10 Agents Looking for Books Like "Fleabag"
Where to Query This Week (6.11.25) | Plus, how landing a six-figure, two-book deal might not mean the end of your day job
Welcome to Sub Club’s Where to Query This Week!
I’m very excited to feature
’s guest essay today. And she’s talking about money. Finally! I think that, as an industry, we aren’t transparent enough about advances, book deals, or anything else about this process that involves a paycheck.That’s why I was thrilled when Kristen, the author of We Don't Talk About Carol, pitched this piece on what it was like to get a six-figure book deal. She is open, honest, and giving us actual numbers here, people. Let’s get into it!
Why Landing a Six-Figure, Two-Book Deal Might Not Mean the End of Your Day Job
One of the most common questions I’ve received since signing my two-book deal with Bantam, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is, “Does this mean you’re a full-time author now?”
If only.
I understand where this question is coming from. I, too, have seen countless TikToks of authors joyfully sharing that, thanks to securing their six-figure deals with Big Five publishers, they’re able to bid farewell to their day jobs and focus fully on their writing. However, like many viewers, I watch these videos wistfully, imagining the day when I will hopefully be in a similar position.
As someone who has happily written fiction her entire life, regularly working on short stories I never intended to submit for potential publication, making any money from my writing is an extreme privilege—one that I’m hugely grateful for and deeply proud of. But as someone who has also spent twenty years building a career in PR and communications and has only taken on salaried roles with built-in benefits and as much stability as at-will employment allows, the leap into full-time authordom is a financial risk I’m just not ready to take. Nor is it one that I can currently afford.
Something most people outside of the publishing world don’t realize is that book deal payments aren’t typically made in a single lump sum. Most Big Five publishers will break that payment into four installments tied to different milestones along your book’s publication journey. Commonly this will include a payment when you sign your contract; a payment when your manuscript is considered “final” by your editor (after the big structural edits are complete, but often before the copyediting stage); a payment on your publication date; and a payment 12 months after your book is published. In my case, this means that the payout for the first book of my two-book deal will be doled out over the course of 28 months. And because I signed a two-book deal, the final installment of my payment won’t come in for another year after that.
For the sake of simplicity, let’s say you sign a deal for $100,000 for a single book. Your payment schedule might look something like this:
January 2026: $25,000 paid on signing
May 2026: $25,000 paid on delivery and acceptance of your manuscript
June 2027: $25,000 paid on publication date
June 2028: $25,000 paid 12 months after publication date
Most payments are made through your literary agency, which will typically deduct their commission—generally 15%—before depositing the funds into your account. So the payments that would actually hit your bank account would look something like this:
January 2026: $21,250 paid on signing
May 2026: $21,250 paid on delivery and acceptance of your manuscript
June 2027: $21,250 paid on publication date
June 2028: $21,250 paid 12 months after publication date
Now, I am not a financial advisor, so I encourage you to do your homework and consider speaking with a tax professional before making your own decisions. But I’ve seen it encouraged to set aside at least 30% of your author income for taxes (possibly more, depending on your income outside of writing). If you follow this guidance, that would reduce your take-home pay to:
January 2026: $14,875 paid on signing
May 2026: $14,875 paid on delivery and acceptance of your manuscript
June 2027: $14,875 paid on publication date
June 2028: $14,875 paid 12 months after publication date
Which brings that $100K deal down to $59,500, paid out over the course of 29 months. Certainly nothing to sneeze at, but not necessarily the financial windfall people imagine when they hear you’ve signed a six-figure deal with a major publisher. And this doesn’t take into consideration health insurance, retirement contributions, or other benefits you might receive through your day job.
Balancing the commitments of my book deal with the obligations of my PR career is extremely challenging. I wake up at 4:30 a.m. on weekdays and turn down most weekend invitations to carve out writing time. I frequently fantasize about what my life would look like if I were able to fully dedicate myself to writing. How much more balanced I might feel. How much more sleep I’d be able to get. What else I might be able to make space for in my life, outside of my productive pursuits and the responsibilities of adulthood.
But I also know that making this leap would put a level of pressure on my writing that I don’t currently feel. As Station Eleven author Emily St. John Mandel said in a 2020 interview with Sixtysix Magazine, “The bad thing that inspires me is, once you quit your day job, that’s how you’re paying your mortgage. So there is this awareness at the back of my mind that this is how I’m paying for my life. I can’t not make the deadline. I can’t not write the book. There’s a combination of financial horror and artistry.”
Now that I have a contract with a publishing house, I do feel a lot of pressure related to my writing. Pressure to deliver my work on deadline. Pressure to write a second book that readers respond to as strongly as they’re responding to my first. Pressure to be good enough that I may one day be able to make writing my sole career.
But I don’t currently have the pressure of relying on my writing to pay my bills. And for right now, at least, that is a luxury I can afford.
Kristen L. Berry is a writer and communications executive. Born and raised in Metro Detroit, Kristen graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Language & Literature. She has provided PR and communications expertise to leading consumer brands for nearly 20 years, all while writing in her spare time. Kristen co-founded a critique group that has gathered monthly since 2019. When she isn’t reading or writing, Kristen can be found lifting heavy at the gym, hiking in Malibu, eating her way through Los Angeles with her partner, or shouting at the latest Formula 1 race. We Don’t Talk About Carol is her debut novel.
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10 Agents Looking for Books Like "Fleabag"
These agents have explicitly cited Fleabag on their manuscript wish lists or in interviews, which means they’re actively seeking fiction with sharp, voicey narrators, emotional complexity, and dark, often self-deprecating humor. If your novel explores flawed women, existential longing, family tension, or romantic chaos with wit and honesty, one of these agents might be the right match.
If you’re currently querying and want a curated list specially made for your manuscript AND help with your query letter, be sure to check out my Personal Agent List service!
»» Get your own agent list here ««
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