Another Quality Check

So far I've had 23 official rejections out of the 63 agency queries I've sent out for my novel COME THE HARPIES. Of course the number of "unofficial" rejections is considerably higher, since many agencies do not send out rejections at all; they just don't respond. Since I will never assume that my submission package is perfect until I start getting more requests for material, I periodically engage professionals through workshops and other means to critique my materials.

I think my current query letter is very strong and that perhaps it is my opening chapter sample that is not gaining traction with agents. As alluded to in previous posts, it's critical that the first five to ten pages of a novel be amazing in order to capture an agent's interest. Thus, I'm constantly going back and tinkering with my first chapter to make sure it's as clean as I can make it. I've participated in a couple of agent-led workshops, one of which did critique my sample and suggested a few minor edits. One nice bonus was the agent requested additional material based on the quality of the sample. (I have yet to hear back from her!)

My plan is to reach out every few months for additional critiques of my work from legitimate agents and other outfits with proven expertise in the current publishing industry--there is no shortage of agencies and other entities willing to provide such services for a fee (usually ranging from $100 to $300). It ain't cheap, but I'm committed to investing in my publishing effort since I have a lot of faith in my manuscript.

Another potential benefit of taking this approach is to raise the visibility of my work. Agents receive hundreds of queries and proposals a month, and in their rush to cull the slush pile, they probably end up rejecting a lot of seriously great books. But when you are paying an agent to analyze your query and sample, they're forced to slow down and really evaluate your work. In my case, the two times I've had my work evaluated, the agent found value and requested additional samples, so I consider the money well spent.

It seems in the submission business, there are many ways to skin a cat.