Don't Take It From Me

the points are made up and the rules don't matter

If you’ve spent any amount of time on the publishing side of the internet, be it on Twitter, Reddit, or your pick of a million articles across multiple websites, you probably know that the publishing world is bursting with rules.

What to write, how to write it, when to write it. When to query, what to query, who to query, how to query. And if you step a single pinky toe out of line, there will be no shortage of folks on the internet eager to tell you you’re doing it all wrong and you’ve no hope of securing an agent, much less a book deal.

And look, these people aren’t necessarily wrong. Despite the subtitle (couldn’t resist the “Who’s Line” joke) writing, querying, and publishing a book requires some level of structure and adherence to common practice. We’ve all seen the sort of writers who stride forth with all the confidence of a mediocre white man, strutting their way into agent and publisher inboxes with their 300k Historical Fantasy Sci-Fi Romantic Thriller Comedy that they claim will appeal to every single woman, extraterrestrial, and invertebrate aged 9-100.

Sure, buddy.

Photo by Dan Counsell on Unsplash

Still. As a writer, it’s common to hear the old saying, “Know the rules so you can break them,” as it relates to grammar, syntax, and all other corners of craft. The same, I’d argue, applies to publishing.

There are non-negotiables. Yes, you must finish your book before you query it (in fiction). Yes, you must approach an agent through the channels they accept queries through (QueryManager or email or carrier pigeon). Yes, you must have a word count that isn’t in the seven digits.

Most everything else, though?

By all accounts, according to the Redditors and Twitterers of the world, I should be on my butt and out of luck. I queried a book that probably needed another editing pass before it was truly ready to hit agent inboxes. I queried exactly…seven agents (and only seven more after my offer email came through). I engaged in pitch contests on Twitter, a dying breed in terms of actual industry involvement, and barely scraped together a handful of agent likes over multiple events. Worst of all, my book was…over 100k words. GASP! HORROR! EVERYONE RUN FOR THE HILLS!

Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash

Well, anyway, I did pretty good. I got an offer from the *checks notes* very first query I ever sent. From a dream agent at a dream agency. I certainly didn’t do everything right…but I’m glad I didn’t. Things might have turned out differently if I had, and not for the better.

This isn’t an attempt at humble bragging. It’s not even an attempt to tell you to shirk the rules and write/query like mad without any order or direction. But it is a reminder that the game is made up. There are no points, no winning and losing. We’ve taken a game with a handful of set, identifiable rules, and home-brewed the hell out of it so hard, we might as well be playing a different game.

Photo by Lacie Slezak on Unsplash

I know why we did it. This industry is hard, and nebulous, and set on crushing our dreams (it’s actually not, but it does feel like it sometimes). Of course we yearn for some semblance of structure, some reason why things are the way they are and some roadmap to follow so we can replicate the success we see plastered over the internet every day. I get it.

But don’t get so lost memorizing rules like you’re studying for a vocab test in third grade that you start to think there is a test at the end of it. That agents or editors or whomever will sign you and your work on simply because you followed the rules. That energy, I think, is usually much better spent on writing a book you’re proud of and putting your best foot forward as you present it to the wider world.

The game’s made up. The rule’s don’t matter. Luck has a bigger hand in everything than we want to admit. In light of all that, I’d argue the only thing you really can do is your best, whatever that looks like, and blaze a path forward—come what may.