So appreciate this post as it’s a subject I’ve been thinking about a lot lately as I do have a variety of ideas and see some potential pivots in my future.
Super useful article, and so accurate. I was a food journalist and syndicated food columnist for two decades, authored many cookbooks, then went 180 degrees left into fiction. Lost my agent of the food world, understandably, and worked very long and hard years to find another who could represent my new career as a writer. I remember querying agents who responded: If you were still writing food, we'd sign you up. It was hard to leave that legacy behind--and it was a very successful run too, including a Julia Child/IACP award for one of my books. But the pull towards something else was too strong to ignore. I can't say it was easy but it's been very rewarding. Interestingly enough, my current agent would like me to stay the course with what I am writing now. But . . . well, we'll see!
Thank you for sharing your insights on this very relevant topic.
Coming in hot with another piece I desperately needed to read. Thanks Kate. I wonder if this issue is ALWAYS part of what's going on with "sophomore novel syndrome" or just some of the time (for me, definitely). Every time the question pops up I'm going to try to remember to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and just keep working.
I feel this. After submitting my current ms (to be published fall '24), I submitted 3 more mss (two 90% there, one not quite) but they were...different (ah, pandemic writing...), more spec (one is probably cli-fi), set slightly in the future. And though this publisher produces speculative works, they didn't want these works from me. And my agent was uncomfortable with the direction I was taking (not forever! I told him) because his "rolodex" wasn't spec. And so I search for an agent, and with the few who have decided to reply, a few have wondered about this pivot. And when I tell them "It's not forever!" they lose all interest. This is what it is to be between a rock and an agentless place.
My agent is going out on sub with my first book soon, and her pitch strategy is to include a couple of lines on my *next* book. It feels smart (at least to me) to think about it this early, so this is all super helpful. Thank you!
So appreciate this post as it’s a subject I’ve been thinking about a lot lately as I do have a variety of ideas and see some potential pivots in my future.
Super useful article, and so accurate. I was a food journalist and syndicated food columnist for two decades, authored many cookbooks, then went 180 degrees left into fiction. Lost my agent of the food world, understandably, and worked very long and hard years to find another who could represent my new career as a writer. I remember querying agents who responded: If you were still writing food, we'd sign you up. It was hard to leave that legacy behind--and it was a very successful run too, including a Julia Child/IACP award for one of my books. But the pull towards something else was too strong to ignore. I can't say it was easy but it's been very rewarding. Interestingly enough, my current agent would like me to stay the course with what I am writing now. But . . . well, we'll see!
Thank you for sharing your insights on this very relevant topic.
So relatable and so useful! Thank you so much for breaking it down in real speak and being honest about your journey :)
This makes me feel uplifted, thank you. 😁
This made me feel so much better about all the disjointed writing projects I currently have sitting in virtual filing cabinets! ;)
totally!
I was thinking the same thing
Coming in hot with another piece I desperately needed to read. Thanks Kate. I wonder if this issue is ALWAYS part of what's going on with "sophomore novel syndrome" or just some of the time (for me, definitely). Every time the question pops up I'm going to try to remember to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and just keep working.
I feel this. After submitting my current ms (to be published fall '24), I submitted 3 more mss (two 90% there, one not quite) but they were...different (ah, pandemic writing...), more spec (one is probably cli-fi), set slightly in the future. And though this publisher produces speculative works, they didn't want these works from me. And my agent was uncomfortable with the direction I was taking (not forever! I told him) because his "rolodex" wasn't spec. And so I search for an agent, and with the few who have decided to reply, a few have wondered about this pivot. And when I tell them "It's not forever!" they lose all interest. This is what it is to be between a rock and an agentless place.
My agent is going out on sub with my first book soon, and her pitch strategy is to include a couple of lines on my *next* book. It feels smart (at least to me) to think about it this early, so this is all super helpful. Thank you!
As ever, some great insights into the publishing industry. Brilliant and so useful for us writers.