If you've never been published before, you're an 'unknown quantity', so you're going to have difficulty selling your first novel.
('chiefly US') The 'big unknown' [=the important thing that everyone would like to know] is how investors will react.
A 'fear of the unknown' kept her from changing jobs.
(..) So in conclusion, the data show that at temperatures approaching absolute zero... ...the moment of inertia changes and the solid becomes a supersolid... ...which clearly appears to be a previously unknown state of matter. Thank you. - Are there any questions? Yeah. What the hell was that? (..)2008 TvShow: The Big Bang Theory Title: The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization Season: 1 Episode 9