For you signed writers out there!

For my first agent, it took nearly a hundred queries.

For my second agent (after I fired my first one) it took only four queries, and I had multiple offers of representation.

Since this isn't a question about a specific agent, I'm porting it here from Bewares & Background Check.

- Victoria

Over a hundred queries, probably 30 partials and a dozen fulls (and 5 years).

I sent out a little over 50 query letters, 20 fulls, and 2 partials. My query-to-representation process took about 3 months, and was quite stressful. When I accepted the offer from my current agent, I had my full out with 8 other agents, but I withdrew it immediately, as I had no doubts about my choice.

I was not a member of AW then or I would have gone the agent way. And I was impatient - age does that, you know. I didn't want to be published posthumously. So after a year in which I contacted two major publishers and eventually received the rejection slips, I sent my manuscript to a smaller publisher and was accepted. For those who don't have one foot in the grave and one on a banana skin, though, I'd suggest going the hard path of getting an agent.

First book, two sets of 25-30, all rejections. Maybe one or two partial requests (been a while so I forget exactly)

Last book, eight queries, five partial requests, four manuscript requests, three offers of representation. Query to signing took about two months.

kathleen_grant said:

How many query letters and partials did you have to send out before getting an offer of representation?

Click to expand...

None.

But then, I did everything wrong.

I sent out about 20-25 queries. Received a few rejections - the sixth response was a request for the full manuscript from my now-agent.

About a week later, she offered representation.

Good luck!

Here's a similar thread on the Rejection and Dejection board.

kathleen_grant said:

How many query letters and partials did you have to send out before getting an offer of representation?

Click to expand...

None. I was approached by an agent who saw some articles I had written and thought I would be a good fit for one of her clients. I have a contract to write three nonfiction books, as a result. The first is already up for pre-sale on amazon (which is funny because I just submitted the first draft of the whole ms on Jan 1.)
Yes, I got very, very lucky.

Um...I sent out fifteen or twenty queries and had six fulls out when I queried my agent; he signed me two days later.

queries sent : 121

partial requests : 22

parital rejections : 9

full requests : 4

full rejection : 1

rejections : 63

assumed rejections : 15
(this number is probably higher now!)

total rejections : 78

invitation to resubmit : 4

personalized rejections : 10
(mostly on partials, tho some on queries.)

the full requests were off of probably just
a dozen partials--as i was getting partial requests
after i had signed with an agent. so they
were never sent. i also pulled my partials with
agents after i signed with bill.

222 e-queries. 142 people did not respond. 50 agents rejected the query. 30 agents requested partials. 10 requested the full.