Also--I'm trying to use querytracker. Does anyone know how to mark an agent as "rejected" on your list?
Be aware that there is a huge variety and some are MUCH more desirable than others. It's all about research.Cool stories, I hope you guys keep them coming. I'm thinking of going with a small press myself.
Zero. And you should get interest from your query letter on four out of five submissions. If you did the query letter right and it's targeted properly....how many times were you rejected before a publisher showed interest?
I saw him at a conference just after Carrie was released as a movie and he talked about the experience. He did mention that, at the point he threw Carrie away, it was trash. It still took work to get it into shape.His wife dug "Carrie" out of the trash. He threw it away, thinking it garbage. How many writers have done that?
Bottom line, the majority of authors don't understand what they are doing, or don't care. Or they think they are so good it doesn't matter. If you write coherently and follow the guidelines, you're already above 90% in the slush pile.
Bottom line, the majority of authors don't understand what they are doing, or don't care. Or they think they are so good it doesn't matter. If you write coherently and follow the guidelines, you're already above 90% in the slush pile.
I've heard this before and it's always encouraging. Follow the guidelines and there's a much better chance of having your work read. Seems simple, no? And yet, I guess many people don't ...
Zero. And you should get interest from your query letter on four out of five submissions. If you did the query letter right and it's targeted properly.
I've heard this before and it's always encouraging. Follow the guidelines and there's a much better chance of having your work read. Seems simple, no? And yet, I guess many people don't ...
Bottom line, the majority of authors don't understand what they are doing, or don't care. Or they think they are so good it doesn't matter. If you write coherently and follow the guidelines, you're already above 90% in the slush pile.
I got my first rejection in less than 24 hours. I think that must be some sort of record! LOL!!
Zero. And you should get interest from your query letter on four out of five submissions. If you did the query letter right and it's targeted properly.
The only time you should get an immediate rejection is if the publisher/agent has just accepted a very similar work.
Jeff
I have a really hard time believing 4 our of 5. A phenomenal query letter, in a hot market, might get 3 out of 5, but 25% would normally be considered amazing.
There are a lot of good authors in this site, who have spent months polishing their queries in query letter hell, who have gotten zero interest with dozens if not a hundred queries.
There are best selling authors, selling millions of novels world wide, that got 10, 20, 50, a hundred rejections before one acceptance. Not sure how many of those were for the query, and how many were for the full, but you can bet it wasn't 4 out of 5.