A Year in Traditional Publishing: My Journey with an Agent

As I step into 2025, I find myself reflecting on the past year—what I accomplished, what I learned, and where I’m headed next. Every publishing journey is different, but looking back at my own path, I realized I had outlined a roadmap of what traditional publishing looked like for me in 2024.

So, why not pull back the curtain and share?

A Quick Caveat

I’m not a full-time writer. In 2024 alone, I changed jobs, my husband had spine surgery, and we juggled raising a toddler (who brings home both daycare illnesses and endless giggles). I also teach writing classes on the side. Writing is something I do as often as I can because I love to tell stories. 

That said, my writing process is anything but linear. Traditional publishing requires constant pivots. For instance, last year, I received two revise-and-resubmit (R&R) requests from editors, which meant dropping everything to tackle them first. I also have multiple projects in progress, but after reviewing my stats, six stood out, so I focused on those here. To make it easier to follow, I created a graph to track them! The Y axis is word count; the X axis is months. I color-coded the WIPs. It’s not 100% accurate to graph this way, but I hope the visual helps!

With that in mind, here’s what my year in traditional publishing looked like with an agent:

January

I officially signed with my agent, and we hit the ground running. I revised 60k words of my adult romantasy (Book 1 – blue) and started drafting a new adult romantasy (Book 2 – purple). Meanwhile, my agent reviewed one of my young adult novels (Book 3 – green) and put together revision notes.

February

I reached 88k words in my revision of Book 1. My agent sent me a revision letter for Book 3, and I started brainstorming more for Book 2. I also auditioned for an IP project.

March

I made it to the final round of the IP tryout but ultimately wasn’t chosen—though I was invited to try again! I finished revising Book 1 and submitted it to my agent. Then, I tackled Book 3’s edits, completing 60% (about 50k words). Meanwhile, I added 11k to Book 2 and introduced my middle-grade fantasy (Book 4 – brown) to my critique group.

April

I completed Book 3’s revisions, and we sent it on submission. Then, I received an edit letter for my middle-grade novel-in-verse (Book 5 – orange), so I paused work on Books 1, 2, and 4 to focus solely on that.

May

Book 5 went on submission! With two books now out in the world, I returned to revising Book 1, reaching 75k words. By this point, burnout was creeping in, but I wanted to finish Book 1 before taking a break.

June

I wrapped up my revisions on Book 1. My agent and I reviewed the pitch letter and editor list. I also resumed work on Book 2 (13k words), sent chapters to a beta reader, and prepped Book 4 for my critique group.

July

Book 1 went on submission! Then, I received two R&Rs—one for Book 5 and another for Book 3. While waiting for the edit letter on Book 3, I revised Book 5, making it halfway through. I also reached 23k in Book 2 before pausing it for the R&R.

August

I completed my R&R for Book 5… and got rejected. But I also received my edit letter for Book 3 and immediately dove into revisions.

September

I finished my R&R for Book 3 and turned it in. I also attended LitUP, where I met two of my agent siblings—not to mention Holly Black, Ruta Sepetys, and more! It was an unforgettable experience, though by now, exhaustion was catching up with me.

October

Recognizing the need to recharge, I stepped back to refill my creative well.

November

After discussing next steps with my agent, we decided to focus on a young adult space fantasy (Book 6 – yellow). I revised 12k words based on her notes. I also hit 27k in Book 2 and brought chapters to my critique group for the first time.

December

With the holidays approaching, I chose to slow down and enjoy time with my family. Still, writing is how I breathe. It’s not just what I do—it’s who I am. When I felt like writing, I let myself play with stories. I worked on Book 6, added to Book 2, explored new ideas, and revisited old ones. However, I asked my agent to hold off on sending any news until the new year so I could focus on family and creativity.

That said, one last update came in: the R&R for Book 3 fell through due to the editor leaving the imprint.

Looking Ahead to 2025

So here I am, stepping into another year with no idea how things will unfold. And yet, I track my stats for a reason: they remind me of how much I pour into this journey every day.

In fact, I’ve been tracking my writing since January 2019. Do you know where I was back then?

January 2019

I was querying Book 3. I was also 26k into my first draft of Book 6.

Some things have changed. Others have come full circle. Publishing moves in every direction—up, down, sideways—and that’s okay. You pivot. You edit. You write something new. You shelve projects. You dust off old ones. You dare to keep dreaming. You write another book. Another chapter. Another word.

You keep going.

My 2024 in NumbersRevised: 426,000 wordsNew words written: 54,000

I’m proud of what I accomplished in 2024.

And I aim to be proud of 2025.

What are your writing goals for this year?

~ SAT