My Tale of Five Literary Agents

(And How You Can Learn from My Mistakes)

Jan 06, 2025

I’ve been querying since 2002, back in the dark ages when SASE were still common. (SASE stands for self-addressed stamped envelopes. Agents and editors used them to mail back rejection letters.)

This was a time before ghosting, Query Tracker, online pitching and MWL (Manuscript Wish List). Every year, Jeff Herman put out a telephone-book sized tome where you could look up agents’ addresses and preferences.

What follows is my tale of five agents and my takeaway from each experience.

Agent #1 (2002-2008)

I had zero connections when I first started querying. I lived in Augusta, Georgia, which is a mecca for golfers not literary types. Back then, online writing communities were mostly nonexistent. There was no Facebook or Twitter.

Although querying was much more primitive, it was also more civilized and genteel. Agents, for instance, almost always replied, and often you’d receive personal notes.

Sometimes the notes would be cranky like, “You’re writing is ham-fisted!” (True story). But sometimes they’d offer suggestions. One agent wrote to me: “You should write books like Marilyn Keyes. She’s part of a hot new trend!” (He was talking about chick lit, and his prediction was correct.)

To be fair, I think fewer writers were querying back then so it was possible for agents to occasionally get personal with writers.

I tentatively sent out a few query letters for my first novel, a humorous, smalltown novel and then a miracle happened: An agent called me at work, desperate to read more.

At the time, it felt so cinematic. This is how it’s supposed to happen, I thought. Unknown writer lifted from the slush pile! A star is born!

It didn’t play out that way, but at the time, I felt anointed by the gods.

The agent told me I’d written the best query letter she’d ever received. Granted it was early in her career, but if you’re curious, you can read my letter here and her commentary.

After I sent the entire manuscript, the agent emailed me breathless updates about how much she loved it: “Page 50, I’m swooning!” “Page 100, I’m on Cloud nine, Cloud ten!” But then the updates abruptly stopped, and she rejected me.

However, she did offer me an R&R (revise and resubmit). Even after my revisions, she was tentative, saying her boss was on the fence, but she finally relented. It was a wise decision for both of us as she sold five novels for me,.

For a while, my life became a montage of corny movie moments: I was flown to the city to meet the marketing and publicity team, Simon and Schuster hired an artist to give me a makeover for my author photo, and the publisher at the time, David Rosenthal without irony, asked me if I was ready to be a star.

It was definitely a dream publication experience. I went on elaborate book tours with stays at fancy hotels like the Ritz Carlton and did a string of TV and radio bookings. The actor James Wood called me at home wanting to option my series, saying he was going to ask Meryl Streep to star. It was all surreal, and frankly a little overwhelming.

Over the years, I got to know my agent fairly well. We had lunch several times and went on a business trip together.

Sadly, we broke up over something petty. But, I will always be grateful to her for taking a chance and giving me one of the most exciting experiences of my life.

What I learned: I was brand-new to publishing and didn’t know what I’d gotten into, so I made many rookie mistakes. I was afraid to ask my agent too many questions lest I seem too pushy or demanding.

Meanwhile, I didn’t enjoy my success as much as I should have because I felt like an imposter. And, to be honest, I was an imposter. When it came to craft, I was still a neophyte. But I was financially rewarded as if I knew what I was doing. It was a confusing place to be, but all too common for many authors.

If you ever find early publishing success, seek out a mentor who is years ahead of you. Learn as much about the publishing business and your craft as possible. Do not be afraid to ask questions. View your agent as a partner in your career, not as some kind of fairy godmother.

Agent #2: (2008-2009)

When my first agent and I parted ways, I easily got a second agent as my sales were solid, and my publisher still had the option on my next book. I contacted about five agents, and they all wanted to represent me. But there was a problem: None of those agents had read the book I was pitching; they offered representation on the query and a partial.

I accepted an offer from one of the most high-powered agents in the business, and she sent the novel to my editor at Simon and Schuster, my publisher at the time, and it was rejected.

There were several reasons for the pass: the book was not part of my profitable series, my editor, unbeknownst to me, was about to lose her job and finally, it was a flawed novel. Since so many agents wanted to rep me, it took me a while to figure out that I’d written a dog of a book

After the rejection, Agent #2 got reads from two other agents in the agency, and they didn’t like it. We also did some test submissions to editors to feel out the waters and the news was the same: the book needed work.

My agent gave me great revisions notes, and I revised twice but still didn’t get it right. I remember her saying the novel was episodic, and I was so inexperienced I had no idea what that meant.

I needed more help than she could give me, so I bowed out of the relationship, but secretly, I was hoping she was wrong about the book.

She wasn’t, of course. I queried the novel, and since my publisher had rejected it, I got many passes. After experiencing so much early success as a novelist, it was an extremely humbling time for me. I also felt tremendous shame over not being “good enough.”

I spent three years trying to fix that flawed novel but was never able to do it.That’s when I enrolled in an MFA program, hoping to become better at my craft.

What I Learned: If well-meaning professionals tell you there’s something wrong with your work, believe it. Also, almost all writing careers have peaks and valleys. It’s not a character defect, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s simply part of the journey.

Agent #3 (2011-2012)

My MFA program focused mainly on literary short stories, so the program didn’t help me become a better commercial novelist. However, I was assigned a final paper, and I decided to write it on storytelling structure. Since there weren’t many books on novel structure at the time—this was several years before books like Save The Cat Writes a Novel was published—I learned storytelling from screenwriting books. I also wrote a thesis novel during the program.

As soon as I graduated, I re-wrote my thesis novel to make it more commercial and started querying again. Right away, I got five offers, and I remembered thinking, I’m back!

But life had other ideas. While it was exciting to have so many offers, it was also overwhelming. I’d given myself too little time to decide and when I asked for two day extension, one of the agents withdrew her offer.

That spooked me, so I quickly went with the nicest agent who was also the most inexperienced. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to sell the book. Would a more experienced agent been able to sell it? Who knows? But because I was in a panic, I probably didn’t make the wisest choice for my career.

What I learned: Choosing an agent is one of the most important decisions of a writer’s career. And yes, I did lose an offer, but, looking back, I probably dodged a bullet.

In this business, there are plenty of people who will cut you off at the knees for the mildest bit of assertivenesss. Best to identify those people as quickly as possible before you can get in too deep with them. Finally, you never have to take an offer or representation out of the fear that you’ll never get another. If you attracted the attention of one agent, you’ll attract another.

Agent #4 (2018-2020)

I ended up placing my thesis novel myself with a small publisher. For several years, I was happy to be with them. They were accessible, kind, and transparent. Also, I’d decided to teach at the university level and found I adored teaching college comp and creative writing. So, I was content putting out a book a year and teaching. I had no need for an agent.

But then, the small press started to show signs of trouble, and I knew they wouldn’t be around for long. I had a finished novel so I looked for a new agent.

The agent I signed with was amazing in every way: persistent, professional, and patient. We went on submission and got close to a sale a couple of times, but in the end, I was writing about debutantes in the South, and it was out-of-step with what was popular with editors.

I wrote another novel, and my agent said she didn’t like it—no particular reason given—so she dropped me. Hard to blame her. She did a lot of work with no compensation, and likely she worried my next novel wouldn’t sell either.

What I learned: Sometimes, you write a perfectly fine novel but it’s simply the wrong time to get it out there. I ended up doing a couple of R&Rs for editors which didn’t result in an offer but taught me so much more about my craft. This invaluable experience finally cured me of my imposter syndrome. Finally, after twenty years as a writer, I felt like I knew what I was doing.

Agent # 5 (2022-2023)

Despite agent #4’s dislike of my next novel, my instincts told me it was sound and sellable.

I began to query that novel, and received another agent offer. We went on sub during an extremely tough time for the market.

In 2022, the Great Resignation affected publishing, and an indeterminate percentage of editors left and weren’t replaced. Overworked editors ghosted agents, and reading times stretched into months.

In a year’s time, my agent heard back from only TWO editors on her sub list. Contrast that to my first sub experience in the early aughts. We went out to about 20 editors and heard back from everyone in two weeks. My sub experience with the debutante novel was a little slower but every editor responded within two months.

Agent #5 was a lovely person, but, in the end, we weren’t a good fit for a variety of reasons. In the meantime, I’d written yet another novel, and I felt like it was time to move on. I suspected my satirical novel on publishing might be a hard sell, so I put it out myself.

What I Learned: Sometimes you don’t want to wait on the slow wheels of publishing. Today’s authors are so lucky to have options. Back in the “olden days” hardly anyone self-published

Is Agent #6 in my future? Definitely! I’m retired from teaching and have the most productive years of my writing life ahead of me. I’ll need a savvy partner in publishing, but I also have the luxury of waiting until I find the right person. Hopefully, that relationship will last the rest of my career.

My Tale of Five Literary Agents

(And How You Can Learn from My Mistakes)

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