Querying is Tough, But I’m Just Getting Started

Plus, I'm starting a new newsletter!

A few months ago, I started sending queries to literary agents for my historical fiction novel Shame of Kings. So far, I’ve received a bunch of form rejections, and I’ve included the numbers below.

I use Query Tracker to stay organized, and it is a fantastic tool. I know there are other ways to do this, but I find Query Tracker to be very useful. It lets me easily see who I have queried, and it provides a ton of statistics to help you select agents to query.

If my numbers are right, I’ve sent out 36 queries and received about ten rejections. This may be a little higher, as some of the rejections come to my email, and I may not have recorded them in Query Tracker. In case this is new to you, most agents ask for a query letter and also a certain number of pages or chapters and sometimes a synopsis.

I’m waiting to hear back from these agents.

Here are my rejections. All of them have been impersonal form rejections.

I’m okay with these numbers, but I of course would like agents to ask to see my entire book. This is not making me doubt myself in any way. I have identified 284 agents who say they represent Historical Fiction authors, so I have a long way to go.

I have read that other authors and agents suggest sending out queries in batches of ten or so and then making adjustments if the initial queries aren’t successful, and that’s what I am doing now. I sent out five more this week, so hopefully something good will come from that.