I have to admit that I was surprised by some of the responses to last week’s discussion about queries. There’s so much angst out there as authors struggle to find agents that some writers adopt an ends-justify-the-means mindset and think there’s something wrong the entire process if their queries don’t work.
But as I said in the comments section of Thursday’s post, every successful debut book should be viewed on the order of a minor miracle. It’s like throwing a manuscript across a river of paper-eating snakes and crocodiles and hoping that all the pages reach the other side. Success is hard and rare, and there is an incredible array of obstacles along the way.
Success is not the default, and success does not come easily.
And yet so many aspiring authors don’t approach the business in this fashion. They expect success. They feel that they’ve earned success simply by completing a novel they think is good. And they feel that if they are not easily finding success something is wrong.
Then you start hearing things like agents don’t know what they’re doing, the query process is stupid, the publishing industry is going down the tubes because they won’t publish MY book, etc. etc.
The system is not perfect, but it’s also not broken. In fact it’s working precisely as it should: It’s winnowing tens of thousands of projects down to the few that are published. There are far more novels out there than can realistically be sold to publishers. Far, far, far, far more. To paraphrase Sean Lindsay, there are too many writers and not enough readers. Getting published is not supposed to be easy.
If there were a more effective system of winnowing down thousands of submissions than referrals and query letters I’d love love love nothing more than to find it and use it (and Jennifer Jackson agrees). But in order to decide if I’m interested in taking a look at a manuscript I need to know two things: what the book is about and whether the author can write well. And I need to know those things as quickly as possible because I have a million other things to do. That’s precisely the point and function of a query letter. If the query did not exist, God would have to invent it.
It’s not fun to be winnowed. But don’t blame the winnowers. Just keep at it. And while you’re at it, try and enjoy the process. Life’s too short.
Please respect the system. It’s there for a reason.
Tracy Buchanan says
I agree 100% Nathan and get SO embarrassed when I read some of the bitter posts from aspiring writers on agent blogs *sigh*. I’m a magazine editor so have a teensy bit of insight into what you go through. AND an aspiring novelist (before anyone screams that I don’t understand).
Love the blog BTW. I’m a Brit and agent blogs are far and few between in this fair isle! ‘Av a word with your UK counterparts, will ya (said in an East London accent) π
karenranney says
Unfortunately, some writing organizations can intensify the expectation of being published. They call their aspirants “pre-published”, for example.
I’d like to add that the hurdles don’t magically go away once you are published. They change a little, but they’re still there.
Kathleen Peacock says
And yet so many aspiring authors don’t approach the business in this fashion. They expect success.
Realistically, I think authors know the odds. The heart and the head, however, are two entirely different creatures. How many people would actually complete a novel if they didn’t feel, in their heart, that they would and could beat those odds.
Still, bitterness and snarky responses to agents are tacky and unnecessary.
Adaora A. says
Guys the truth is a hard pill to swallow. If you want to have a CHANCE of making it in this industry I think (keep in mind this is information I’ve picked up on from reading great blogs like this, and doing MY homework), you have to have two things:
1. The facts (whether you like them or not, you have to have them so you can know how to attempt to work with them. Remember knowledge is power. Cheesy, but it’s true
2. The knowhow to understand that this is a career you go into only when you have a profound love of writing. The odds of making a living on just writing alone are slim. You can hope and dream but you shouldn’t expect.
I don’t understand why people are snapping at our host. He’s just giving us the information that is beneficial to us. This is probably the best blog on writing out there. Don’t bide the hand that’s feeding you. And I’m not trying to be kissy kissy by saying this, it’s just genuinely the way I feel.
Lupina says
uaBitterness is counterproductive to the writing muse. Unless you are Edgar Allen Poe (master of sublimation), and if you are Poe, you died young, poor, unhappy and wearing someone else’s clothing. Better to cheerfully write on, I say, and keep reading the blogs like this one that at least provide helpful hints and inside info.
Anonymous says
Writing is an art before it’s a business. Expressing yourself and bearing your soul through the medium of storytelling is bigger than whether or not you get a check in the mail in return for your pages.
That said, there is a business and marketing side to making your art your vocation. It takes work and drive, confidence and humility. But the industry is all about rejection. If you’re not getting rejection letters, you’re not even in the game.
I guess the question is: If there wasn’t such a thing as being published, would you still write? The answer for me is an easy YES. If the answer for you is NO, then maybe it’s time to examine why you’re really doing this in the first place?
Miss Viola Bookworm says
I have to agree with Anon 10:14 just a bit. Believe me, I’m an upbeat person. Pessimism isn’t my thing, but sometimes, it’s tough hearing that as writers, we’re never supposed to give up and that yes, if we are good enough, we will get published. But the next minute, we’re told that 1 in 10,000 of us will actually make it? Geesh.
Many of us trying to get published read several agent blogs daily as we are trying to learn and do whatever we can to improve our writing and chances at publication, and I appreciate the honesty, but sometimes, man…it’s tough to hear this sort of thing across the board, particularly if you are in the submission process. When I’m just writing and don’t have any queries out (and no rejections coming in), these statistics aren’t particularly bothersome. When I’m in that mode though, watch out. It’s easy to get down and grumpy about it.
That said, I do appreciate Nathan’s take on this, and since I hang around here often, I do understand where he is coming from since I’ve read nasty comments from people on various blog posts. I’m sorry if agents have to hear a bunch of angry comments from disgruntled writers.
Still, it can be frustrating to always stay positive, even for those of us who never give up, love writing for what it is, and always keep at it despite the odds. Sometimes even we have to vent our frustrations about the difficulty of the publishing process, especially when we get to hear these statistics or stories from published writers who got in the door because of their connections. I’ve read about two such authors in Writers Digest recently, and yes, it’s frustrating, especially when you’re in rejection mode.
That said, this is life, and for those of us who truly want to make it will write and continue to learn and perfect our craft, and when we get down, we’ll take a minute to have a small pity party and then get back on the horse and go for it again. And for when I’m down, I just seek out my friends. Thanks to them, I’ve never felt the urge to vent to an agent or complain about a rejection or this process becuase they are always there to tell me to go for it even though the odds aren’t in my favor. They’re very good at letting me have that little pity party before I get back at it again. π
Anonymous says
I think part of it also has to do with the mindset (not, you know, MY MINDSET, or any of YOUR MINDSETS, of course) these days. I’m not sure if I can make my point clearly, but I’ll try.
I think ‘success’ in most things is easier now than it used to be. I’ve been taking classes at the local community college for the last year – and basically if the students showed ANY effort, they got an A or a B. If this has to do with keeping students and financial aid (or tuition reimbursement from work) because that is based on grades – and failing students mean no revenue for the college – or if is just how things are all over – I don’t know. I hope it isn’t that teachers just don’t care.
My point is that students are turning in crappy work and getting good grades – they start to believe they are A or B students, their work is superior and when they encounter a teacher who actually grades accurately – AND THEY FAIL – they blame the teacher.
As a society we try so hard not to offend and we overlook problems so as not to hurt someone’s self-esteem – we build up and encourage and support (not that this is wrong exactly) – “you’re doing GREAT!” when maybe they are really only doing so-so.
In publishing no one can blow sunshine up your skirt – no one can just shrug and let things slide – and I think there are a lot of people who get their first dose of reality when they can’t find success in publishing. I’m reminded (surely this example has come up before) of American Idol try-outs. Sure, a lot of people can sing and carry a tune (and well, a lot of people CAN’T but still think they can) – but only a few can be successful. It isn’t enough to sing adequately or write adequately. It has to sparkle.
I know teachers are under enough pressure – and I have no solutions, but it does seem like the current system creates false hopes. The standards are at the lowest common denominator. Students who might eventually sparkle with the right encouragement and development fall through the cracks – because their work is adequate for an A and no one pushes them to do more.
I’m not sure I’ve made my point but maybe there is a glimmer of it in this babble.
other lisa says
Well, here’s some good news: Fiction reading is on the rise! – after a 25 year decline.
Anita says
Sarah Jensen:
Thank you!
Seriously, all of The Bachelor contestants/writers think they’ve got the beauty/query that will get them noticed by the Bachelor/agent…and maybe the beauty/query gets them noticed immediately, but if they don’t have a fabulous personality/manuscript to back it up, the Bachelor/agent is going to drop them. And if the Bachelor/agent isn’t immediately smitten, some of these contestants/writers get nasty.
Does that even make sense? I’m losing my brains from too much reality TV.
Anonymous says
I won't use someone elses blog to promote my books, but go Heather Wardell for mentioning fictionwise.com. I for one really do try to keep it different. Really, I do. And I agree: so many books do sound the same. But I'm always going back and forth with my agent and editors, fighting to make it different when they want me to play it safe. I've learned how to be a really good negotiator. One publisher I have doesn't do this, and I think that's why they are up for a few awards at P&E. A lot of the advice I get from another publisher I have to ignore, because if I didn't, my books would be more run of the mill dreck. It drives them crazy, but it's my name on the cover and my only goal is to entertain the reader.
So, some of us really do try to entertain you. We really do. And it's not easy with all the bad advice going around out there.
Elyssa Papa says
It’s like Randy Pausch once said, the brick walls are there for a reason—they let us know how much we really want them. There are tons of hurdles to overcome (Nathan listed them spectacularly in one comment), but each one you do, you’re that closer to getting what you want. You might not have Stephenie Meyers’ success, or J.K. Rowling but you’ll be successful.
Nathan, out of curiousity, do you believe that all genres of literature are hard to break in, or that there are some which might be “easier?”
Oh, look . . . puppies!
Kate Nash says
Another way to look at it is that queries are like CVs (resumes). No-one gets hired off the basis of a CV alone but it’s the imperfect tool to get to the next stage in the selection process.
Bryn Greenwood says
It’s like the Bhagavad Gita of publishing: “You have the right to query, but not the right to the fruits of your query.”
Sam says
Then you start hearing things like agents don’t know what they’re doing, the query process is stupid, the publishing industry is going down the tubes because they won’t publish MY book, etc. etc.
I play a fair amount of online poker. I’m a mediocre player, I recognize that, and I work on getting better. But it seems like at every table, there’s at least one guy who whines constantly that the other players suck, and that they should play the game the way the complainer thinks it should be played. Usually, the plays they complain most about are excellent plays, not dumb luck, but the complainer doesn’t understand the game well enough to recognize that.
I can’t imagine why I thought of that when I read this post.
And while you’re at it, try and enjoy the process.
I’ve been a lot happier since my lovely wife pointed out that everyone who loves me now will still love me if I don’t get published, and that maybe I should learn to enjoy what I’m doing first and worry about getting published later. I had a lot of fun writing my last novel, and the new one is shaping up to be just as rewarding.
Steve Fuller says
“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”
– George Orwell
Carley says
As frustrating as both the query letter and the ‘strange and dark world of publishing’ are, I have to say it is constantly teaching me things. Things I never knew I needed to know, and what’s better than that? To constantly be learning, while you are able to do what you love is a true treasure. The best advice I ever got was from my non reading hubby. He said ‘just write because you love it, because you need it like you need air and because it makes you happy, forget about all the rest.’ Did I marry a smart guy or what??
Anyway, I appreciate the query, even though I’ve yet to master it, I appreciate it’s challenge and understand it’s necessity.
Lastly, I wouldn’t dare venture out into the publishing world without a super agent leading the way, holding my very best work in his or her hand. The query and all the steps along the way make sure that that happens.
Ann Victor says
Great Orwell quote Steve!
Jill says
You’re kidding me with the law school analogy right? You make it sound like anyone can show up at law school with their legal pad and pen and in three years become a lawyer. Not so, first you have to graduate from a four year college with top grades. Then, you have to pass the LSAT exam with a top score. Next, you fill out numerous applications including essays on various topics and pay steep application fees. If all of that is successful, you may get an offer of admission. Then, you have to suffer through three years of law school after which, you have to pass the character and fitness test to be able to sit for the bar. If, you pass the bar and receive your license, then you have to find a job and work associates hours for years. All in all, quite an arduous query process to become a lawyer. Too bad after doing all of that, I have decided I would rather be a writer.
spinregina says
I waver on this one, but I wonder if the system is a bit of an antique? In this day and age, coudln’t there be something new invented to make it a cohesive, level playing field? I have no idea whatsoever what that would look like, but perhaps a same-ness throughout the industry, perhaps ad agencies writing queries (joking)…I have no idea. Good to think about! Thanks.
Nathan Bransford says
jill-
Trust me, I have enough lawyer friends to know that it’s not easy in the slightest and that it’s even more difficult when you finally do graduate and wind up working a hundred hours a week as a first year associate.
The analogy was only about the numbers side of things. Someone goes to law school has a reasonable expectation that they will graduate and become a lawyer. I have no idea what that number is and only threw out a percentage, but I do know that it’s a larger percentage than the number of people who write novels and wind up getting published. I mean, the novel to novels published percentage starts with a zero, as in 0.0something%
Nathan Bransford says
Ah, wait Jill, I see what you’re saying. If you start with the number of people who want to BECOME lawyers and apply to law school the numbers would reduce drastically and it’s something more akin to the query process. I was starting with anon’s analogy about people going to law school expecting to become a lawyer.
Anonymous says
“A lawyer going to law school has approximately a 95% chance of becoming a lawyer.”
I have to go with Jill@12:58 PM on this one. I’ve been there. The first year of law school they weed out half the class, and then they keep weeding until only the best and the strongest survive.
No the best comparison. Sorry.
Anonymous says
But you’ve redeemed yourself.
Dan says
Nathan,
Perhaps you need your own talking head show on cable TV?
Your blog popularity has made for a lot of good comments. It has also made for a lot of… less-than-helpful ones. I believe you now know how PROFESSIONAL SPORTS COACHES feel, where some people rally around their decisions and others pick them apart, piece by piece.
pseudosu says
My paying gig (so far) is visual art, another dicey biz to attempt to make a living in and I see many similarities. There are TONS of people out there driven to create, and only so much art money. Not all work worth doing is worth selling.
As for my own writing- I’m driven to do that. I can only hope to become better at it than my competitors, and make it across the mine field. Tough as it is to accept, the market will sift you out if you’re not good enough.
Just_Me says
I respect the system. I think it’s good to write your own query letter, because it needs to be your voice. But I don’t think anyone writes a good query letter in isolation.
Whether it’s feedback from Query Shark, a blog post where you get comments, a writer’s group, or a workshop- someone helped you with that letter.
Someone will help you with your book too. Your agent will make changes. Your editor will make changes. Another editor might make changes. Feedback from an agent you don’t sign with may force you to make changes.
This isn’t a business of isolation. It can’t be.
Anonymous says
Great post, Nathan. And Lee – wonderful insider look from a bookseller’s point of view.
Anonymous says
The one difference between the lawyer thing and the writer thing is that when you try to become a lawyer and you’re not very good at it, they will tell you up front. You flunked. Period. But who is going to have the guts to tell this to an aspiring writer? Not me. And some people who want to be writers just aren’t very good.
Julia Weston says
Thanks for your honesty, Nathan. I’ve yet to submit my first query and I appreciate the no-nonsense post. I’m one of those people who would rather expect the worst and then, if I’m super lucky, I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Brigita says
I agree, just trying to convince an agent that your book is the one is like trying to win the lottery. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ll win the lottery sooner than get an agent. Oh, well, I’ll just self publish then. π
What I wanted to say was that from time to time I come across a book that just really sucks and you wonder how did that get published? There are thousands of good books that don’t get published while trash that no one should have the bad luck to stumble upon much less read it gets an agent, a publisher, a place on the bookstore shelves …
I’m sure the system works, but most of the time it’s a very frustrating system for the authors. And I’m sure for agents too with all those millions of queries.
And your blog is just such a tempting opportunity to vent our frustrations and blame the agents … π
Anonymous says
As a struggling writer, it doesn’t hurt to remember that some guy named Clive Lewis wrote a kid’s book about a talking lion that nobody wanted to read. And some other guy wrote an adventure about little people called Hobbits and a battle over an evil ring.
It took a few years, but they both didn’t do too badly in the end.
Sign me: Slypotb
Lafreya says
It really does help if you learn to enjoy the journey of writing. In my critique group when somebody finishes their novel, even if it’s a first draft, we celebrate with food and wine . When I finished my first novel I lit candles just to acknowledge the effort put in. When I landed my agent I had a dinner party with my writer friends. My sister asked me why I just didnβt wait until the book sold to celebrate I explained to her that the book may never sell , so I was going to celebrate this particular achievement. I went into writing with a plan A, Plan B and Plan C in mind so that in the end there is no real failer the dream just looks different depending on which things come true. This is not to say that I donβt have days when Iβm not envious or bitter or frustrated with the waiting or other issues. But Iβve come a long, long way and I remind myself to celebrate that.
Anonymous says
“Slypotb” here (again) π
I was in grad school with a screenwriter who was so awful at writing that he became an entertainment lawyer. From there, he became a literary agent, because he thought he’d have a better chance at being published if he became a agent!
Oh, the humanity!
Anonymous says
I don’t think authors become bitter about rejections by themselves. Rejections are certain to occur, and any non-delusional author should know that.
I think authors become bitter when, after having their manuscripts rejected, they then find a terrible novel (or a shelf full of them) that HAS been published. A lot of chaff gets published. Sometimes the chaff was written by a celebrity whose name sells books, sometimes it’s an already famous author who is now phoning it in, and sometimes a series of bizarre circumstances conspire to push a truly awful book through the publishing process. These things happen all the time. Authors familiar with rejections can feel a piece of their soul dying every time they find unreadable trash on a bookstore’s shelves.
It’s hard not to blame the publishing industry for publishing trash that sells well for reasons unrelated to its literary worth. And yes, you can go an extra step and blame readers for buying — even preferring! — such trash.
But, as all here have said, bitterness and envy are not fruitful pasttimes. Write and enjoy writing. If anything more happens, consider it a bonus.
Wanda B. Ontheshelves says
Caving in and giving up
“the more I try the more I want to give up” – no, not really – but in the grocery story parking lot today – this very gray-pinky-blue-frigid cold day…one of the baggers was bringing in the carts, and as she passed me, heading back toward the store – she sang loudly “NA, NA, NA-NA-NA…” Pushing full steam ahead into the slush and wind with her silver train of grocery carts – well, she put me to shame – in my overheated writerly efforts…in the same parking lot once in the summer, a little girl pointed to the full moon and said: “Mama, la lune! la lune!”
Vignettes, and Keat’s terror of the “teeming brain” not fully “glean’d” before death…I mean, forget about getting published for a moment…just that feeling of not getting “it” out in one’s lifetime…”NA, NA, NA-NA-NA…”
Oh well. I kind of like the image of picking snowflakes from a fire hose myself, or maybe from a snow machine – a Michigan thing I guess…
Anonymous says
βHonestly though, this response is due to some stark negativity I’ve seen (and received) about agents and the publishing process.β
Try being a lawyer sometime. Until literary agents can claim to be a category of joke, then donβt even try to compete.
Telling us that our chances of getting published are zero and that our beloved books that we’ve bled over are just going to get eaten up by crocodiles is counterproductive, isnβt it? And not even one mention of a puppy, either.
Ann
Kathleen says
Lafreya:
Good to know I’m not the only one who celebrates along the way.
Anonymous says
“Honestly though, this response is due to some stark negativity I’ve seen (and received) about agents and the publishing process. So consider this some pushback — we’re just trying to do our job, and we’re not stupid. What I described are the odds. If you’re not liking them and are only going to have fun if you’re Stephenie Meyer…. well, there are easier ways of making a million bucks.”
As far as I can tell, your blog post today (and some of your comment responses) all come from a few barely objective criticisms expressed last week by some of your readers regarding agents and the query “process.”
Look how well you handled it.
Something to think about before your next post about how writers need to endure and have thick skin and except criticism and blah, blah, bleck.
I also wouldn’t be writing anymore about how hopeless the publishing “process” is for an aspiring author.
Even if you’re just trying to ‘keep it on the real, yo.’
It sends the wrong message and dramatically increases the chance that the only queries you’ll be getting in the future will be from prison inmates who chose you solely based on the picture in your profile.
Just saying.
Nathan Bransford says
Enh – honestly anon, I’m really not sweating things very hard, nor do I feel I’m being overly negative. I’m just trying to respond to the people who would rather blame agents and publishers for the fact that they’re not published.
I don’t see how pointing out the odds involved in the publishing process makes me a bully or overly negative. Don’t shoot the messenger.
Marilyn Peake says
Nathan,
How about a “You Tell Me” blog day when writers get to share the “war stories” we’ve been through on our way to publication? It might put writer angst in better perspective.
Nathan Bransford says
Marilyn-
Reading my mind. I have something similar planned for Wednesday.
MzMannerz says
I’ve been in meetings all day and am just getting around to reading today’s entry.
I don’t know anyone in any industry who doesn’t experience bitterness and frustration at some point. Usually/hopefully the feeling passes quickly. It’s not unique to writers, believe me; I talked to at least three people today who feel under appreciated and under valued.
Sometimes the individual is extraordinarily talented and wrongly overlooked for assignments/positions. Sometimes the individual is of average talent and simply hasn’t put forth extra effort and/or allowed enough time for natural progression to occur. And sometimes the individual is less talented than they believe and needs to channel their energies elsewhere to achieve success.
The problem is, most people tend to believe they are in the first category, whether they are, or not, so you’ll naturally see more people shifting the blame to someone else (agents, in this case) than not. Doesn’t mean agents are actually at fault (and in some cases, obviously, doesn’t mean they aren’t).
MzMannerz says
Gosh I used a lot of punctuation.
;,:.:D
Anonymous says
While the comments have taken a huge turn for the worse, I think I actually do get what Anon 2:37 ment by this post —
“… Telling us that our chances of getting published are zero and that our beloved books that we’ve bled over are just going to get eaten up by crocodiles is counterproductive, isnβt it?…”
If only because you have pounded it in our heads by previous posts to: “Query Me First.”
So Query Me First, but expect nothing from anyone in this business at any time, in any shape or form, and also even if you can sell something you’ll never make a living — but I WILL, off of many authors, so yeah, Query Me First.
Of course, I know the odds of getting published are slim, but I also know as an Anon so profoundly pointed out somewhere above, that there are many, many publishable books that will never make it past the query process simply because of the large egos of certain agents. I am not suggesting that YOU, Nathan are such an agent (you wouldn’t blog if you thought writers were idiots) but there are many agents in the position of power that EXPECT to be treated as demi-gods — and yet most of their list is midlist. So, obvioulsy they don’t know everything.
Expecting that authors bow to you is, in my opinion, worse than an author expecting to be published after working for two years on that all important first novel. I don’t believe it’s even about the chances being slim. I believe it is about how writers are disrespected in this business by the very people that make MONEY off of writers. That double-standard is very, very tough to take.
Until you’ve been here you simply wouldn’t know.
MzMannerz says
Oh. And sometimes they’re uber talented and haven’t given it enough time, too.
π
Linnea says
There’s little point in balking against reality. Knowing the odds gives you a better idea of what you’re up against. Being aware of the uphill battle either discourages a writer or drives them to make their work the best it can be.
I am tenacious by nature so telling me the odds is like throwing gasoline on a fire.
Nathan Bransford says
anon-
Trust me, the frustration you are expressing doesn’t end when an author finds an agent, nor is the industry clear sailing and cocktail parties on rainbows for agents either. I get frustrated. I have had submitted novels that I thought should have sold that didn’t sell (and sure, I didn’t write them, but that doesn’t make it much of an easier pill to swallow when you feel the author is counting on you).
I can blame the system and the gatekeepers (editors) or I can recognize it for what it is: it’s a tough business.
Unagented aspiring authors don’t have a monopoly on frustration. I’m not talking from the seat of my pants here.
And I’m also not asking anyone to kiss my ring. I know there are agents who give that impression, but most agents are just trying to make the most of a really, really difficult job.
Marilyn Peake says
Nathan,
Woo! Hoo! Can’t wait ’till Wednesday. I’m sharpening my pencils…er, my computer…even as I type this.
Vancouver Dame says
Great post, Nathan! If we aren’t aware of how difficult it is to be published, how can we beat the challenge? You’ve laid the facts on the line, which I appreciate. It’s much more defeating when you’re given a rosy picture of your success, and you find out that it’s not the true reality.
Success is what you make it, unless you’re lucky enough to know someone in the publishing business. Most of us don’t. A few writers network, and get a book published, but their staying power is what determines true success.
Meanwhile, I’m still working on my novel, and your post doesn’t discourage me in the least. Keep up the good work of keeping us informed.