Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Spencer Barnardo

Success Story Interview - Spencer Barnardo

An Interview with Spencer Barnardo (spencerbarnardo on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Haley Heidemann of William Morris Endeavor.

04/09/2026

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Spencer Barnardo:
DEAR MARGOT follows a woman in the wake of the death of her younger sister. Margot has always arranged her life around Sally: keep her happy and safe, support her, help her follow her dreams. When Sally dies, Margot is lost, no longer certain of her path or purpose for living. Then the letters arrive. Written by Sally before her death, they take Margot on a grief trip through Australia: the life-changing journey they were always meant to take together, now a solo adventure. At her first stop, she meets Sam. Charming, confident, full of off-beat opinions - and his own baggage to sort through, Sam helps Margot open up to the experiences in front of her and begin to imagine what a new path for her could look like. As they journey through Australia together, Margot begins to accept that life without Sally isn't just possible, it might actually be worth living.

I was inspired by two things. A few people close to me lost their siblings. Watching these four individuals navigate their grief really stuck with me. I began to think about losing my own sister and how that would feel, how she might feel if she lost me. This entire shift in identity that people experience not just when they lose someone, but the person who has always been with them. At the same time, I got married and went on a truly amazing honeymoon in Australia. We had a couple of experiences where we kept running into the same people - not just at tourist spots or over the course of the day or even in the same cities. One couple we ran into in New Zealand and again over a week later in Australia. And I started thinking about a love story where the couple keeps running into each other over and over again and what that would look and feel like. Eventually, the two ideas merged.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Spencer Barnardo:
I've always been a storyteller, but I started to actually enjoy creative writing my junior year of high school. I went on to get my BA in Creative Writing. After a long hiatus as I built a career in tech - where I still found ways to incorporate storytelling into my day job! - I finally found my way back to my passion over the last few years.
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Spencer Barnardo:
I started kicking the idea around in January of 2025, but began writing in February of that year.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Spencer Barnardo:
Shortly before I got my offer, I was getting to the point where I was mentally preparing to set the book aside and start querying my next project with the hope this could one day be the second book. I'd gotten a lot of great feedback from agents, and a lot of rejections that said "I'd like to see the next thing," which was encouraging. So I wouldn't say I felt like giving up at any point, but certainly was getting to the point where I was preparing to put MARGOT on a shelf. I was actually researching agents for my second project when I found my agent and thought she might be interested in MARGOT, too!
QT: Is this your first book?: Spencer Barnardo:
Yes, this is my first book!
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Spencer Barnardo:
I got my BA in Creative Writing in 2014.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Spencer Barnardo:
Not even a little bit. I wish that I could! But I've always been a "write when inspired" kind of person. Not great for deadlines, but I'm making it work. I'm lucky to have a very understanding husband and a very cool boss who both support me and my need for a flexible schedule so I can balance everything.
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Spencer Barnardo:
I think this was draft 4 or 5 that got an offer. We're planning a lighter touch revision before sub. I tend to write very "clean" first drafts. I edit as I go, so my first draft is typically pretty readable and polished, which works well for me personally - I find it's easier to do bigger edits when I have something substantial to work from.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Spencer Barnardo:
Yes, I had some really amazing beta readers for this book who have become critique partners and lifelong friends!!
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Spencer Barnardo:
I pantsed the heck out of this book - never again. Book 2 was plotted, and that works better for me overall. To be honest, I didn't know what I wanted to do when I wrote DEAR MARGOT. I had an idea I couldn't get out of my head and it just grew from there - suddenly I had 35k words, then 50k, and I realized "this could be something." It was a kind of kismet, or alchemy maybe. I don't think I could replicate - nor would I want to.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Spencer Barnardo:
I sent my first query in April 2025. Looking back, I sent that query *way* too early. I wasn't ready, the book wasn't ready. I started querying in earnest in June 2025. Based off feedback from agents, there were a few more drafts after that, but I steadily queried June 2025-March 2026, so not quite a year.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Spencer Barnardo:
About 213 - yikes. I am lucky that there are MANY agents interested in women's fiction and contemporary romances, so I didn't have a shortage of options, but I'm pretty sure I queried just about everyone at this point!! Looking back, I queried too hard, too fast. I definitely didn't know what I was doing in the beginning and I had even more drafts of query letters than I did the book. I wish I'd batched a little more to test my query package more intentionally - especially because it was my first time doing this! - but we live and we learn (and it worked out how it was meant to).
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Spencer Barnardo:
I started with genre, of course. As I said, not a shortage of folks looking for women's fiction/contemporary romance. For agents who were interested in WF primarily, I made sure they were open to romance or strong romantic plots as well because the romance does feature heavily. I also looked for overall themes: this book explores sisterhood, messy and complex women and family dynamics, grief - but it's voicey and oddly funny at times. So a lot of what I was looking for were "vibes," which is ultimately how I found my agent! Reading between the lines of her MSWL, I felt like she'd be drawn to those themes despite not explicitly stating a passion for my genres (though her fiction list does feature both heavily).
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Spencer Barnardo:
For some, not all. Mostly I would switch up my comps if I felt there was something specific from an agent's MSWL that would be more intriguing to them. If there was something on their website I was particularly drawn to or connected with, I'd work it in, but I always tried to personalize/tailor in an authentic, genuine way, not just for the sake of it.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Spencer Barnardo:
There are so many ways to do this - find what works for you. The biggest game changer for me was feedback - from agents, from peers, from readers. Both on my pages and on my query. In particular, getting feedback from an agent on my query was helpful. There are services you can pay for this, but there are also agents lurking on online platforms who will give advice for free if a paid service isn't in the cards. But ask your writer friends, too. Join a community of writers or critique partners and don't just focus on the book - get pitch/query help, too. But also? It's okay to say screw it sometimes. During my offer call, my agent mentioned she liked that my query "took her on a journey" - which tickled me. I had really punched up the voice and decided to "go for it" - I think part of that was knowing I was reaching the end of my query journey with this book and preparing to move on to the next. Like a "nothing to lose now" mentality. Maybe I did some things people would advise against, maybe I just like to think I'm that bold - ha. But it was a query letter I was actually excited to send, and I think there's something to be said for that.

Success Story Interview - Spencer Barnardo

Query Letter: