# Does It Really Cost $25,000 to Get Published? ![[images/Cost-25000-Published.webp]] **Creator:** Alyssa Matesic · **Published:** 2026-07-30 · **Length:** 11:03 · [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8) > Caption source: YouTube **English captions** (`en-orig`, auto-generated), downloaded with **yt-dlp** (android_vr client) on the first try; they cover the whole video (0:00-11:03). No TubeAlfred or youtube-transcript-api credits were used. Section headings follow the creator's chapter timestamps. Screenshots are from the downloaded video stream. Quotes from the Substack articles are read aloud and shown on screen. The agent's surname is auto-captioned as "Sattlerthwaite" and is not shown on screen; it is written here as Satterthwaite. ## Outline ### 0:00 Intro - [0:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=0s) An article went viral on **Substack** claiming it costs **$25,000**, "the price of a used car," to get a literary agent to read your manuscript. Writers forwarded it to her, and the comments are full of people saying they're giving up on traditional publishing. - [0:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=21s) She was furious: she spent years reviewing manuscripts at a top **literary agency** and at an imprint of **Penguin Random House**, and says most of the article is "complete nonsense." The evidence it cites is even stranger than the number. ![[images/Cost-25000-Published-t0006.webp]] ### 0:49 The claim - [0:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=49s) The headline on screen is "Yes, It Costs $25,000 to Query Literary Agents: If you want a chance at being read, that is" by **Michael O. Church**. Its core claim is that querying for free doesn't work: "If you try to query for free, you will be rejected unread," and once you burn through the few agents in your genre, "your book will be dead." - [1:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=61s) He says agents fill "**90% of their slots through referrals**," with no hard data, and that to break in without one you must pay for an **MFA**, a fancy **writing conference**, or **editing services** from someone who will refer you to an agent. - [1:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=82s) Her first job in publishing was reviewing queries at a top agency. She went into the **slush pile** every day and read every single query. Why would agents pay someone to do that, or keep an open query inbox at all, if they rejected everything unread? ![[images/Cost-25000-Published-t0057.webp]] ![[images/Cost-25000-Published-t0067.webp]] ### 2:03 The "evidence" - [2:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=123s) His proof is a personal experiment from the year before, written up as "Literary Agents Don't Read: How I Proved It, and Why It Matters." He didn't actually query: he emailed roughly **200 agents**, including ones closed to queries, a **2,800-word satirical essay** about AI writing a bestseller, with no book pitch. He wrote that he "was not seeking representation." - [2:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=166s) He still got **32 form rejections**, then used **AI** to rank them for "evidence of readership in good faith," concluded zero agents had engaged, and called it statistical proof that no agent reads queries. - [3:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=207s) Blast-mailing agents an unsolicited satirical essay proves nothing about how they handle real queries, yet he is touting it and scaring writers who don't read past the headline. Agents do read their queries, or hire someone to. ![[images/Cost-25000-Published-t0156.webp]] ### 3:42 The paywall myth - [3:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=228s) The evidence that cold querying works is public and free. **QueryTracker** keeps a library of nearly **700 success-story interviews** with authors who got agents through the standard process: write the book, write a query, send it into the slush pile. Many include the query letter that worked. - [4:29](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=269s) Agents are rebutting the article too. Literary agent **Jenna Satterthwaite** wrote that most of her clients came from cold queries, "no prior relationship, no connection, just an awesome book," not referrals, MFAs or conferences. She does get referrals, but a referral doesn't guarantee she'll sign the book. - [4:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=289s) A bestselling author told Matesic that day that she cold-queried after reading all **347 posts on the Query Shark blog** (now closed) and got **five offers of representation**. - [5:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=310s) A genuine, well-crafted query for a real book, not a fake-out built to prove a gripe, will get considered. Getting an agent isn't guaranteed, because it's very competitive. ![[images/Cost-25000-Published-t0268.webp]] ![[images/Cost-25000-Published-t0282.webp]] ![[images/Cost-25000-Published-t0300.webp]] ### 5:48 Do you need an MFA? - [5:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=332s) Is it true that everyone who signs with an agent paid through an MFA, a conference or editing? No, and she has "the receipts." - [5:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=348s) For her book ***The Modern Guide to Querying Literary Agents***, written with the creator of QueryTracker, they surveyed **145 agents** on the average experience level of new clients. The chart on screen: **no formal writing experience or credentials 60.0%**, previously published short-form work 22.6%, professional writers 9.7%, previously published long-form work 4.1%, creative writing degree or **MFA 3.4%**. - [6:34](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=394s) The biggest category of debut authors "by a landslide" is someone with no credentials who wrote a great book. Satterthwaite's piece agrees: she cares about the book, not credentials (except for expert nonfiction), doesn't think an MFA helps anyone get an agent, and only one or two of her 40-plus clients have one. - [6:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=415s) **Conferences**, covered in a recent video, are fine to attend but not a fast track, and your odds there aren't necessarily better than regular querying. ![[images/Cost-25000-Published-t0364.webp]] ![[images/Cost-25000-Published-t0403.webp]] ### 7:20 Do you have to pay for editing? - [7:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=435s) The claim that made her "want to throw my computer": that most people who succeed must buy **author services** where a referral is "an unspoken part of the package" and the reason for the rate. In other words, developmental editing is just a wrapper for a paid agent referral. - [7:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=456s) As a **developmental editor** for a decade, she says that isn't how it works. You pay for someone to go through the manuscript painstakingly, **diagnose its issues** and build a **treatment plan** to fix them. A referral isn't part of the package at all. - [8:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=498s) Be very skeptical of any editor who implies working with them buys secret access to agents. If you only want an editor for a connection rather than the hard work of revising, save your money. ![[images/Cost-25000-Published-t0451.webp]] ![[images/Cost-25000-Published-t0520.webp]] ### 8:46 The hard truth about publishing - [8:39](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=519s) The kernel of truth: **querying is brutal**, agents get overwhelming numbers of queries, and most are rejected. It's less painful to say the whole system is rigged. - [9:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=540s) Most queries aren't rejected because the author didn't pay $25,000 but because the **query isn't doing its job**, which is fixable for free: study QueryTracker's library of successful query letters, read the **PubTips subreddit**, and use her free 40-minute query letter course and videos. - [9:41](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=581s) Her pitch: *The Modern Guide to Querying Literary Agents* covers finding agents, writing the query and interpreting responses. "It's $21, not $25,000." Send her the receipt and she'll share her free query letter templates. - [10:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=603s) Traditional publishing isn't easy, fair or fast, but paying for anything (an MFA, conferences, editing, even her book) is optional. Money has nothing to do with querying success; successful authors don't query before the story is truly ready. - [10:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15y57eBoB8&t=624s) Next, she suggests her video critiquing three subscriber manuscripts, only one of them query-ready. "Happy querying." ![[images/Cost-25000-Published-t0577.webp]] ![[images/Cost-25000-Published-t0640.webp]] ## Things mentioned ### Articles, books and resources - **"Yes, It Costs $25,000 to Query Literary Agents"** by **Michael O. Church** (Substack): the viral article she rebuts - **"Literary Agents Don't Read: How I Proved It, and Why It Matters"** by Michael O. Church: the write-up of his satirical-essay "experiment" - **"How to Make AI Write a Bestseller (and Why You Shouldn't)"**: the satirical essay he sent agents (named on screen) - Jenna Satterthwaite's response piece, including "3. You need an MFA, or at least that really helps you get an agent: Erm... nope." - ***The Modern Guide to Querying Literary Agents*** by Alyssa Matesic with the creator of QueryTracker; its survey of 145 agents (Figure 8.11, "What is the average experience level of new authors that you sign?") - **QueryTracker**: agent research and query tracking site with about 700 success-story interviews and sample query letters (one shown is by A.B. Knightly for *A Tapestry Woven in Blood*) - **Query Shark** blog: 347 query critiques, now closed ("The Shark Is Closed for Queries," with a link "In Memoriam: Janet Reid") - **PubTips** subreddit; her free 40-minute query letter course; her free query letter templates (for book buyers) ### Craft and publishing concepts - **Cold querying** vs. **referrals**; the **slush pile**; open vs. closed query inboxes; **form rejections** - **Rejected unread**: the article's claim, which she disputes from firsthand experience - **Writing credentials**: MFA, short-form publication, professional writing - **Writing conferences** as optional, not a fast track - **Developmental editing**: diagnosis and a revision "treatment plan," not a bought referral; red flag: editors promising agent access - **Query-readiness**: don't query before the story is ready; a weak query, not a missing payment, is the usual cause of rejection ### Links from the description - Work with her on your story: https://www.alyssamatesic.com/inquire#inquire-2 - Free Story Self-Assessment: https://www.alyssamatesic.com/#freebie-form - Newsletter **Chapter Break**: https://www.chapter-break.com/ - Query letter review (**Query Academy**): https://www.queryacademy.com - Related videos: [[I'm a Book Editor. Here's Everything Writers WASTE Money On|I'm a Book Editor. Here's Everything Writers WASTE Money On.]] ([YouTube](https://youtu.be/2wpnxvLR620)) · [My Query Letter Formula That Got Book Deals (2025 Course)](https://youtu.be/lt33qijbsyk) · [[I Read My Subscribers' Fantasy Novels…67% Would Get Rejected]] ([YouTube](https://youtu.be/AJkaYGOfMOM)) - Socials: [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/alyssabookeditor/) · [X](https://x.com/alyssamatesic) · [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@alyssamatesic) - Music credit: *Charlie Brown* by Smith The Mister (https://smiththemister.bandcamp.com) ## Biographies ### Alyssa Matesic Professional book editor with more than a decade of experience at Big Five houses and literary agencies. Her first publishing job was reading queries in a top agency's slush pile, and she also worked at a Penguin Random House imprint. She has been a developmental editor for about ten years and co-wrote *The Modern Guide to Querying Literary Agents* with the creator of QueryTracker. She offers a free query letter course, query reviews through Query Academy, and the newsletter **Chapter Break**. (Sources: this video and its description.) ### Michael O. Church Writer whose Substack article "Yes, It Costs $25,000 to Query Literary Agents" went viral. He previously emailed about 200 agents a satirical essay on AI writing a bestseller and presented the results as proof that agents don't read queries. (Source: this video and the articles shown on screen.) ### Jenna Satterthwaite Literary agent who responded publicly to the article, saying most of her clients came from cold queries and only one or two of her 40-plus clients have an MFA. (Source: this video; her surname is spelled from the captions.) ### Janet Reid Literary agent behind the Query Shark blog, which critiqued query letters and is now closed; the blog shows an "In Memoriam: Janet Reid" link. (Sources: the screenshot in this video; that she ran Query Shark is general knowledge.)