Dear Agent
7 July 2026
(The following was first published in June 2026.)
Rather than hinting at all the things I'm working on, I figured I'd just copy-paste the email I sent to my agent. ✉️
Call it an act of radical transparency! (I sure hope there's nothing confidential in there.)
Hi Alex! As you know, you are my literary agent, and have been for some time. I thought you (being my agent) might appreciate a summary of where all my various manuscripts are up to.
CHOPPY WATER: I have about 60 pages to go on the proofread. Retail links are just starting to go live, so I'm dialing up my social media presence a little bit to promote them. Hopefully my wonderful newsletter subscribers will pre-order it from their local bookshop! Pre-orders are very important in the industry these days, as you would know, being my agent.
SHEER DROP: I have an outline and 6.4k words of the first draft.
200 MINUTES OF SURVIVAL: I've submitted the first draft and I'm waiting for the structural edit.
ELEMENT 66: I have 47.2k words of the first draft (which I think needs to be about 90k).
[REDACTED]: I have a 900-word outline with a major plot hole and no good ideas for the title. But I got to meet [REDACTED] for the first time a couple of nights ago, so that was nice! Is this project supposed to be confidential, by the way?
KILL YOUR [redacted]: I have the old outline I wrote for the [redacted] novel, and a pretty clear idea of how I'll turn it into a Kiara/Ben mystery.
ZOE GALE 3: Scholastic has pretty much approved my outline, but I haven't started the first draft yet.
300 MINUTES OF SURVIVAL: I've done nothing.
SPY ACADEMY 3: Not yet contracted, but I'd still like to write it. I have an extremely detailed outline.
HANGMAN 5: As above!
Am I forgetting anything? If not, I'll just keep beavering away! 🦫
Best wishes,
Jack