Success Story Interview - Trang Nguyen

An Interview with Trang Nguyen (trangnguyenwrites on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Elizabeth Pratt of Trellis Literary Management.

02/21/2026

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

Trang Nguyen:
CONDUCT OF MAGES is my version of "write the book you've always wanted to read." I have pitched it as Jade City x Six of Crows x Blood Over Bright Haven. The pitch is: When her mentor goes missing, Gemna joins forces with fellow mage, Ren, to unravel the connection between the string of disappearances and a terrible discovery that could mean a future where mages are not just outlawed…but wiped from existence.

QT: Is this your first book?

Trang Nguyen:
Yes.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Trang Nguyen:
Not at all!

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

Trang Nguyen:
I queried with the fourth draft of my book.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Trang Nguyen:
Yes. I had 10-15 beta readers look at my first three chapters, which is approximately the first 50 pages of my book. From there, I asked 2 beta readers to look at my full manuscript. I felt like this was a great balance of receiving feedback on whether my opening pages had enough of a "hook" while also finding beta readers whose feedback style were a good fit for me before asking them to commit for the full length of the book. Additionally, I was accepted into the 2025 Smoochpit Mentorship program and worked with my wonderful mentor (shoutout Katrina Kwan) on a full manuscript revision prior to querying.

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

Trang Nguyen:
I am a panster through and through.

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

Trang Nguyen:
I queried for a month prior to receiving my first offer of representation. This is the first book I've queried.

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

Trang Nguyen:
I sent a total of 51 queries.

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

Trang Nguyen:
I tailored my query letter if the agent specifically requested my query from a pitch event or social media, or if they specified a title on the MSWL that could work as a different comp title. Otherwise, I used the same form letter for each query.

QT: Would you be willing to share your query with us?

Trang Nguyen:
see below!

Query Letter:

Dear [AGENT],

Gemna could have become the greatest Grandmage of her time...if only her existence hadn't been outlawed.

CONDUCT OF MAGES is a standalone, dual POV adult fantasy novel complete at 100,000 words (with duology potential) in which a mage-in-hiding risks everything, along with a reluctant ally, to uncover the connection between disappearing mages and the emergence of a mysterious stone that mimics their powers. It will appeal to fans of the energy siphoning magic in M. L. Wang’s Blood Over Bright Haven and the Asian-inspired setting and jade-reliant powers from Fonda Lee’s The Green Bone Saga.

Gemna has been living a quiet life, hiding her identity and powers: the ability to divert and reshape pure energy at will. But everything is suddenly threatened when her mentor vanishes, and Gemna's only clue is a strange stone that mimics mages' ability to conduct energy. Gemna must find her mentor before it's too late, even at the risk of her own life. She discovers a reluctant ally in Ren, a reserved and slightly condescending mage with personal reasons for wanting to defy the king.

Ren has always been reluctant to accept help from outsiders after spending most of his life fending for himself-and the reckless, and powerful Gemna is no exception. But he's reached a dead-end in his search for why mages have been disappearing across the kingdom. That is until Gemna appears with a mysterious stone in hand.

The unlikely pair, along with a group of eclectic companions, must unravel the secret behind the sét stones (from the Vietnamese word for "lightning") and their potentially world-changing characteristics. Gemna and Ren must learn to rely on each other if they have any hope of discovering how these stones relate to the lost mages and their own powers...before mages are wiped from existence.

[PERSONAL BIO]

Thank you for your consideration.

Trang Nguyen