What Literary Agents Want But Aren't Getting

This week in the Writing Break cafe, we're digging into QueryTracker's live data to map the real supply and demand of the slush pile. Two genres are topping agents' wish lists while barely showing up in submissions, and five genres are facing the opposite problem.

Then we head to the querying trenches for a reality check: current response timelines, why silence is the new rejection, the brutal math of agent signings, and what agents actually wish writers knew before hitting send.

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Overthinking Couch Topics:

• What authors are submitting vs. what literary agents are requesting
• The two genres lit agents want but aren't receiving
• The five genres with more supply than demand right now
• Why you shouldn't chase trends but might want to rethink your genre label
• Three practical querying strategies: batching, tracking, and writing the next book
• Self-publishing vs. traditional publishing

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• Publishers Marketplace
• Alyssa Matesic's Book Genre Trends 2026 Breakdown
• Top 10 Fiction Genres | QueryTracker
• Home : America's Editor - Let's work together.
• More Writing Tips

Music licensed from Storyblocks.