Dashboard Literary Agents Success Story Interviews Taylor Leigh

Success Story Interview - Taylor Leigh

An Interview with Taylor Leigh (TLD5737 on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Ben Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary Agency.

06/15/2026

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?: Taylor Leigh:
My manuscript is an adult fantasy with romantic elements about Nefeli, a visually impaired thief with the power to sense magical relics, but that power comes with a cost: with every use of her magic, her vision tunnels in a little bit more. When her sister falls ill and they can't afford treatment, Nefeli agrees to a dangerous con hunting for a lost relic in a dragon-riddled palace. She must outwit powerful magic, a former fling who knows her real identity, and—worst of all—politicians before her world goes dark for good.

After my last manuscript seemed to be dying in the query trenches, I scoured manuscriptwishlist.com for repeated themes that seemed perennial that were also things I loved. I wanted to make this as commercial a concept as I could. Additionally, I am visually impaired myself with a condition called retinitis pigmentosa. Like Nefeli, my vision is slowly tunneling in over time. There is no treatment or cure and I wanted to do my best to show what it's like to be going blind, but with a fantastical twist.
QT: How long have you been writing?: Taylor Leigh:
Like a lot of writers, I've been writing since I was a child but I did stop writing for about a decade. I returned to writing in 2018 when I decided I wanted to write a novel. That novel took a very long time and there was a lot of starting and stopping, but I'd say since then!
QT: How long have you been working on this book?: Taylor Leigh:
I started this manuscript November, 2024 and started querying heavily in January 2026. I believe about half of that I was actively working on the novel as I had a lot of life stuff pop up while drafting my first draft.
QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?: Taylor Leigh:
I am nothing if not brutally stubborn, so giving up was never an option in my mind, but that's the kind of mentality that always works best for me. I wasn't going to give up on pursuing traditional publishing until I "made it". Sure, I took time to lick my wounds when the rejection felt overwhelming, but I didn't allow myself to "go there" when it came to this dream. I highly recommend focusing on what you love about writing itself (and then possibly utilizing the power of spite when it comes to pursuing tradpub).
QT: Is this your first book?: Taylor Leigh:
No, it's my second (both written and queried)
QT: Do you have any formal writing training?: Taylor Leigh:
I took some writing courses in high school and undergrad (I almost ended up with an accidental minor in creative writing) but then took about a decade off. Unfortunately given the gap in time I forgot most of what I'd been taught so I had to completely relearn some fairly basic things. What helped me was craft books (The Emotional Craft of Fiction, Writing the Breakout Novel, Save the Cat Writes a Novel, Story Genius, and The Anatomy of Story are probably the ones I leaned on the most), entering short story/flash fiction competitions where feedback was guaranteed, and having critique partners who were either my same level or who knew more about writing than I did to help me identify weak spots in my writing.
QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?: Taylor Leigh:
Absolutely not. I have ADHD and would consider myself a "burst writer". I do not follow the advice to write every single day and instead write intensively 3-4 days before taking 1-2 days off. Usually when I lock into a project things come fairly quickly (especially when revising). Near the end of a draft or a revision I'm going at a breakneck pace (for me) and writing or revising anywhere from 3.000-10,000 words/day. I don't particularly recommend this, but it works for me! (A massive amount of credit goes to my spouse who makes sure I stay fed and hydrated during those fixated periods)
QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?: Taylor Leigh:
So, I also don't follow the advice to finish the manuscript before revising. I was about 70% into my first draft when I decided to go back to the beginning and do a big developmental edit. I want to say I hit ~50% into that second draft when I sent it to my critique partners and I raced them to the finish. From there I did one more structural edit, a polish pass, and started to query.
QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?: Taylor Leigh:
I did! I believe I ended up with 5 in total.
QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?: Taylor Leigh:
I am a bit of a plantser. I need to know about the world I'm writing in, the magic system, the basic plot (I like to write my pitch/query VERY early on to make sure I stay on track), and I always know the general ending I'm headed toward. So I would say I have goal posts but there's a lot of room in between. When I first get an idea, I need several months where the project "percolates" in the back of my mind. I always do some form of research before I draft as well to help me flesh out the world. Usually I know the basics of my characters, but a lot of details and the voice come later.
QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?: Taylor Leigh:
I queried this book heavily for a total of 30 days before my first offer which was an absolute whirlwind! My first manuscript I queried for about 18 months total.
QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?: Taylor Leigh:
For this novel I sent 80 queries total, had 16 requests, and 2 offers. My first novel I sent around 180 with 13 requests.
QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?: Taylor Leigh:
After looking on Query Tracker, I would confirm they repped my genre, scour on Publisher's Marketplace to identify if they had made any sales (or if their mentoring agent had solid sales), confirm their anti-MSWL didn't have anything that made my book a no-go, and went for it. I had my "shinier" agents (I don't believe in dream agents) who had made incredible sales or represented authors I love, but I queried those who I thought were looking for what I had in fairly broad strokes. I've found over my requests that a lot of those came from agents where my novel didn't seem to match their MSWL, so I find anti-MSWLs far more helpful.
QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?: Taylor Leigh:
This time around I mostly did not personalize (minus their name) unless something about their MSWL or who they repped were extremely relevant.
QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?: Taylor Leigh:
You need to love writing more than the idea of publishing. That is what keeps you going during the tough moments. I'd also highly recommend getting into therapy. Pursuing publishing is a level of rejection very few people have ever experienced in their lives and no matter what you do to try and prepare, this is a road paved with rejection. Nobody gets away with no rejections (even the unicorn authors!). It really helps to learn to separate your worth as a writer from the pursuit of the business. But truly, this is a game of stubbornness for most of us. Taking the rejection and rolling with it. Keeping on pushing because you want it badly enough (but don't be afraid to take a step back or pause if you need to).

Success Story Interview - Taylor Leigh

Query Letter: