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Hello friends! It’s finally fall, and this newsletter will soon be packed with fun bookish updates, secret news 👀, and more. Today, I thought I’d talk a bit about something I know is on plenty of writers’ minds lately: the query and sub trenches.
The past couple of times I’ve done an AMA on Instagram, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how to navigate, survive, or generally keep it together while querying or on submission. In truth, it’s a topic that’s hard to dole out advice about, because like many things related to publishing, there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, and everyone’s experience with the query or sub trenches is vastly unique.
That said, there are some things that I found helpful while querying and on submission, and more that I’ve learned in retrospect—all of which I am more than happy to share here.
But first, as is tradition:
The last time I popped into your inbox, it was summer, and I was between deadlines. It’s been a busy September so far, as I’ve been on a couple of back-to-back deadlines—first for copyedits for my YA debut This Raging Sea, and also for a secret project that I’ll get to tell you about very, very soon. (Like…probably the next time you get an email from this newsletter. Ahhh!!)
Speaking of This Raging Sea, I recently turned in copyedits, acknowledgements, and my dedication, which means it is one step closer to being a book. It’s starting to feel real in all the best ways, and I’m very excited for all the things ahead—including a cover reveal, which is going to be 🌊gorgeous🌊. For now, you can add This Raging Sea to your TBR on Goodreads if you haven’t already done so!
Okay, let’s get into it. Trenches time!
First of all, is it cheesy to say that I think anyone who chooses to query (and then later goes on sub) is extremely brave? I don’t care, I’m going to say it anyway. Because it’s no small thing to put your entire heart into a 100k-word document, ship it off to strangers, and then wait in suspended quiet to hear what will happen next. It takes resilience. It takes patience. And sometimes you have to pivot and write the next thing, while your dreams are still rooted in the previous thing. It’s courage and determination and tenacity (and maybe some hard-earned spite)—and every author who is deep in the trenches can say they have all of those things and more.
Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, here’s a list of things that helped me while querying or on sub. Or, alternatively, what I’d put in my personal Trenches Survival Kit:
Make a separate email you only use for authorly things. Confession: I did not do this while querying, and I deeply regret it. I made my official author email only after getting agented, and if I had done it sooner, I would have saved myself a lot of whiplash from seeing (1) in my inbox and having it be a Bath and Body Works coupon. 😭😮💨
Have a plan for learning about passes while on submission. Some authors don’t want to hear anything other than good news; others want to know every detail. (I’m the second one.) Decide what best suits your mental health, and have a chat with your agent about how passes will be communicated in a way that is manageable for you both. As an example, my agent and I had a shared Google doc where she would keep me updated while on sub, and I was able to check in at times where I felt mentally prepared to see potentially disappointing news.
If you work on something else, try to make it as fun (and maybe as unhinged) as possible. We’ve all heard the advice: “Write the next thing.” The truth is, that can be really hard to do while you’re actively experiencing rejection. If you find it challenging to work on something else as you’re navigating the query or sub trenches, know that you’re not alone. I think the key might be to write something fun. That wild idea that’s been in the back of your mind for a while. Something outside of your genre or comfort zone. A story that’s just for you (forever, or maybe just for now). Interestingly enough, those are the projects that sometimes turn into the “next thing.”
Consider writing short stories. If working on the next novel feels too overwhelming, it might be worth flexing your creative muscles with a short story or two. Writing short stories ended up being a really helpful creative outlet for me while on submission, because it allowed me to feel accomplished, and it was also a boost of confidence if any of my stories got accepted for publication.
Find your people. Having a support system during querying and submission is so important. These don’t necessarily have to be other writers, but just anyone you trust with your raw, unfiltered emotions. Both querying and submission can bring a roller-coaster of hope and disappointment, sometimes on a loop, and many times all in one day. Having people to vent with, and to also share in your wins, can make all the difference.
Write a letter to your main character. This is a little dramatic, but listen, as a Leo sun/rising, I am nothing if not dramatic in all things. Bear with me! Before querying and also before going on submission, I wrote letters to my characters, thanking them for letting me get to know them, and for helping me grow as a writer and as a person. These letters were cathartic to write, and also felt like a little manifestation tactic ahead of sending my book babies out into the ether.
Prepare for the Friday 3pm slump. The trenches can mess with you in a lot of ways, but perhaps the most outrageous is how it reframes the notion of weekends. Mondays bring about a swell of hope (maybe I’ll hear news this week!) whereas Friday at 3pm can be the pit of despair (welp, no news this week). It can help to have Friday plans, or things to look forward to on the weekends. And when all else fails, step away from the email refreshing and get outside for some air. I honestly cannot count the amount of times I realized that going for a walk could practically cure those Friday afternoon spirals of doom.
Tape a mantra to your desk or computer screen. Mine is still there, and it reads: “Keep writing, keep waiting, keep being brave.” All credit goes to Erin Bowman, who wrote that phrase in her newsletter a while back and it honestly rewired my brain. I happened to read it while I was on submission, and it was the exact thing I needed to hear at the time. Whatever those words are for you, whatever will help you keep writing, whatever will remind you that you can do this—put it in ink and keep it nearby.
These next and final two points are things that I’ve learned in retrospect. Because hindsight is 20/20 and all that.
One: Know that everything really is as subjective as people say—and your world can change in an instant.
Okay I know we all probably despise the word ‘subjective’ by now because we hear it all the time, but this didn’t sink in until recently, and I feel like it’s worth mentioning:
The reason one agent passes might be the exact thing that another agent adores about your book. One editor might not “fall in love,” but the next one could. And the tide can turn for the better really, really fast.
I’ve told this story elsewhere, but the week before I got my agent offer, I received three query passes all in one afternoon. All of the passes were kind, but hearing “not a fit” that many times in a single day was objectively emotionally draining. I genuinely felt like it wasn’t in the cards for me, that this pile of rejection was some kind of “sign” or bad omen that it just wasn’t going to work out.
But then, days later, I received an email from the agent who would end up being my agent. I remember reading it, bracing myself for the “unfortunately…” but it never came. Instead, she asked to set up a call.
A similar thing happened while on submission with the book that became my my YA debut. It wasn’t my first time on submission, and I was aware of all the possible outcomes—including the possibility that this book would have to go back on the shelf. But days after receiving a “I didn’t fall in love enough” pass, my agent emailed with good news. An editor did love my book. And everything changed lightning quick again.
I guess it can be summed up with this: Rejection is not an omen. Subjectivity is real. There’s so much value in having an agent (or an editor) who not only loves your writing but who also inherently understands the exact way your brain works. That’s not going to be everyone. But it can be someone.
Two: Very often, “no” means “not yet.”
I have a lot more to say on this subject that I’ll save for another post, but for now, I’ll keep it to this:
Publishing can be a strange, non-linear journey. You may tuck a book away after an unsuccessful querying journey or several submission rounds, and there’s no denying how much that hurts. It’s a unique kind of pain that is also exhausting; so much time, energy, and effort has gone into creating and polishing that story. But here’s the thing: You just might take it back off the shelf later. Maybe it’s to rewrite it in a different age category. Maybe it’s to revise after you’ve strengthened your craft. Maybe it’s to excavate the bones and mold it into a new story altogether.
But one way or another, that book might come back to you.
I’m going to leave you with a screenshot of a DM I came across recently. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact context, but it’s certainly from a conversation on a day I must have had a hard-hitting query or sub pass. I think it sums everything up:
When you want something as badly as I know so many authors want to share their books, that wanting starts to exist outside of you. It’s the kind of dream that aches. It’s the kind of dream that you keep chasing because you can’t imagine a world where you don’t. Because the idea of not writing hurts more than any pass or disappointment ever could. Because, quite simply, you have more stories in you.
This is not to encourage burnout; please, please take breaks, go for those “anti-spiral” walks, touch all the grass (roll in the grass, even!).
And then, when it feels right, tell the next story. Your words will wait for you.
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