Why Literary Agents Don't Want Your Novel

 

Recent #mswl (manuscript wish list) tweets from literary agents:

 

I’d love to read more work by Indigenous writers—any genre or age category, my inbox is open...

As a reminder I want ALL the #LGBTQIA + books in my inbox all year long. 

Hear me out: Drumline or step team YA contemporary but make it thriller/mystery?? Obvi, Black & queer!! 

I *would* love to see some adult queer and BIPOC horror in my QM.    

I want a character driven coming-of-age contemporary YA centered around a queer BIPOC girl... 

 

I was Googling the best-selling literary genres* when I ran across this roundtable discussion with agents:

"Why does diversity in publishing matter? The book industry has the power to shape culture in big and small ways. The people behind the books serve as gatekeepers, who can make a huge difference in determining which stories are amplified and which are shut out." (emphasis mine) Link

 

*Most Popular Fiction Genres

• Fantasy.
• Science Fiction.
• Dystopian.
• Adventure.
• Romance.
• Detective & Mystery.
• Horror.
• Thriller.
• LGBTQ+.
• Historical Fiction.
• Young Adult (YA).
• Children’s Fiction.

 

Naturally, BIPOC authors can and do write in any of the above genres, but will an agent consider a novel from an author who doesn't self-identify as BIPOC? 

If an agent wants to sell books (which I assume is their actual job) wouldn't they gobble up any fantasy or SF that is well-written? Or only from LGBTQ authors?

Bottom line, agents are activists. I get it; they're mostly millennials (mostly millennial women) and they consider it their duty to advance the cause. I can't get on board with the phrase "shut out", however.  If that's true, why bother querying? Heck, why bother writing? I mean, if I'm just going to get shut out...

I sometimes tag along with my husband on his trips to the local chain bookstore. He likes rock magazines. I stroll past shelves upon shelves upon tables upon twirling racks of hard cover novels and I pick up one every once in a while, especially the special "featured" ones and read the first page. Awful. Boring. Pointless. Try it yourself. Use the "Look Inside" option on Amazon. Who's buying these? And why? Truth is, hardly anyone. Did they match the agent's (and publisher's) wish list? Probably. 

Did you ever try doing something, really try; not half-heartedly but because you really wanted to master the skill? And after months, maybe even years of dedication, of trying and failing, someone casually lets it slip that the game is rigged? That try as you may, you will never win? First, of course, you feel like an utter fool; then you think about all the time and effort you wasted. 

I've queried three novels, and the first two were rightfully rejected because I was naively ignorant of the three-act structure. The third, however, was my "mastering the skill set" effort, which I frankly did. And it took years of writing and re-writing and restructuring to get it right.

I'm done writing fiction. I won't let myself waste any more time. I will pursue a hobby or vocation or whatever one chooses to call it, that won't reject me for lacking certain immutable qualities.I won't ever write a query letter in which I inadvertently reveal myself to be an "older, white heterosexual woman".

Because writers like that get shut out.