[PubQ] Should I leave a dream agent?
I'm on agent #2 and still unpublished (5 agented MSSs in) and wondering if it's time to call it on this relationship... but here's the thing: of the two of us, I'm clearly the problem.
My agent is great: she's responsive, thoughtful, very talented with excellent sales under her belt, hard-working, and everyone only has great things to say (even in the whisper networks). She's a dream.
But she doesn't like seem to like anything I write lately. The MSS I signed with her on died a painful, drawn-out death on sub and I dragged my feet writing the next project (think: 6 months of writer's block). When I finally finished it was underdeveloped and needed a lot of work, but she put together some great notes for me.
While she was reading that, I knocked out a whole draft of another book (the fastest I've ever written anything). I revised and revised, got beta readers who loved it (including other writers), and was sure it was sub ready. I sent it to her so excited for her to read and... she hated it. We could work on it, but it'd be a blank page rewrite.
Sad. Though I get her points - it's weird girl lit, but really a hodgepodge of genres, plus some taboos, and I can absolutely see how that'd be hard to place. I trunked it (MSS3 with her).
Anyway, back to MSS2. I worked soooo hard on her revision, loved it, got beta readers who squealed over it (and not a single one disliked it this time vs. the earlier underdeveloped version which was a 50/50 on trash this vs. work on it). Everyone says it's polished and ready. I send it to her...
... she says it's better, but still needs really big structural work. She suggests some edits and while I feel like the book is ready for sub, I can implement some of them - they'll make it a different book, but not necessarily worse (not better in my mind, though).
But some of the edits I'm just like no! This totally goes against what I want this book to do!
Sigh. So I feel like it may be time to trunk MSS3 with her and try for MSS4? But the goblin on my shoulder, the stubborn voice, says maybe it's time to part ways with the agent, rather than the book, and try to get this on sub.
But I've already swapped agents once. I'm still unpublished. My current agent is such a get and such a lovely person. I'm insane for considering leaving when I'm no one and nothing and she's All That. Gah. I don't know.
Thoughts?
Posted Jan 27, 2026, 1:47 PM UTC