How does this rejection thing work?

Post your query, synopsis, etc here and let others critique them for you. That might point out some problems. I think the usual pos response rate is one in four? I haven't managed that, but... Anyway. Post here and we can help. Also, Why all e queries? Do some snail mail too. Never CC other agents, send it to one e mail address at a time. Without seeing what you sent, that's all I can tell you.

I like agentquery.com, I also had a membership to writersmarket.com before I finally bought the 2005 Guide to Literary Agents from Writers Market...I know there is another website, publishers something, that I can't think of off-hand. Sorry, I'm not on my home computer where I have it bookmarked. Some of the listings in the book are outdated but I usually find some that sound good, then research them online before submitting. It requires some legwork but it's worth it to send your stuff to the appropriate agents.

Good luck.

Rejections

JohnP said:

I have submitted to almost all the E-Mail query accepting literary agencies that I can find. Out of all 110 queries, I received 12 very nice no thank you keep trying, 45 harsh NO, and 1 who requested I send a proposal. Is this typical?

How do I find agents who deal in my genre so I can get some yes’? I have tried searching the net using my genre and then literary agent but no good.

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There is no such critter as "typical." Send any agent something that's well-written, and that smells like money, and that agent will say yes. Send any agent something that isn't well-written, or that doesn't smell like money, and that agent will say no.

But I will always maintain that anyone who sends out as many queries as you did is almost certainly going to receive at least nine no's for every yes, and probably a lot more.

Shotgunning is not a good way to land an agent, and it's a horrible way to land a really good agent.

kristie911 said:

I like agentquery.com, I also had a membership to writersmarket.com before I finally bought the 2005 Guide to Literary Agents from Writers Market...I know there is another website, publishers something, that I can't think of off-hand. Sorry, I'm not on my home computer where I have it bookmarked. Some of the listings in the book are outdated but I usually find some that sound good, then research them online before submitting. It requires some legwork but it's worth it to send your stuff to the appropriate agents.

Good luck.

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http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/
Click on Browse members, and then on agents.

scfirenice said:

I think the usual pos response rate is one in four?

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I think one in four is high. The range might be zero to fifty percent, with the average in the neighborhood of fifteen percent--based on my extensive research, of course! Snail mail will probably be higher, because you can stuff money in the envelope.