How Jenna Went from 20 Rejections to Landing a Literary Agent
After shelving her first manuscript following unsuccessful querying, Jenna Hanington joined Query Bootcamp and transformed her approach. Within 8 months, she signed with literary agent Hunter Strickland for her fantasy novel, The City of Lost Words.
📝 37 Queries Sent
📬 8 Partial / Full Requests
🎉 1 Agent Offer
⏱️ 8 Months (Jan - Aug 2025)
The Backstory
When Jenna Started Writing
Jenna started seriously writing fiction in 2009, but didn't query her first manuscript until 2020. After receiving about twenty rejections, she shelved that project.
"Looking back, that manuscript definitely wasn't ready to be in an agent's hands yet," Jenna reflects. "At the time, I didn't know what to expect, and I gave up pretty quickly."
Between 2021-2024, she worked on her second novel, The City of Lost Words—a traditional fantasy about Simon Winters, a front desk manager in the realm where book characters live while their stories are being written.
The Struggle Before Query Bootcamp
Without industry knowledge, she didn't know:
📝 How many queries she'd need to send
🔎 What agents were actually looking for
💻 How to use querying tools effectively
📈 What rejection rates were "normal"
Jenna's biggest challenge was simple: she had no roadmap.
"My biggest struggle was a lack of understanding of the querying and publishing process. I didn't know what to expect and therefore didn't know how to maximize my chances of success."
— Jenna Hanington
The Turning Point
Discovering Query Bootcamp
In May 2024, Jenna discovered Lauren Kay's content and enrolled in Query Bootcamp.
"As an author who had (unsuccessfully) gone through the querying process before, I am so glad that I stumbled onto Lauren's Query Bootcamp course. I realized that I had no idea what I was doing the first time around."
— Jenna Hanington
The course gave her three crucial insights:
Polish First
Understand the Odds
Build Resilience
Working with a Developmental Editor
Gain a thicker skin and better perseverance by learning what is "normal" throughout this process.
Learn how many queries you'll need to send and how many rejections to prepare for.
Make sure the manuscript is as polished as possible before sending to agents, preferably having had an editor's eyes on it.
Like many other Query Bootcamp students, Jenna also learned the value of working with a developmental editor, and connected with one through Lauren Kay Writes.
"The first time I received editor feedback was such a confidence boost. I'd never had a truly objective editor read my work before, so to get such positive feedback on my draft was incredible."
“Lauren introduced me to my developmental editor, who was a joy to work with and helped polish and shape my manuscript into something I’m really proud of.”
The Querying Journey
January - August 2025: Active Querying
Armed with Query Bootcamp strategies and a polished manuscript, Jenna began querying The City of Lost Words in January 2025.
📝 January 2025: Started querying
📬 March 2025: First manuscript requests (after attending live pitch events)
🎉 August 2025: Received and accepted offer from Hunter Strickland at Focused Artists
Total: 37 queries sent.
What Made the Difference
"In querying my second project, I felt much more informed about how the process works, what agents are looking for (and not looking for), and how to use the tools at my disposal."
"I also had never been a part of a writing community before, so to participate in calls with other writers has been so fun!"
What’s Next?
The Next Chapter
Jenna signed with Hunter Strickland at Focused Artists in August 2025 and is now entering the submission phase of her publishing journey.
About The City of Lost Words
When new characters suddenly stop arriving in the City of Lost Words—the realm where our book characters live while their stories are being written—front desk manager Simon Winters must set aside his comfortable existence in order to save his beloved City from destruction, and prevent millions of characters from being lost along with it.
Follow Jenna's journey on Instagram: @jennahaningtonwrites and through her website: https://www.jennahaningtonwrites.com/.