I'll admit I'm a numbers geek. I find statistics comforting. Recently, I put up a post about Persistence versus Denial, asking how many rejections a writer should get before giving up. And I had the most visitors I've had since I started blogging. The number of hits and the comments tell me that I'm not the only one looking for some hard numbers.
Because I am also a research geek, I've done some searching. And I've got some numbers for you. QueryTracker has a page listing their success stories. And on this page, they have links to interviews with writers who have gotten representation. Many of these writers have revealed how many queries they sent before getting their agent. I went through and tabulated the numbers from the last 30 interviews (where the writer answered that question). So here it is, sorted alphabetically by genre...
90 COMMERCIAL
118 FANTASY
46 FANTASY
4 FANTASY
20 HISTORICAL
50 LITERARY
60 MG
60 MG
53 MG
59 MYSTERY
40 PARANORMAL
30 ROMANCE
40 ROMANCE
25 ROMANCE
45 YA
47 YA
100 YA
26 YA
60 YA
102 YA
32 YA
50 YA
39 YA
106 YA
150 YA
20 YA
32 YA
75 YA
96 YA
24 YA SF
And since I admit to being a stats geek, let's break it down.
The average: 57 -- This means the average writer gets 57 rejections before getting an offer of representation
The minimum: 4 -- OK, I'm totally jealous, but really want to read that book.
The maximum: 150 -- Actually, this writer admitted it was between 150 and 200! Talk about perseverance!
The mode: 60 -- The most often recurring number.
The median: 47.5 -- The middle of the road, throwing out the highs and lows.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel SO MUCH BETTER!
Thank you for tabulating these! It's definitely eye-opening.
ReplyDeleteI'm such a numbers geek, too! I love these stats, thanks for putting them together!
ReplyDeleteAwesome post. Thanks so much. I guess with only 11 rejections and three "no responses" that I should admit are rejections, I still have a ways to go. I'll get busy tonight and send out some more "Rejection Magnets" as I like to call them. And here I was just about to give up. You've made my day.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I've read all those success stories at Querytracker- some make me feel better and some do the opposite. Every writer has a different path!
ReplyDelete118 queries for a successful answer? Wow. I didn't know that there were that many agents who handled fantasy. Thanks, your post made me feel better. I think. Roland
ReplyDeleteFantastic post!!! Thank you so much for sharing it with us! I will remember this when it's time for me to query... then again the numbers will most likely change... meaning I'll ask you for an update, LOL! It gives you a goal to work off of, which is nice!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this... much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteThose numbers are strangely comforting! Thanks for doing the hard work!
ReplyDeletewow-me too *big grin*
ReplyDeleteI'd feel better, but it looks to me like YA and MG are the big winners. I see only one that my novel would fit into, and that's commercial fiction. If anything, I now feel more sure of my decision to upload to Kindle.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting everyone. Yeah, I'm taking great comfort in stats these days.
ReplyDelete