So You Got Rejected By a Literary Agent

The odds of getting a literary agent?

1 in 6,000.

Trust me - I'm the poster child for that statistic. I've sent hundreds (yes, hundreds) of query letters in my life for four different books.

The second book I queried? I got over forty agent requests...and zero offers of representation.

Here’s an excerpt from literary-agents.com on the odds:

“The best book agents can get as many as 1,500 queries per month, and they sometimes only offer to represent approximately 6 new clients per year. Some writer representatives take on more. But, for this example, let’s use that math. If a literary agent only offers to represent 6 new writers per year, that’s one every two months. Or, the odds of getting a literary agent in that scenario are 1 in 3,000.

But, let’s assume, in this example, the chances of getting a literary agent are less. Because we’re talking about one of the most powerful or famous literary agents here. In other words, 3 of the 6 authors that the most successful literary agents offer to represent each year are already published with traditional publishers. Those authors might even already have a bestseller or two—or they might have a very strong author platform.

That’s why your chances of getting a literary agent are 1 in 6,000.”

Seems…almost impossible?

But here are the reasons why I love rejection (and you should, too).

1. With every single one, you’re improving your odds.

2. Every no means you’re getting closer to a yes.

3. And all you need is ONE YES.

Sure, sometimes it can be demoralizing - particularly when you happen to get multiple rejections right in a row. Or you’ve been querying for months or years. But you have those words in your heart for a reason - and the world needs read to them. So you let yourself sit in the sorrow for a bit and then you dust yourself off and keep trying.

If your query is continually being rejected, it might be time to take another crack at it. Join a query critique group on Facebook or Goodreads - you can find groups specific to your genre. You can also enter contests on Twitter and with certain literary agencies where agents or authors will review your query and work with you to get it just right.

Whenever you get demoralized, think of your favorite authors. The number of rejections they got. I know so many authors who keep their rejections in a file or folder as a reminder of how far they’ve come.

Here are some famous books and the number of rejections they got from agents or publishers:

Chicken Soup for the Soul - 144 rejections

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintence - 121 rejections

The Help - 60 rejections

Carrie - 30 rejections

So, think of each rejection as a trophy. Collect them. Wear them as a badge of honor. Failure only happens when you quit.

And remember; a rejection is not always a reflection of your query or manuscript! There are so many factors at play. At the end of the day, the agent who ends up requesting to read your manuscript or even offer representation is going to be the one who sees a vision for your book. And because they have that vision, they'll champion it for everyhing it's worth.

Now dust off those typing fingers and get that query out in the world!

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