Write Through It: An Insider's Guide to Publishing and the Creative Life

Discover what every new and aspiring author needs to know about the publishing industry and how to navigate all the complicated feelings that come with writing a book in this no-nonsense guide from literary agent, author, and creator of the popular newsletter Agents & Books Kate McKean.

Writers all want the secret to getting published: the magic formula for a query letter, the list of agents who will instantly say yes, and the perfect marketing campaign to hit “The List.” But writing is about so much more than the intellectual act of putting pen to paper—writers also deserve reassurance that the emotional highs and lows of writing is a normal, valid part of the process. And it might seem easier to focus on the nuts and bolts of writing books—word counts, query letters, and author platforms—than the messy feelings that accompany writing like doubt, fear, and hope, but the two things are inextricably linked.

Write Through It is a candid, actionable guide to navigating the rollercoaster ride of writing and publishing, both on and off the page. Literary agent and author Kate McKean has been educating authors and demystifying publishing for years in her popular newsletter Agents & Books, and now, in these pages, she walks writers of all genres through every stage of the writing and publishing process and its accompanying emotional moments. From the uncertainty of knowing when you should stop fiddling with your book and start pitching to agents to how to deal with the sting of rejection and the elation (and fear) of getting a book deal, Write Through It covers it all.

Drawing from her own extensive experience, McKean goes beyond the practicalities of writing and publishing to address the less-talked-about emotional side of the journey. This book is a must-read for any writer looking to understand the full spectrum of the writing life.

Kate McKean is a literary agent at the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency in Brooklyn, New York. She is also an adjunct professor at New York University and earned her MA in fiction writing at the University of Southern Mississippi. Her work has appeared in Poets & Writers, Electric Literature, Catapult, and elsewhere. She writes the Agents & Books newsletter at KateMcKean.substack.com.