Success Story Interview - Rebecca Rome

An Interview with Rebecca Rome (rebeccarome on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Katie Monson of SBR Media.

05/21/2026

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?

Rebecca Rome:
It Should've Been You is women's fiction with a romantic subplot and a dual timeline. The story follows the protagonist, Aurora, through two decades of her life as she tries to make sense of what happened between her and her first love, Gale. Readers get a very raw and relatable look at what can happen when marriages get hard, when we idealize the what-ifs of our pasts, and how we can find our way back to the versions of ourselves that we can lose along the way.

The story is based on my personal experience, one I've been living with since I was a kid.

QT: How long have you been writing?

Rebecca Rome:
My whole life, really. I wrote band boy fan fiction as a preteen, which turned into freelance journalism in high school and college. I took a break from writing for a while when I was starting my career as a high school English teacher, but in 2023, I published a nonfiction self-help book under my real name.

QT: How long have you been working on this book?

Rebecca Rome:
From outline to offer of representation, it was two years. I actually received my offer from Katie Monson two years to the day I began writing.

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

Rebecca Rome:
The query trenches will certainly make you want to give up! When I surpassed the agent rejections I received for my first book, I wanted to give up. But I knew this was a story I had been wanting to tell for 20 years. I owed it to my younger self, and I owed it to the women that I think will resonate with the book's themes.

QT: Is this your first book?

Rebecca Rome:
Second book.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Rebecca Rome:
I have a bachelor's degree in Journalism.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Rebecca Rome:
Between teaching and "mommy-ing," I aim for 2,000 words a week.

QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

Rebecca Rome:
SO many! I had about 12 beta readers look it over and give feedback. My husband read it and gave feedback. The first chapter changed three times!

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Rebecca Rome:
Absolutely! You need that more objective perspective. I especially needed that perspective with how close I am emotionally to the storyline.

QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

Rebecca Rome:
I outline my books. I'm a control freak! I need a good sense of where I'm going for character arcs and theme.

QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?

Rebecca Rome:
I queried my first book for six months and It Should've Been You for 11 months.

QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

Rebecca Rome:
I want to say about 200! I know that's way above the average, but you can't let the fact it didn't happen for you yet—when it happened for others in a shorter amount of time—deter you.

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

Rebecca Rome:
They had to be willing to rep women's fiction and open to a romantic subplot. I wanted agents who were more into character-driven stories than plot-driven and who wanted a story that was emotionally nuanced and even morally grey at times.

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

Rebecca Rome:
YES! In the first paragraph where I included the metadata, I personalized the query. I wanted them to know I did my homework. So I either pulled from their MSWL, recent sales, or current clients.

QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

Rebecca Rome:
Do not give up. Repeat: DO NOT GIVE UP. Ask for help. Be willing to revise. Be open to feedback, but don't feel you have to listen to everyone. And be respectful of agents' time. They're people too, often reading queries off the clock, and they really are just doing their best.

Query Letter:

Dear Agent,

I'm excited to share IT SHOULD'VE BEEN YOU, an 89,000-word women's fiction novel. Told in a dual timeline, it will appeal to fans of Miranda Cowley Heller's THE PAPER PALACE and Jill Santopolo's EVERYTHING AFTER.

The boy who once made Aurora feel most alive is now the man who could unravel everything she’s built since she let him go.

At fifteen, AURORA RIDGEFIELD meets GALE MONTGOMERY, who steals her heart as recklessly as he steals his father’s BMW. He’s the first boy to see past her polished facade and teach her how to embrace her flaws. But when he’s suddenly sent to boarding school, it severs their connection. When Gale returns years later, he’s guarded and unreachable. Their paths continue to cross through college and adulthood, but Aurora struggles to reconcile the boy she fell in love with and the man he’s become, forcing her to either chase who he used to be or finally walk away.

Over a decade later, Aurora has built a comfortable life with her husband, SAGE. She loves him, but fading intimacy and the demands of parenthood have begun to fracture their marriage and Aurora’s sense of self. As distance between them grows, Aurora can’t stop retracing the past with Gale, a love she never quite forgot. Desperate to know if she’s mythologized what they had, she reaches out. Sure, the reunion may bring closure. But Aurora fears a different outcome: that the pull of Gale, and who she was with him, will unravel the life she’s built since she lost him.

Under my pen name, Rebecca Rome, I write women's fiction and romance for readers who want to swoon and sob over the relatable messiness of love and life. My work has been published in Back Roads Literary Review, and I'm also the author of the nonfiction self-help book ______ (_____ Publishing) under my real name, ________. When I’m not writing, I’m teaching unruly high school freshmen, slinging heavy weights, and listening to emo music like it’s 2003.

Thanks so much for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Warmly,
___________ (writing as Rebecca Rome)