What Agents Really Want: Inside the Query Process with Nikki Carrero
If you’ve ever stared at a rejection email wondering what you did wrong, this one’s for you. Literary agent Nikki Carrero of The Rights Factory joined Beth McMullen and Lisa Schmid on Writers With Wrinkles to pull back the curtain on what agents actually see when your query lands in their inbox — and what makes them keep reading.
Nikki brings a rare perspective: she’s both an agent and a former querying author. That means she’s felt the sting of rejection from both sides of the desk, and she’s not here to sugarcoat it.
The Monthly Pitch Party: A New Way In
Every month, Nikki opens her Threads account to pitches from querying writers — and the response has been massive. She’s received anywhere from 400 to 600 pitches in a single event, and the numbers keep growing after someone shared it on TikTok.
The idea came from her own experience as a querying author. “I’ve been the querying author,” she explained. “I know how stressful it is to just try to get a foot in the door.” She wanted something writers could count on — a predictable, recurring event rather than a one-off announcement easy to miss.
Since she’s currently closed to general queries, the pitch party is one of the only ways to get on her radar. She typically requests at least 10 manuscripts per event, moving promising pitches into a query stage — because a 500-character pitch isn’t enough to judge voice or story scope.
What’s Really Happening on the Other Side of Your Query
Here’s something most querying writers don’t see: by 2:30 in the afternoon, Nikki had been in her email since 9 AM and hadn’t done a single minute of manuscript editing. That happens between 7 and 11 PM, or on weekends. Her existing clients — all prolific writers — keep her calendar full.
The takeaway? Agents aren’t sitting idle waiting to reject you. They’re stretched thin, and when they do take on something new, it has to genuinely excite them. “I have to love the story so innately that I want to talk about it over everything else,” Nikki said.
“It’s not about you can’t write. Most of the time, your book would be enjoyable — I could buy it from a bookstore. But I have to want to scream about it in 100 meetings with editors.”
The Mistakes That Sink Queries Before They’re Read
Word Count
This is the first thing Nikki sees — before she’s even opened the letter. She’s received submissions as short as 50 words and as long as 457,000. For debut authors, breaking genre word count norms signals more editorial work ahead and makes editors nervous about production costs and sales risk. If you’re claiming every word is necessary in a 180,000-word debut novel, a developmental editor may be your next step.
Miscategorized Genre
Pitching a fantasy novel as a romance to slip past an agent’s genre filters is an automatic pass. “You’re not listening to my guidelines,” Nikki said plainly. “And I’m just not the right agent for you.” Always verify that an agent genuinely represents your genre before querying.
Skipping the Research
On personalization: Nikki just wants you to use her name. Elaborate compliments aren’t necessary. “Dear Agent” won’t auto-reject you with her, but do check pronouns for any agent — and consider whether an agent who demands perfection from your very first line is really the partner you want.
Why You’re Getting Passes (And What to Do About It)
Nikki pushed back on the common advice that passes always mean a broken query letter. The first question she’d ask: are you querying the right agents? Genre mismatch guarantees rejection no matter how strong your writing is.
If you’re getting requests but then passes on partials, look at your opening pages. That signal means the premise worked — something in the pacing or story progression didn’t. And treat your query letter as a living document: revisit it, refine it, and think of it like back-cover copy. Simple, clear, and ending on stakes.
Her best tip for future projects: write the hook, log line, and synopsis before you write the book. It keeps the noise out of your head and sharpens your pitch before you fall in love with every subplot.
What to Ask When You Get The Call
Getting an offer is thrilling — and the worst time to go blank. Nikki’s advice: ask everything. Specifically:
• How editorial are you, and what does your revision process look like?
• Will I see the pitch letter and submission list?
• How do you communicate — email, text, video calls?
• What happens if this book doesn’t sell? Do you stay with me?
• Can I see a boilerplate contract before I decide?
That last one matters more than people realize. Some contracts restrict you from re-querying a manuscript another agent has edited for up to a year. Know what you’re signing.
The Honest Truth About the Long Game
Nikki closed with advice that’s both sobering and genuinely encouraging. She knows a bestselling author who didn’t land an agent until her fifth manuscript — and that book didn’t sell either. The one that eventually did came later still.
Self-publishing isn’t a fallback. It’s a serious business requiring real investment of time, money, and marketing muscle. If you’re going the traditional route, commit to it. Keep writing. Let your voice develop across multiple projects. And watch what you post publicly — agents are looking, and a feed full of query-trench anxiety doesn’t inspire confidence in a future author-agent relationship.
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Author
Beth McMullen is the author of the Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls series , the Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter series, and The Secret of the Storm series (Aladdin/S&S).
She is also the author of the Spy Mom series (Hyperion).
Beth lives in Northern California with her husband, kids, and very grumpy cats. She's obsessed with podcasts and might give up writing in order to have more time to listen. Could happen.
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