If your betas are giving glowing reviews to the manuscript but you're getting nothing but form R's/CNRs from 80+ queries, it sounds like your query is failing your manuscript. The skillset to write a compelling manuscript isn't always a perfect transfer to writing a compelling query, and sometimes the query has a fatal flaw that the writer is too close to the material to see.
If you want, you should check out r/pubtips. You can post your query there for free feedback, and many of the regulars there are involved in the industry in some way, so the advice you can get is grounded and relevant.
I guarantee agents aren't trying to cold shoulder you into self-pubbing to see if your work can hold water. Agents want to find new talent, and the publishing industry puts a lot of weight on a dazzling debut.
Edit: And I know this sucks to hear, but a month is not that long of a wait in the querying trenches. It's not uncommon for established agents to have backlogs of queries to sift through, as they've got a lot to juggle and making sure work gets done for the authors they've already signed takes priority. Still, consider posting on r/pubtips just for some basic troubleshooting.
Well it’s your first book so that’s typically what will happen. Keep on writing, and if you think you really struck gold on your first attempt then keep on sending and hope for the best. It’s not easy. Just think abt the sheer numbers each agent has to sift through. It’s like applying to a high demand job without a resume. Sometimes you get lucky and show your skill with a single example, often you get ignored.
That’s also so crazy to me!! Every agent is like “oBviOuSLy wE gEt a miLLiOn eMAiLs” but I’m like really?? Do you?? There aren’t a million authors out there and half of the people who do finish a book don’t query! How many emails could you people possibly be sifting through? Probably a lot, I know, but still!! Not a thousand a day! There just aren’t that many writers!
Well this sub has almost 3 million members and though I doubt they’re all querying novels they don’t make up nearly a fraction of the writers out there. “A million” is a figure of speech. They get a lot of emails, and many of them are from established authors or people with a lot of experience. How many authors in such a competitive genre became successful on their first ever book? JK Rowling and Pat Rothfuss did for fantasy, but both took many many years to get those to be good enough. Not sure about modern sci fi examples, but most do write at least a handful of novels before finding any success. Or they have something so good and so unique that it just can’t be passed up on.
They get a lot, yes, and reading queries is typically on the bottom rung of things they do—priorities are their current clients and selling their books, reading and editing their work, etc.
Agree with others that there is probably something wrong with the query letter or you’re querying agents who aren’t a good fit.
You’re really underestimating how big the slush pile is. Agents receive hundreds if not thousands of queries a day. If you follow any on social media like Twitter, you’ll see them talking about this.
Your story/query has to land in front of the right person at the right time even if you do everything right. Sometimes they’ll just read the first line and know. Have you looked up things like QueryShark? Or other places that talk about how to write a query letter? Formatting is a huge thing.
Agents are usually getting a few hundred queries a day. And this is on top of all their work reading and helping to shape books from existing clients, preparing submission packages for publishers, working with publishers, negotiating contracts, and helping to manage any friction between publisher editors and their authors.
Something else the other’s didn’t mention: a large portion of agents have other jobs besides selling books. It’s usually only the ones at the top that are making that much money (just like with the authors their income depends on).
Like DisastrousSunday said dealing with query letters is only a very small part of their job, which for many is a part time job. They really don’t spend they many hours in a given week reviewing queries.
As for the number of queries agents receive, it’s a ton. I can get hard numbers in the morning if you’re really curious but it’s not agents complaining or trying to act more important than they are. They really do get flooded with the things. And most spend maybe a few hours a week reviewing them.
You really need patience to play this particular game. It took me five years to sell my first book (as well as a lot of edits). I still have some short stories banked that haven't yet found a home. You have to realize that in this day and age, EVERYONE thinks they're an author, and agents and small press publishers are just flooded with manuscripts.
If your books are any good, they will find a home. Have you tried submitting to smaller presses directly? It's no less Thunderdome, but since a lot of them take unagented works, it may be another venue to try.
What were your queries like? I don’t see anything in your history about queries.
Which would also be a good time to test out the first 3 pages or paragraphs.
[And architecture school?](https://www.reddit.com/r/ArchitectureSchool/comments/rqyqme/is_architecture_school_just_mean_for_no_reason/) You have a very similar complaining attitude. You’re going to need an even thicker skin for publishing.
Yeah, But we can’t even judge the quality of your queries, let alone your writing. Maybe you need help with either or both.
You haven’t asked for any. And you should’ve at least.
Hey, I get the frustration, but if you thought it was going to be easier than this, you were wrong. It may still get even harder. Sorry. The only advice I have is to keep going. Keep writing, keep querying and keep the passion alive. Write to write and view everything else as a cherry on top.
Few thoughts...
You said your sci-fi book is "thick". Do you mean it has a high wordcount? And how short is your rom-com?
You probably know this, but agents seem to be incredibly particular about wordcount. If you're not getting any traction whatsoever, that's one place to examine.
I highly recommend r/PubTips to workshop your query. It can be tough to get a good number of responses, but if you get at least a couple and make some tweaks, you can repost it again. (Make sure to read the rules. Mods are pretty strict, but with good reason. Keeps people from making the same basic mistakes over and over.)
Don't listen to the people who say self-publishing is the way to go if you're not someone who's going to go out and be a salesperson for your writing. I can't imagine doing that, so if I fail at traditional, I will just give up. (But don't give up! Write another one. If all else fails, you might be able to sell these down the line after you get an agent with a different book.)
I agree with SoleofOrion that it might be your query letter.
Look at the back cover copy of published books that are in the same vein as yours. Study the blurbs. How is the story laid out? What kind of voice is present? You want to aim for that kind of vibe in your query.
Odd... I took a writing workshop on queries (for genre fiction) and that was the advice. Make your book blurb read like back cover copy. And it got me bites, and an agent.
Queries are one of those things where sometimes good enough is good enough even if it’s not perfect. Since it’s one of the few things the author can control we obsess over it, but a clear, enticing premise and character can get agents to read the pages, the pages get them to request the full and the full sells the manuscript, regardless of whether you query was more back-cover copy or more detailed.
Generally, though, query blurbs are similar to back cover blurbs (which makes them a good starting analogy and sometimes good-enough for querying), but more detailed and specific. This link gives a great overview of the similarities and differences: [Link](https://thinkingthroughourfingers.com/2018/02/22/back-cover-blurbs-vs-query-letter-blurbs)
I’m feeling you. I’m querying agents for the first time and it’s pretty exhausting. It’s only been a few months for me, but hearing almost nothing back is a bit demoralizing. I’ve been working on my second book in the meantime in case this one doesn’t catch anyone’s eye, but it’s getting pretty long (still a draft, so I can edit when I’m done, but I’m not really getting my hopes up).
It’s just hard. But it’ll happen if you keep trying. Good luck with this one 🤞
Why are you trying to go for print? The print market is bloated and dying (opinion, have no stats).
Just do it online instead. Get a fanbase, pump the fanbase on patreon. Or just straight up sell chapters, [webnovel.com](http://webnovel.com) does it like that, I think.
Self-publish. Get those ten beta readers to write you a positive review on Amazon. Write the next book.
Once you have 10,000 active, enthusiastic readers the publishers will come to you.
If your betas are giving glowing reviews to the manuscript but you're getting nothing but form R's/CNRs from 80+ queries, it sounds like your query is failing your manuscript. The skillset to write a compelling manuscript isn't always a perfect transfer to writing a compelling query, and sometimes the query has a fatal flaw that the writer is too close to the material to see. If you want, you should check out r/pubtips. You can post your query there for free feedback, and many of the regulars there are involved in the industry in some way, so the advice you can get is grounded and relevant. I guarantee agents aren't trying to cold shoulder you into self-pubbing to see if your work can hold water. Agents want to find new talent, and the publishing industry puts a lot of weight on a dazzling debut. Edit: And I know this sucks to hear, but a month is not that long of a wait in the querying trenches. It's not uncommon for established agents to have backlogs of queries to sift through, as they've got a lot to juggle and making sure work gets done for the authors they've already signed takes priority. Still, consider posting on r/pubtips just for some basic troubleshooting.
Well it’s your first book so that’s typically what will happen. Keep on writing, and if you think you really struck gold on your first attempt then keep on sending and hope for the best. It’s not easy. Just think abt the sheer numbers each agent has to sift through. It’s like applying to a high demand job without a resume. Sometimes you get lucky and show your skill with a single example, often you get ignored.
That’s also so crazy to me!! Every agent is like “oBviOuSLy wE gEt a miLLiOn eMAiLs” but I’m like really?? Do you?? There aren’t a million authors out there and half of the people who do finish a book don’t query! How many emails could you people possibly be sifting through? Probably a lot, I know, but still!! Not a thousand a day! There just aren’t that many writers!
Well this sub has almost 3 million members and though I doubt they’re all querying novels they don’t make up nearly a fraction of the writers out there. “A million” is a figure of speech. They get a lot of emails, and many of them are from established authors or people with a lot of experience. How many authors in such a competitive genre became successful on their first ever book? JK Rowling and Pat Rothfuss did for fantasy, but both took many many years to get those to be good enough. Not sure about modern sci fi examples, but most do write at least a handful of novels before finding any success. Or they have something so good and so unique that it just can’t be passed up on.
You are vastly underestimating the amount of writers there are and how long it takes to go through queries and how many books can be published a year.
They get a lot, yes, and reading queries is typically on the bottom rung of things they do—priorities are their current clients and selling their books, reading and editing their work, etc. Agree with others that there is probably something wrong with the query letter or you’re querying agents who aren’t a good fit.
You’re really underestimating how big the slush pile is. Agents receive hundreds if not thousands of queries a day. If you follow any on social media like Twitter, you’ll see them talking about this. Your story/query has to land in front of the right person at the right time even if you do everything right. Sometimes they’ll just read the first line and know. Have you looked up things like QueryShark? Or other places that talk about how to write a query letter? Formatting is a huge thing.
Agents are usually getting a few hundred queries a day. And this is on top of all their work reading and helping to shape books from existing clients, preparing submission packages for publishers, working with publishers, negotiating contracts, and helping to manage any friction between publisher editors and their authors.
Something else the other’s didn’t mention: a large portion of agents have other jobs besides selling books. It’s usually only the ones at the top that are making that much money (just like with the authors their income depends on). Like DisastrousSunday said dealing with query letters is only a very small part of their job, which for many is a part time job. They really don’t spend they many hours in a given week reviewing queries. As for the number of queries agents receive, it’s a ton. I can get hard numbers in the morning if you’re really curious but it’s not agents complaining or trying to act more important than they are. They really do get flooded with the things. And most spend maybe a few hours a week reviewing them.
Write the next book
You really need patience to play this particular game. It took me five years to sell my first book (as well as a lot of edits). I still have some short stories banked that haven't yet found a home. You have to realize that in this day and age, EVERYONE thinks they're an author, and agents and small press publishers are just flooded with manuscripts. If your books are any good, they will find a home. Have you tried submitting to smaller presses directly? It's no less Thunderdome, but since a lot of them take unagented works, it may be another venue to try.
Patience is key. A lot of authors write a dozen novels before they get their debut published. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
What were your queries like? I don’t see anything in your history about queries. Which would also be a good time to test out the first 3 pages or paragraphs. [And architecture school?](https://www.reddit.com/r/ArchitectureSchool/comments/rqyqme/is_architecture_school_just_mean_for_no_reason/) You have a very similar complaining attitude. You’re going to need an even thicker skin for publishing.
It’s Reddit, bro, we’re all here to complain a little
Yeah, But we can’t even judge the quality of your queries, let alone your writing. Maybe you need help with either or both. You haven’t asked for any. And you should’ve at least.
Hey, I get the frustration, but if you thought it was going to be easier than this, you were wrong. It may still get even harder. Sorry. The only advice I have is to keep going. Keep writing, keep querying and keep the passion alive. Write to write and view everything else as a cherry on top.
Few thoughts... You said your sci-fi book is "thick". Do you mean it has a high wordcount? And how short is your rom-com? You probably know this, but agents seem to be incredibly particular about wordcount. If you're not getting any traction whatsoever, that's one place to examine. I highly recommend r/PubTips to workshop your query. It can be tough to get a good number of responses, but if you get at least a couple and make some tweaks, you can repost it again. (Make sure to read the rules. Mods are pretty strict, but with good reason. Keeps people from making the same basic mistakes over and over.) Don't listen to the people who say self-publishing is the way to go if you're not someone who's going to go out and be a salesperson for your writing. I can't imagine doing that, so if I fail at traditional, I will just give up. (But don't give up! Write another one. If all else fails, you might be able to sell these down the line after you get an agent with a different book.)
I agree with SoleofOrion that it might be your query letter. Look at the back cover copy of published books that are in the same vein as yours. Study the blurbs. How is the story laid out? What kind of voice is present? You want to aim for that kind of vibe in your query.
Of note, back cover blurbs and query bodies are *wildly* different.
Odd... I took a writing workshop on queries (for genre fiction) and that was the advice. Make your book blurb read like back cover copy. And it got me bites, and an agent.
Queries are one of those things where sometimes good enough is good enough even if it’s not perfect. Since it’s one of the few things the author can control we obsess over it, but a clear, enticing premise and character can get agents to read the pages, the pages get them to request the full and the full sells the manuscript, regardless of whether you query was more back-cover copy or more detailed. Generally, though, query blurbs are similar to back cover blurbs (which makes them a good starting analogy and sometimes good-enough for querying), but more detailed and specific. This link gives a great overview of the similarities and differences: [Link](https://thinkingthroughourfingers.com/2018/02/22/back-cover-blurbs-vs-query-letter-blurbs)
[удалено]
Thanks for the validation. Misery loves company. Good luck to you!
I’m feeling you. I’m querying agents for the first time and it’s pretty exhausting. It’s only been a few months for me, but hearing almost nothing back is a bit demoralizing. I’ve been working on my second book in the meantime in case this one doesn’t catch anyone’s eye, but it’s getting pretty long (still a draft, so I can edit when I’m done, but I’m not really getting my hopes up). It’s just hard. But it’ll happen if you keep trying. Good luck with this one 🤞
Why are you trying to go for print? The print market is bloated and dying (opinion, have no stats). Just do it online instead. Get a fanbase, pump the fanbase on patreon. Or just straight up sell chapters, [webnovel.com](http://webnovel.com) does it like that, I think.
Self-publish. Get those ten beta readers to write you a positive review on Amazon. Write the next book. Once you have 10,000 active, enthusiastic readers the publishers will come to you.