THE EXPERIMENT · Soft launch SUMMER 2026

A debut novel against long odds.

Only around 1 in 10,000 manuscripts gets published.¹ And that’s if you get an agent to advocate for you because the funnel is: 1 in 1,000 gets an agent, and from those, 1 in 10 gets a publishing deal.

As a debut author from Lithuania, I’d be delusional to expect to beat these odds. To make it easier in my head, I named this project my great publishing experiment: that way, I’ll sound less delulu, right?

Here’s the premise: I turned my journey into a mini-series on IG. My inner thoughts, shenanigans, and painstakingly slow progress toward traditional publishing. Come keep me company in this experiment.

New episode every Tuesday.

Sources — ¹ Combined estimate: QueryTracker, Darling Axe, Jericho Writers, and WordsRated.

The goal

Get a literary agent.

Right now

Preparing for the writers' retreat in Scotland, September 21-27

last updated · 2026-08-14

Coming next

Episodes 09-12 Preparing for the writers retreat in Scotland, September 21-27
Warming up for querying
I am editing my novel and plan to start querying in October. I also have a writers’ retreat in Scotland with Cornerstones’ amazing team, where I’m hoping to gain more insight into the publishing process. Wish me luck!

Watch the mini-series on Instagram →

The numbers

Current goal: land a literary agent. What the math actually says.

The query process is sometimes called a lottery. It isn't, but the odds aren't friendly either. Below are the public baselines — what the data shows for debut authors trying to land an agent in the US and UK.

Queries received per agent, per year
A typical literary agency reads several thousand submissions annually. Source: QueryTracker aggregate data.
Average
~3,000
per agent, per year
Mine
not yet querying
Round 1: pending
Full manuscript request rate
Percentage of queries that lead to an agent asking to read the full manuscript. The clearest leading indicator that the query letter and opening pages are working. Source: QueryTracker.
Average
~5.9%
across thousands of queries
Mine
no data yet
Round 1: pending
Per-agent offer rate
Probability that any given agent offers representation on a given query. Most agencies sign fewer than 1% of writers who submit. Source: QueryTracker.
Average
<1%
per agent, per query
Mine
no data yet
Round 1: pending
Longer notes live in my log →

About

The writer behind the experiment.

Portrait of Beata Budrys

An embodiment of living chaos. Things that shouldn’t coexist sit very comfortably in me.

I’ve travelled the world, eaten the wildest foods, bungee jumped screaming this is fucking very fun. I am also paranoid about viruses, taxis, and all-men boardrooms. I have odd interests; my book collection is a polite warning.

I got my bachelor’s in the UK, then lived in China for 4 years, working in marketing for an American eyeglasses brand. Became a mom. Made six figures investing, which gives me some breathing space while I figure out my next chapter.

More about me →

Drop me a line

Let's meet on Instagram. I love this community and you being here means the world to me. Let's connect.

The list

Keep tabs on the journey.

An occasional email when something on this page is worth marking.