Vicky Weber is a literary agent at Creative Media Agency and a children’s book author. She appears frequently in my X feed, and I find her posts informative. One recent one directed me to a blog post in which she describes the reality of being picked up by an agent. You can find it here.

In addition to fewer agents and editors working (and editors acquiring fewer manuscripts), it’s easier than ever to query an agent thanks to QueryTracker. Agents are flooded with queries, but take on only a few new clients a year. (I’m sure that number fluctuates depending on an agent’s current list, etc.)

Vicky reports receiving 5,000 queries in 2025. Let’s be generous and say she took on 10 new authors. Now, do the math: 10 divided by 5,000 is .002. I’m not sure how many decimal places to move; it’s either 2% or 0.2%. Whatever the case may be, the chances aren’t good.

So, what to do?

Fortunately, writers have options that those in other artistic fields don’t: direct access to the market thanks to Amazon, B&N, IngramSpark, and many other platforms that allow authors to publish their work. I’m considering this option myself. It’s daunting, but an option all the same.

And I might requery Vicky. I made the mistake of doing so well more than a year ago when I shouldn’t have. When you think you’re ready to query any agent, ask yourself this: Has anyone who I don’t know read my work and given me feedback? If the answer is no, then don’t query. Will there be exceptions to the rule? Sure. But I’m a realist. If you can afford it, get your manuscript professionally edited. It’s expensive, but look at it as an investment. And learn from it. It doesn’t mean you’ll get an agent, but if you work with your editor and understand why changes might be needed, you’ll have a much better product.

So, thank you, Vicky. You may or may not see me in your QT inbox, but I might give it another shot. Oh, I follow back!