posted
There are 2 websites that can come in handy: AgentQuery to find agents, and QueryTracker to find statistics on those agents.
Posts: 525 | Registered: Sep 2010
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quote:Anyone know what the ratio is for "let me see your manuscript/partial" vs immediate rejections?
There are way too many variables to make that a useful statistic in itself.
How good is your query letter?
How good a match is the agent for the novel you're trying to sell?
Did they just take on or sell another novel that's too similar to yours?
Is the agent having a good day or a bad day?
You just have to do your very best to come up with the best query letter you can and find agents that are the best match for your story. And yes, even then, you will still get rejections. And you will never know why. You just have to keep on plugging.
My question is more along these hypothetical lines, suppose I am a writer and just submitted several queries. Should an agent ask to see my manuscript, how hopeful of a sign is that? Or is that a pretty standard, semi-meaningless event?
posted
Agents don't ask fro partials or fulls unless they are hopeful that the MS will turn out to be saleable. How hopeful will vary according to the workload and personality of the agent.
Posts: 1469 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Any request for a partial or a full is certainly indication of interest. It still may not come to anything, but it certainly is a good sign.
Posts: 4633 | Registered: Dec 2008
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posted
Judging from a broad swath of comments from numerous sites, I'd guess about 1 positive per 10 negatives for decent work, and a lot higher ratio for sub-par work.