How naive I was back in October 2023. Finished the last chapter? Ready to start sending the manuscript out to literary agents? Well… fast-forward to October 2026. The book is now finished, translated into English, and I’ve started querying — I just sent my very first query to a literary agency.

Oops… In my defense, I work full-time as a graphic designer, so I worked on the book in the mornings before work and on weekends.

So, it took me three years to polish the manuscript with the help of my sister, friends, and boyfriend. They were my loyal beta readers, and I really believe their feedback helped me turn my manuscript into a genuinely engaging story.

Once the Russian manuscript was polished and truly finished, I translated it into English.

At the same time, I was preparing the materials for querying literary agencies — the query letter and synopsis. To learn how to write them, I read in German Romane schreiben und veröffentlichen für Dummies (Writing and Publishing Novels for Dummies) and a whole bunch of blog posts, including How to Get Your Book Published and How to Format Your Manuscript by Rachel Rowlands.

And now I’m facing a few excruciating days — or, more likely, weeks — wondering: Will any agents be interested in my book?