Hello Kathleen,
First of all, thanks so much for taking the time to answer questions here. I've learned so much about the market from such threads.
My question to you, especially being that you specialize in novels for young adult/children: is it a mistake to pitch a novel in a specialized genre of a specialized genre? In another words, does "YA Fantasy" or "YA Historical Fiction" really exist? Does labeling your novel in that way instantly regulate you to a niche agent/audience?
I've been hitting a roadblock trying to pitch a "YA Fantasy," and I really don't understand why. I've endured the scathing scourges of Query Letter Hell on these forums with *many* drafts, and finally posted a version of a letter that most people found very intriguing. After months and literally 30+ drafts, I can say it's the best letter I'm capable of writing for the novel, yet no agent seems to wanna go near it with a 10 foot pole. I've queried about 25 with this Query Letter Hell Approved Draft, and got 21 outright rejections and 4 ignores. I need to figure out how to make this pitch more sexy, and if being YA Fantasy is already starting with an arm tied behind my back, I gotta fix that... because I *need* both arms badly.
In case you are really bored, this is the letter I'm using. It's probably not your cup of tea (definitely not YANF), but any general advice would be welcome. Feel free not to read it, however, as even I think posting it in this thread is a wee bit shameless.
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177646
Thanks again.
Best,
Matt