (in wake of the "Google Suite using your docs to train AI" news) and starting, slowly, to build my eventual agents-to-query list. Yayyy?
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u/Bogoman31 11d ago
I wrote a vampire horror novella (9,500 words) and now am at a loss of what to do with it. Does anyone know a good path for me to take with it?
My only thought so far is either writing a few more and making a collection or self publishing on Amazon which is much less than ideal to me.
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u/meyerlimon 8d ago
Entering my third month of sub! Got rejected because my social media page is lame! Now I post cringey reels of myself in the hopes of getting published! Woo
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u/sheena2015 10d ago
Happy October! Glad to hear some good news in this thread this month and wishing everyone the best.
I had mostly stopped querying my Himalayan novel but then I got 2 requests (one full one partial) bringing me to a total of 2 fulls and 3 partials over 6 months of querying (2 of those have come back as rejections). Then I got excited and yeeted out a bunch more queries so we will see. God, querying is a long process.
In more exciting news, I finished the first draft of my steamy celebrity time-skip romance and am now hopping into the second draft!
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u/laptopgardens 4d ago
How do you figure out where to submit short pieces to? There's some obvious picks (established and prestigious publications) but those aren't the only options. How do you decide on less obvious options?
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u/BreakfastAt_Tiffanis 10h ago
Just finished my first draft
Revising
Trying to figure out how to make a query letter 😩
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u/BackgroundSpring2230 13d ago
I had my fourth offer call from an agent yesterday, and my decision deadline is in 3 days! Honestly, still pinching myself ❤️
(and it’s my birth month!)