The Orr Report | October 2025
Hello and Happy October!
September was a whirlwind of friendship and literary adventures. I played with friends in town from Cambridge and DC, took my first writer-research trip to Appleton, Wisconsin with my sister, saw Liz Gilbert at an Andersons Bookshops event, attended my favorite pet rescue race-fest Barkapalooza, and met my pen-pal writer friend for a fabulous lunch date in Evanston. Not bad for a homebody!
I also finally queried and sent my novel off into the world (more on that below).
My next novel is about a paper mill dynasty, so when my sister invited me to tag along to join her at a conference in the Hilton Appleton PAPER VALLEY hotel, I had to go! Super cool to see the historic and operating paper mills, old mansions built with paper money and talk to the locals about the environmental cleanup of the Fox River. Please enjoy this random collage:
APPLETON WISCONSIN
Featuring Kwik Trips, pelicans on the Fox River, a super cute indie bookstore and best sushi ever at Katsu-Ya of Japan in Appleton!
What I Learned as a Writer
Last month, I put the finishing-finishing touches on my manuscript thanks to my eagle-eyed beta readers (shout-out to my mom, sister and brother!) and finally hit send on the query letters. I *knew* I was as done as I could possibly be with this draft, something I wasn't sure I would ever feel. As of the date of this newsletter, I have queried seven agents!
All the writing classes and books and blogs and podcasts have prepped me for a season of rejection, but I’m surprisingly calm. Why? Because I loved the process of writing this book. I'm proud of how far I've taken it and hope I get the chance to work with a literary agent and editor who can help me make the story even better.
Also, the querying process is my lawyer-brain’s time to shine!
First, I researched potential agents with whom I’d like to work (based on the authors they represent, their sales track record, their taste and personalities), then made a massive spreadsheet (rainbow color-coded, of course).
Next, I chose my first batch to query. After carefully parsing each agent’s submissions guidelines, I created customized query letters and sent some version of my first 10-20-30 pages and a full manuscript + synopsis out into the ether.
Now, I’ll track my seven submissions to-date and see what happens. If no one responds in eight weeks or responds with a no, then I'll re-jigger my query letter and try my next batch.
To mark the start of this new era, I organized and put away all two years’ worth of notebooks, binders, and drafts of this novel (14!). Forever addicted to billing time, I also assessed how many hours I spent drafting, researching, editing, and prepping to query starting in January 2024 (I wrote the first draft in August - November 2023 but didn't track my time, sadly):
2024 “billable” hours for my novel
2025 “billable hours” for my novel
So about 1900 hours total on this project, equivalent to a year of minimum client billable hours at a law firm. Is that "normal"? No clue! It's just how long it took me to feel like I knew enough about the subject matter (female founders, billionaires, jewelry and healthtech startup life, venture capital financing and IPOs) and could figure out the story and bring the characters to life.
These hours also represent me finding my process, which will help my next novel be more efficient (I hope). I tried every writing software (Scrivener, Dabble, Google Docs, Plottr), lost drafts, saved 500 drafts, edited on computer, by hand, and in Kindle, read the manuscript aloud four times, created thousands of tables and spreadsheets, filled five binders with articles and research, had multiple beta readers and developmental readers and put all their notes and feedback in color-coded tables, and created a OneNote with thousands of webpages and articles.
Again, lawyer brain activated with the reading and researching and analysis and beautiful spreadsheets and tables, but sooooo much more fun.
Now the question is: will this novel find its readers?? Was it worth 1900 hours to date of effort (+ whatever edits a future agent and editor will have)? I sure hope so! :)
September Media Diet
Besides my fun trips and friend-dates, I consumed some great books and TV last month.
Books I Read
Book Club Picks: Dream Hotel (AI dystopian speculative fiction with a narrator named Sara; read my full review here), A Family Matter (gorgeous family saga), Heartwood (a rare thriller for me—Appalachian Trail, multiple POVs, mothers and daughters), Culpability (more AI and family secrets and a tech billionaire)
Quick reads: The Coin (highly recommend if you loved All Fours or enjoy women unraveling or Hermes—I’m a fan of all three!), Such a Bad Influence (prompted me to fall down a millennial-influencer rabbit hole and learned it really is a job!), The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (books, bookstores, second chances—way too short!)
Nonfiction: All the Way to the River (it's a LOT. Read about Liz Gilbert's Naperville event here), The Creative Act (I listened to the audiobook on Spotify as read by the author - loved!)
*Not included in the above collage: My third re-read of Familiaris and The Story of Edgar Sawtelle—I had to force myself to pause and read other books!
Shows I Watched
Workplace dramas/comedies (outside of crime and medicine) are my faves. In September, I rewatched Reboot (about a rebooted sitcom with lots of writers room scenes -so sad that show was cancelled, Judy Greer is a national treasure and I love anything Rachel Bloom touches). Next, Broad City re-watch (did you know Amy Poehler was a producer? I didn't until I heard her podcast with the show creators prompting my rewatch). I then re-watched The Bold Type (three young women working at a fictional Cosmopolitan with Melora Hardin as their anti-Miranda Priestley boss).
Girlbossing never gets old but I'm looking forward to watching some new TV in October like The Paper (which I just realized I can watch as RESEARCH for my paper mill novel!), Slow Horses, The Diplomat and Nobody Wants This.
That’s all from me this month. Thank you as always for reading and supporting me. I hope you find lots of joyful moments in October!
xo,
Sara
Please tell me the things you enjoyed reading and watching and doing this month! Reply below or send me a DM @sarakeynaorr and share!
