I signed with literary agent Kate Burke in 2019. It wasn’t easy to find an agent back then. When Kate and I parted ways in 2024, I didn’t realise it would be even harder to find an agent the second time round!

I feel incredibly lucky to have had Kate as my agent. Her extensive editorial advice helped shape my debut thriller Shiver into as commercial a novel as possible. She even came up with the title at 3am one morning! She went on to sell Shiver in a ten-publisher auction in the UK, which was beyond my wildest dreams. I’m also extremely grateful to Blake Friedmann Literary Agency. Their amazing foreign rights team sold Shiver to 24 territories. TV and film agent Julian Friedmann sold the TV option. Read my blog post about how I got my first agent, including my actual query letter, here.

I got a 2-book deal. Kate gave me extensive editorial help with Book 2, The Bay (titled The Swell in North America.) She also helped me with book 3, a wilderness thriller set in New Zealand, but it was a tricky time in the thriller market, which was becoming over-saturated and she felt I should take the book in a direction I didn’t feel capable of writing. For months, I was stuck in limbo. I was also aware that over time, my taste and Kate’s had diverged. In June 2024, when she raised the idea of us parting ways, explaining she felt she’d taken me as far as she could take me, I agreed this was the best option.

It felt like the end of an era. I’d spent a whole year writing book 3. Being told it wasn’t sellable in the current market was devastating. And also terrifying! I’d been a full-time writer for five years. As a single mum, I needed to make an income. I’d lost all my confidence as a writer, so I tried to go back to teaching, but this wasn’t easy after so long out of the profession and I mostly ended up classroom assisting, part time, which didn’t cover my cost of living. I was lucky enough to have savings from my previous book deal to fall back on, but I knew they wouldn’t last forever.

I’m so grateful to the family and friends – in real life and online – who cheered me on through this time. I felt like I was at rock bottom for a month or two. I did a couple of reiki courses, a course in transcendental meditation and read a whole lot of self-help books. I also took a couple of short online courses with Curtis Brown Creative. I’d taken 3 of their short courses back in 2017-2018 and found them incredibly helpful (Start writing your novel, Write to the End, and Edit and Pitch.) This time, I studied their psychological thriller course with the amazing Erin Kelly and their Writing for TV course, which were excellent and really inspiring. I finally picked up enough confidence to revisit an older manuscript – another snowy thriller. 

(I love this photo. The two figures nearest to the camera are my mum and dad!)

Querying my new snowy thriller.

I’d just signed up to BBC Maestro and taken Lee Child’s Writing Popular Fiction course. (I really recommend these courses! For the price – I paid about $150 for a year’s subscription, allowing access to all courses – they are well worth it!) Lee Child says there’s a MASSIVE difference between a bad agent and a great one. A great agent will create your career, safeguard it, shepherd it, and be eager and attentive to every detail. But how do you find a great agent?

Researching agents.

I began by listing the agents of my favourite authors. Some authors link in their agent on X or other social media platforms. Some mention their agent on their author website. I had to Google others: who is X represented by? Most authors also thank their agents in the acknowledgements section of their books.

My goal is to make a living from my writing. Not an easy goal. 90% of writers have a day job. Like the first time round, I decided to target UK agents first. I’m a Brit and my new snowy thriller features British main characters. I moved to Australia twenty years ago, but the UK has a far bigger book market and far more agents than Australia. I knew I needed to target a bigger market than just Australia to have any chance of writing full time. Of course, the US is a bigger market still, but neither me nor my current project have any links to the US, otherwise I would have tried my hand at finding an American agent.

Once I had a longlist of UK agents, I visited their agency websites. Most have a page detailing what each agent is currently looking for (their ‘wishlist,’) favourite books (and sometimes TV shows and movies), what genres they accept and most importantly if they’re currently open to submissions. If I liked what I saw, I checked out the agent’s clients. Some agents have huge client lists. That tended to put me off. If they had more than 100 clients, who might each write a book a year, how would they have time for me? Some agents don’t edit. I hoped to find an editorial agent – but if an agent had over 100 clients, would they have time to edit or even read my work? (Several writer friends have confessed to me they don’t think their agent has read any of their work!) Other agents only have a few clients. New agents might be full of energy and enthusiasm and have more time available to help their clients, but would they have the contacts and experience necessary to shape my book and deliver it to the most suitable editor at different publishing houses? It’s clearly a tricky balance. As for the clients: were they big sellers? Had they got big deals? Had I read any of their books? If so, I could mention it in my query letter. And if I loved some of the authors the agent represents, it suggested we might share similar taste, which was my top requirement.

After that, I checked out each agent’s social media posts on X and/or Instagram, and/or their personal website or blog if they had one. Did we have anything in common? Did they mention a subgenre or theme of story they were particularly looking for right now? Then I googled each agent and often found interviews with them on author blogs, publishing websites, literary consultancy blogs and podcasts. (See the list of resources at the end.) I also googled the agent’s name and ‘MSWL’ (Manuscript Wish List) to search for lists of what they’d love to find.

I ended up with a long list of possible agents. But who would be best-placed to sell my work? Wanting more information, I subscribed to The Bookseller, the UK’s biggest publishing publication. You can only read 2 free articles per month unless you pay for a subscription. One month’s subscription cost me 17 GBP, about $40 AUD. I spent several days researching agents on my list on The Bookseller, looking at their recent deals and other articles about their careers. Many agents previously worked in publishing houses as editors. I see this as a huge advantage. If they’ve been an editor and buyer for a major publishing house, they will have fantastic editorial skills and know exactly what publishers are looking for and might have great publishing contacts.

Also on the Bookseller website, check out the London and Frankfurt book fair hotlists. These highlight a few titles from each agency, the genre and premise of each book and the agent selling it. They provide a fascinating snapshot of upcoming titles and which agent is selling them – and also show how important a catchy one-line premise is. It’s such a skill coming up with a hooky one-line premise. I added more agents to my list.

With North America being such a huge market, I wanted a clearer idea of what was happening there, so I also subscribed to Publishers Marketplace – just a Quick Pass which allows 24 hours access to their site, or fifty Page Requests, for $10 USD.

I spent a few hours trawling through recent thriller deals and noted the names of UK – and Australian and American agents doing the deals. It offered an interesting insight of what was selling and what was hot in North America.

After that, I spent a whole day ranking the agents on my list according to how much I liked them, to decide who to submit to first. It was a tricky balance between agents who had similar taste to me, experience, and enough time to take on more clients.

All this research took considerable time! My brain works best in the mornings so I tried to reserve the mornings for working on my manuscript and do my research in the afternoons. I also began to put together my submission package.

The submission package

Once I had my shortlist, I returned to each agent’s website, to check they were still open to submissions and see how they wanted authors to submit work. Some agents want the first three chapters, others want the first 30 or 50 pages or first 10,000 words, some let you choose between several options. Some agents want submissions via email; others want submissions via a form on their agency website.

Query Letter

The query letter is a very important document. I edited and polished mine over several weeks. Agents want to know why you are submitting to them, so I included a personalised paragraph for each particular agent.

Eg. I feel we have very similar taste

I love the books of your clients X and Y

I saw you are looking for XYZ

I heard you love a certain subgenre/theme/topic.

My query letter consisted of a sentence giving the title, genre, word count and catchy one-liner about my book. I’ve heard from many sources that a catchy one-line pitch is CRUCIAL right now.

My letter began:

Dear X

Sleeping With the Enemy on ice.

I seek representation for (TITLE), a psychological thriller of 80,000 words that I hope could sit beside Ruth Ware, Lucy Clarke and Amy McCulloch.

This was followed by 3 paragraphs:
1: an enticing blurb about my book
2: a paragraph about why I chose that agent
3: a paragraph about me and my writing credentials.

I won’t share my query letter since this book hasn’t sold yet, but see my query letter for Shiver, which got me my first agent here.

The Synopsis

The synopsis is widely considered one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to write! UK agents typically want a one-page synopsis. In Times New Roman size 12 font (the industry standard), this works out as 450-550 words, if you use single line spacing with line gap between paragraphs as I do. My synopsis is a clear and simple outline of my story including major twists, spoilers and the ending. At the top, I write in italics: includes spoilers! Just to warn any agents who might prefer not to know the spoilers until they’ve read the whole manuscript. Knowing how hard synopses are, I started mine years ago, before I’d even finished writing the story. Over the years, I’ve sent this synopsis to multiple writer friends for feedback and revised it many times over.  

The sample chapters

I edited and polished my whole manuscript many times over. I’m lucky enough to have some amazing beta readers who read and critique my work in return for me doing the same for them. They’d offered extremely helpful advice, which I used to shape the manuscript. I edited the opening chapters even more. I didn’t want typos or bad writing to distract from the story and put agents off.

I submitted to two agents at the top of my list and waited a couple of weeks. Radio silence so I submitted to four more. I got an immediate full request from one, so I then advised all the others that I’d had a full request. This is standard procedure. I couldn’t inform one agent as they were only contactable via their online system. Within hours, I received another request for the full. Then another.

It was the Frankfurt book fair the following week. This and the London Book Fair are extremely busy times for agents so I guessed I’d have a long wait. Agents and the publishing industry as a whole seem to mostly shut down over the Christmas period and during August – so this is probably another time to avoid submitting, or if you do sub, don’t except a prompt response.

Even so, I checked my inbox a million times a day. Querying is a frustrating and often devastating process that requires much patience, resilience and determination. It took six weeks to get a reply. A rejection, sadly. The agent was full of praise but said she’d been hoping for a final shocking twist, which is one of the things she always wants to find in a thriller. I was grateful to get feedback, made careful note of it and tried to see how to revise my manuscript accordingly. One agent who requested the full still didn’t get back to me, to this day, 9 months later. The takeaway: don’t wait too long – you might be waiting forever.

I subbed to another four agents on my list, after checking each was still open to submissions. I got more rejections, another full request, and another rejection.

Stats for this manuscript: ten subs, four full requests.

Querying my New Zealand wilderness thriller

In the meantime, I returned to revising my original Book 3, a wilderness thriller set in New Zealand. The year-long break helped me see it with fresh eyes. My amazing beta-readers had also read it and offered feedback. I spent a few months editing, prepared a query letter and synopsis and researched agents again. I still liked the agents who’d rejected my previous manuscript so I sent it to some of them. One of the agents who’d read the full of my first manuscript asked for the full of this one. I was so excited. I checked my email every day. Finally, over three months later, a request for a phone call. I was overjoyed. I let the other agents know I had a phone call request, and one agent immediately requested the full.

After an hour-long phone-call, the first agent rejected me. I hadn’t heard of this happening before. I think it was because I mentioned ideas for future books that were in subgenres they didn’t represent. The other agent with the full also rejected me. On the plus side, they were positive about the story, had loved the pitch and both offered very helpful feedback, some of which I actioned right away, the rest I made careful note of for future drafts.

Devastated, I searched for more agents. Again, my writing buddies were an amazing support at this time. One of them sent me regular gossipy emails about his own querying experiences. He mentioned literary agent Stephanie Glencross at David Higham Associates. I googled her and loved what I saw. I don’t know why I hadn’t spotted her earlier! She might have been closed to submissions when I first searched. Stephanie represents thrillers and crime novels exclusively, is very editorial, has a short list and most importantly, we seemed to share the same taste. (Takeaway – reach out to other writers, especially querying writers. Pool knowledge!)

I immediately subbed chapters to Stephanie. When she requested the full a few hours later, I nearly fell off my chair. It was Friday evening, so I didn’t expect to hear back for a while but on Sunday, she emailed, apologising for emailing on a Sunday, and offered representation. Without even a phone-call! I hadn’t heard of this happening before. I requested a few days to let the other agents who had my chapters know I’d had an offer, out of courtesy to them. I also asked Stephanie two questions:

a) How ready did she think my story was for submission?
b) What changes did she suggest?

I knew this second question was really putting her on the spot, as she’d only had a short time to read it, but her editorial suggestions were fantastic, raising issues I’d already wondered about and other suggestions that felt very valid. I was completely on board with all her changes. One week later, I happily accepted.

Then I met Stephanie via Zoom. She was full of enthusiasm for my New Zealand thriller – it turned out she loves New Zealand, and I think this gave me a big advantage. You never know what connections you’ll find with agents, as there’s only so much you can find out online. If you keep on revising your story and submitting it, hopefully you’ll eventually get lucky and find someone who loves it.
Stats for my New Zealand thriller: 15 submissions, 3 full requests, 1 offer of representation.

Anyway, I’m absolutely thrilled to have Stephanie representing me and excited (and nervous) about the next stage.

What I did right:

In my six-month break from writing, I kept reading! I read a lot!

I kept beta-reading and critiquing other people’s work. It’s WAY easier to fix other people’s work than your own, right?! It helped me pick up my confidence again.

I kept studying: short courses on writing as well as books on writing.

I spent A LOT of time researching agents. I think this was time well spent because a) it helped ensure I submitted to the best agents for me personally and b) it increased my chances of success because I was able to really personalise my query letters.

I reached out to friends (real life and online) for advice and support.

What I did wrong:

My confidence was crushed. It’s very common for writers (even published writers) to write books that don’t sell but it hit me really hard and took me way too long to pick up my confidence and try again. I wish I’d been a bit tougher.

I should have done more journaling! It might have been useful therapy as well as writing practice.

I also regret waiting so long for certain individual agents to get back to me when I should have been submitting to more agents.

Tips for finding an agent:

1. Don’t wait too long for a response from agents. You could be waiting forever! Submit in small batches (perhaps 4 agents). When rejections arrive, consider revising your manuscript then get it out again as soon as possible.
2. Don’t give up too soon. Taste is so personal. Keep on trying. But at the same time, try to be objective about your work. Sometimes the timing is just wrong. A particular book just isn’t right for the current market, or an agent is too busy to take on new clients.
3. Read! Read new releases in your genre (and subgenre) to understand what’s selling and why! Analyse them! Scour book reviews in magazines and newspapers. Read any books that sound similar to yours. Browse Twitter (X) regularly for book deals for books that will be coming out next year. Keep up to date with the market.
4. Subscribe to the Bookseller if you’re subbing to UK agents, and/or Publishers’ Marketplace if you’re subbing to North American agents. It’s not cheap but it’s a useful investment that will help you understand the market and see trends.
5. Never write to a trend. I believe we can only write what we feel passionately about – something we love to read. If you write to a trend, by the time you’ve finished writing your book, the trend might well have ended or the market might be oversaturated.
6. Read outside your genre. Check the bestseller lists to find popular novels in other genres and see what you can learn from them. E.g. I started reading romantasy when it began to trend and was surprised by how much I loved it as I don’t tend to read or enjoy fantasy. Romantasy reviewers often rave about these books giving them ‘all the feels.’ I realised I loved ‘the feels’ too and decided even thrillers could benefit from a few ‘feels.’
7. Be strong. Be prepared for highs (if you’re lucky) and lows (likely plenty of them.) Writing is a very bumpy road. Querying can be a tough, brutal, soul destroying and frustrating. Be resilient. Be determined. Don’t give up.

Useful resources:

Query Tracker is packed with info on agents and publishers and it’s free.

Jericho Writers is a treasure trove of has information on agents and writing – some free – and offers courses, mentoring and editing.

Manuscript Wishlist offers a search tool for agents who take each subgenre, useful blog posts and much more.

Mswishlist has up-to-date wish-lists of agents.

The Blue Pencil Literary Consultancy has some useful agent interviews.

There are over 100 interviews with agents (mostly US) on the Darling Axe blog.

There are fascinating interviews with agents (and other publishing professionals) on UK crime writer JS Clerk’s blog.

Page One Podcast has useful interviews with writers and publishing professionals including agents, on all aspects of publishing – including how various writers (including me, first time around!) found our agents.

The Honest Authors podcast is a British podcast by two bestselling UK authors, Holly Seddon and Gillian McAllister on all aspects of writing.

In Suspense is a fantastic podcast for crime and thriller fiction run by authors Nikki Smith and Lesley Kara.

My First Book Deal has agent news, interviews and competitions.

The Not So Secret Agents Blog features articles on different aspects of publishing and agenting from UK literary agents at the Blair Partnership.

US Editor Alyssa Matesic makes some really useful posts on X on all aspects of publishing and editing as well as YouTube videos

The Word Count Podcast follows the writing journeys of three Australian authors who share all aspects of writing and publishing.

Buy my books here:

SHIVER from Bookshop.org USA

SHIVER from Bookshop.org UK

THE SWELL from Bookshop.org USA

THE BAY from Bookshop.org UK

Best of luck to everyone querying!