Publishing isn’t a competitive sport 🏈
Publishing isn’t a competitive sport 🏈
Today's guest is associate agent Carleen Geisler.
Publishing is competitive, but it’s not a competition.
It’s no secret that traditional publishers only publish a small fraction of the number of manuscripts submitted to them. Because of that, the journey to publication can sometimes feel like entering a cut-throat competition. With agents and editors being inundated by queries and submissions, it’s easy to feel like you’re constantly competing against other emerging authors, trying to prove your worth in an overcrowded field.
But in truth, publishing isn’t a sport — it’s not about outpacing your peers, scoring points, or defeating others to win.
Focus on cheering for each other.
Instead of viewing other authors as your competition or seeing agents and editors as hurdles standing in your way, try to embrace a team mentality. Remember that everyone in publishing — agents, editors, and authors alike — is there for the same singular reason: because they all love stories and are passionate about bringing them into the world.
In today’s interview, associate agent Carleen Geisler shares her approach to agenting when the industry is slow, the importance of a strong and supportive team in publishing, and why you should polish the entire manuscript — not just your opening pages — before querying.
OUR SPECIAL GUEST TODAY IS…
Carleen Geisler
Associate Agent
Carleen is open to queries; you can see her MSWL here.
What's the biggest challenge facing debut authors today, and how do you help your clients overcome it?
We are in a time where there are more authors trying to get published than ever before—agents and, especially, editors are swamped. Don't take it to heart if things feel extremely slow. I know it's controversial to say this but, try not to take it to heart if you get form rejections—they're a symptom of the pulse of the industry right now, not of how much an agent did or didn't care about your query.
When I'm working with my own clients, I tackle this in a couple of ways:
Transparency. All my clients have access to everything about their project, including the good and the bad, as soon as I receive it. I don't withhold information—they can see for themselves exactly how slow things are, and why.
Open Communication. My clients are always encouraged to reach out to me if they are concerned or feel the need for a change in their submission strategy—I like to say that they are in the driver's seat, while I am the engine of the car. The decision is always theirs because, at the end of the day, it's their book.
What is one thing you wish emerging authors knew about the publishing industry or the traditional publishing process?
It's not actually a dog-eat-dog world in here. There's a lot of drama and, yes, a lot of bad that happens in the industry. But the heart of publishing—the core of the workforce—is made up of truly some of the nicest, most supportive people I have ever met. Editors want to work with agents, agents want to support each other! We are truly all rooting for one another, and I promise you that if every editor had the capacity to buy every book, and if every agent had the capacity to sign every client, they would! We are all just a bunch of saps who love books! I hope authors start to feel the same way about each other too. Other authors aren't your competition, this isn't a sport.
How can querying authors ensure their sample pages are engaging and intriguing?
The common answer here (I assume) is to have trusted critique partners read your sample pages before querying to identify any pacing questions, plot holes, etc. And that is great advice that I agree with! But what I'd really ask writers to do is to please don't only do this with their sample pages. Polish the whole manuscript before sending it out. There's nothing more disheartening than getting to page 50 (or so) and the tone/voice/quality/etc. suddenly drops right off a cliff.
What traits or qualities do you look for in a potential client?
Having cohesion among my clients is really important to me. In an industry like publishing, it's so important to have a support system, and your agent siblings are an automatically built-in support system. So, while I don't require my clients join our agent Slack, my preference is to sign people who will a) get along with/support my other clients as best they can and b) not cause harm to any of my clients (and, ideally, not to anyone). Which is my polite way of saying, it's important to me that anyone I sign is respectful and caring toward BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other marginalized communities.
What is one piece of advice you would give to a writer who aspires to be published?
Never give up and never stop learning. Find a great support system who can help pick you back up when you're feeling down.
Approximately how many queries do you receive per year, and how many of those result in an offer of representation?
We receive about 5,000 per year. We have a shared inbox, so this is across all agents at ArtHouse (although every single one of us reads every single query!). Of those, I signed 8 authors within my first year—that's 0.16% (yikes!).
Looking for more writing and publishing tips?
I’ve got you!
📖 How to Get FREE Feedback on Your Writing (YouTube)
🤯 How to shift your mindset about revisions (X/Twitter)
✍️ 5 self-editing hacks to take your MS to the next level (Reels)
Follow me on X/Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok for daily bite-sized tips. 🍪
Want the whole meal? Check out my full library of 300+ in-depth writing and publishing lessons on YouTube. That’s 40+ hours of totally free content waiting for you!
As someone who has just recently waded into the querying stream, I couldn't be more appreciative for this!