Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Frances Usifo

Success Story Interview - Frances Usifo

An Interview with Frances Usifo (francesusifo on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Jamie Vankirk of Rainbow Nerds.

12/10/2025

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Frances Usifo:
GALLOWGROVE is a sapphic dark academia literary horror about a group of artists who resort to cultish heights to keep their places at a prestigious Scottish university. It follows Artemia, an insecure painter, as she falls in love and becomes obsessed with a murderous sculptor. When their art careers are threatened by their renowned professor, Artemia joins a pseudo-cult to Apollo run by the woman she loves, where she drinks blood and sacrifices other artists to further her own creative ability.

I was inspired by the fact that so many popular dark academia books have been written by and about white people, and I just wanted to see representation for my fellow BIPOC creators. But also the blood-drinking aspect in this is something that I have been really wanting to work with for a couple years and never figured out a great way to do it … until now!
QT: How long have you been writing?: Frances Usifo:
I’ve been writing since I was 11/12? But that was just me and my sister writing bad superhero fanfic or works “inspired by the Marvel universe”. But, I got serious about writing and wrote my first novel at 16, so 4 years ago now.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Frances Usifo:
I’ve been working on this book since mid-May. I even remember the exact date and where I was when I had the initial idea for the book! 3 days after I came up with the idea, I started writing, and 2 weeks later, the first draft was finished! I'm a rather quick drafter and reviser when I lock in (and when I drink 2 energy drinks a day)
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Frances Usifo:
Oh, definitely! I never really have a lot of faith in my work; I knew it was good-ish and that I liked the idea, but I didn’t think others would enjoy it. When going through the edits for it, I was always like "writing isn’t for me. No one’s going to like it." It kept me up a lot of nights actually, but then I could never get rid of the urge to sit down and edit and go back to trying to make this book the best it could be.
QT: Is this your first book?: Frances Usifo:
No, actually! It’s my third. And funnily enough, a year ago, I queried my second book for only a week because I racked up like four rejections and then said, “This isn’t for me, no one's going to like it. Let’s pivot to something else.”
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Frances Usifo:
Nope! I study English and Classics at university, so I have some kind of writing experience but never any creative writing training.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Frances Usifo:
Never. I do try to write 1000 words minimum a day, but more often than not, that never happens. Some days, I don't write anything and other days I write 10k, there really is no routine for me. Usually, all of my inspiration and will to write strikes me at midnight!
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Frances Usifo:
The draft I queried was draft 7, I believe. But the differences between my drafts are often very small. I think the biggest jump was between the 3rd and 4th draft; I went in and absolutely obliterated the book and then put it back together again. The rest of the drafts were just tweaks and different chapter changes. But it did take me a good few drafts to feel comfortable with what the book was becoming.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Frances Usifo:
I did! I had an alpha reader for the 3rd draft who basically told me the story and plot weren’t making sense, so I went in and edited everything with their feedback in mind. But once I was satisfied, I had a select group of 4 beta readers for my novel as well!
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Frances Usifo:
Oh, I very much didn’t outline this. And it came back to bite me when I was editing, but for some reason I was just so eager to write and get the story out that I couldn’t even be bothered to write an outline. Now, however, I am a very fervent outliner.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Frances Usifo:
From the first query sent to the first offer of rep it was around 6-7 (67!!) weeks. But this is the first proper time I’ve been in the trenches, like I said, I really folded under 0 pressure last time and shelved my second book almost immediately.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Frances Usifo:
I sent out 46 queries!
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Frances Usifo:
I looked specifically for agents looking for dark academia, horror, weird girl fiction, and anyone who wanted literary fiction with genre-blending! That was my main criteria. So, in other words, if their MSWL matched what I thought my book was, I queried them. I also looked at anyone who had sales recently in this genre, or at least the deals I could readily find without paying for Publisher's Marketplace.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Frances Usifo:
I did! When I started querying, it was around the time that #PitBlk was going on, and I got a good few requests from that! So if they did request materials from the pitch event then I mentioned that, and I also used their MSWL to tailor queries.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Frances Usifo:
Don’t give up!! Rejections are so difficult and honestly sometimes writing doesn’t feel worth it, but it is! Your “yes” is out there! It helps to have a good support system. Having some other writers going through the same thing to talk to is amazing, but truly just anyone who can listen and understand all the ups and downs of publishing is great. It’s especially important to not be so down on yourself, say you’re not good enough, and then give up. Your story deserves to be told!

I'd also say to do your best to not compare yourself to other writers on their querying journey. There are so many stories out there of people getting 5 agent offers in a week and they're the "unicorns" of the querying world. But realistically, it's going to take longer! Comparison really is the thief of joy, and even I was like "damn, it's been three weeks and no agent offer?" Looking back, that was just a silly thing to constantly say to myself. Everyone's journey moves at different paces, what's meant for you will find you. Don't make yourself feel even more down about a process that is already rather disheartening by trying to compare yourself to others.
QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?: Frances Usifo:
Absolutely!! This excludes my bio, but this is the pitch I used!

Success Story Interview - Frances Usifo

Query Letter: