Writing may be an art, but publishing is still a business.
A writer can create a masterpiece, but if no one will read it…
Why would a publisher invest the time and money into mass producing it?
Why would an agent champion your work to publishers?
Sadly, nothing is free in this world, and both agents and publishers need a return on their investment.
Every book is a work of art—but in the realm of publishing, they are also products that must be sold for profit.
And like any other product, its market goes through trends and cycles—what’s hot now may soon cool, and what’s forgotten now will likely shine yet again.
As I await feedback after my first round of queries, I decided to take a closer look at the long list of deals I collected when choosing which agents to query first, because I had a question screaming in my mind:
Is There a Market for The Valkyries?
Scouting the Battlefield
In my post Scouting the Query Trenches: How I found 143 Agents to Query, I showed how I gathered a list of 213 agents who included the Fantasy genre in their wishlist, all from QueryTracker.
Then, I researched each agent, reviewing their wishlist (if available) on Manuscript Wishlist and on their agency webpage (which was listed on their QueryTracker profile).
At this point, I classified each agent based on how their wishlist aligned with The Valkyries, dividing the 143 potential matches from the 70 agents who were not looking for something like The Valkyries (right now, at least).
With my 143 potentials, I dug deeper, using Publisher Marketplace to review the list of books they’ve represented over the past 12 months and which genre(s) they fell under.
11 agents (8%) did not have an account.
15 agents (10%) had not completed any deals in the last 12 months.
The remaining 117 agents (82%) completed anywhere from a single deal up to the highest of 27 deals (which was a tie between two agents with a runner-up at 26 deals).
No agent was disqualified from my list based on this information—I simply prioritized who to query when.
I picked the five lucky agents I would query first.
I revised my submission according to their guidelines.
I sent my query…
And now I wait.
If you’ve visited my About Me page, you know I come from the automotive industry. I’ve spent a month shy of 15 years with a Tier 1 supplier. We build according to Just-in-Time Sequencing, meaning once a vehicle reaches a certain point in the customer’s process, they send us an order to supply the components for it.
And we have less than 6 hours to build and ship them to their line.
So needless to say, it’s a very fast-paced, no room for interpretation environment, where things can change hour to hour.
Everything I’ve read about querying and publishing is completely different.
Just from the first five agents I queried:
- One claimed they would reply within 2 weeks
- One claimed they would reply with 2 months
- One claimed they would reply within 8 to 12 weeks
- And the other two did not quote a response time
And those time periods are only if they are interested.
I’m not writing all this to complain, because I get it. I come in to work every morning with a ton of emails to sort through, many of which I may never get back to. It happens.
What I am saying is that shifting between the relentless, unstoppable machine of automotive to the slower, more subjective realm of querying and publishing requires a special level of patience, discipline, and perseverance.
I know these agents get bombarded with queries, so their timeframes make sense.
But if I pass those timeframes and don’t hear anything, that just means I didn’t catch their attention well enough.
And that is feedback in itself—my query letter failed to properly convey the mythic level of The Valkyries.
So when the time comes, I tweak my query letter and move down my list, following the process I set myself, (trying to) keep the emotion out of it.
Where Does The Valkyries Fit?
But let’s be real: there’s no way I’m sending out my first 5 queries and sitting back with my feet up!
You’ve read how I overcame my early doubts about writing, but now I have fresh ones!
Is there actually an agent on my list who will stand up for The Valkyries?
Is there a market for The Valkyries?
And even if there is, is it oversaturated?
To quote one of my former bosses:
“How the hell would I know!?”
That’s true for the first one, at least.
Whether someone likes a book is subjective, but between my 6 drafts, reviews with friends, family, and beta readers, I believe I’ve tied up any objective issues with my book.
And if I haven’t, what’s another read-through? What’s another beta reader? Nothing if it helps The Valkyries move forward!
Either way, I think I’ve proven I’m not taking any of this process lightly.
But as for the second and third points, I already have the data to assess the market: the list of deals from my 143 potential agents (as of early May, 2025).
After some heavy lifting in my spreadsheet, I created a table to more clearly show:
- The agent’s name
- The book’s title
- The author’s name
- The genre (as defined in Publisher Marketplace)
- The publication date
- The details of the deal (short synopsis, deal size, etc.)
But even those included some overlap: some deals had two or more agents from my list.
So I filtered further, building a second table that only showed the list of books along with the same information above.
And from this, I could get the quantity of deals per genre.
The grand total?
From the 117 agents of my list of 143 who had accounts and had completed at least one deal:
584 books across 52 categories!
The number one category?
#1 – Children’s: Young Adult Fiction at 71 deals.
That doesn’t help me.
At best, The Valkyries could fall under New Adult Fiction, but it is certainly not for children!
After reading the second place category, however, I could finally let go of my breath.
#2 – Fiction: Sci-Fi/Fantasy at 52 deals!
PHEW!
Granted, from reading the details of each book as I reviewed the agents’ deals lists, many of these do not exactly align with The Valkyries—but that’s okay! This shows there is a strong demand for fantasy, but the niche The Valkyries fills isn’t oversaturated either!
So even though I’m still working with time tables far from what I’m used to, at least the market data shows The Valkyries has a place in the current market.
And what’s better—look at #4 on that list.
#4 – Fiction: Debut with 45 deals!
The Valkyries is my debut novel, and that shows agents are willing to work with newcomers like me!
But what do I do with this information now?
Understanding where the market stands may not change what The Valkyries is at its core, but it does help me better pitch Kaelva, Astrid, and Freyna’s story to future agents.
And if I ever get caught up on my reading list, I have 584 more books to choose from!
JOIN THE SHIELDWALL
Join our newsletter for early access to updates, behind-the-scenes looks, and upcoming exclusive content!
