Authors who blog usually wait with bated breath as to when they can write the golden post, “How I Got My Agent.” In fact, if you Google this phrase, plenty of posts will come up. That’s because it’s a crowning achievement in an author’s professional life, because getting an agent is hard. They say you have a 1 in 6000 chance of securing one for your work.

I have to pinch myself sometimes to remind myself that I am part of a small statistic of authors who have representation, and my literary agent is Rick Lewis. He secured the publishing deal for SON OF THE SIREN as well as my forthcoming fantasy trilogy, THE NAME AND THE KEY. But SON OF THE SIREN is how our business relationship started.

So…I started querying September 19, 2022, and I queried until November 20, 2022. I wrote my query letter during my Submission Coaching class and agent Amy Collins of Talcott Notch Agency gave it a lookover as part of my final project in the class, so I think that really helped me. She was really excited about the book but ultimately passed on it after I sent her a formal query and full manuscript.

In addition to the course, I also consulted Margaret Rogerson’s query letter for An Enchantment of Ravens as a model to help me write, because I found it to be excellent (and I’ve actually read that book!). I’ll probably keep using that as a template because it’s so good! Although hopefully I won’t need to find another agent in the future.

I saved my querying stats for SON OF THE SIREN. Let’s take a look:

• 47 agents queried (after query withdrawals, 31 agents)
• 5 full manuscripts sent
• 0 partial manuscript requests (although some agents wanted the first three chapters with the original query)
• 0 revise and resubmits
• 30 rejections
• 1 offer of representation
• 14 queries withdrawn due to accepting representation, so technically no responses from them aside from some words of congratulations, which was extra nice

In hindsight, this all came together quite miraculously. I only had queries out for a few months, so this also happened a lot faster than I expected. But during the time I was querying, especially when I got nothing but rejections in a row, I started to doubt myself and rewrote my query letter, synopsis, and the first two pages of the manuscript. Querying and going on sub are perhaps some of the most nerve-wracking experiences for any author wanting to go traditional. I was so glad it was over!

Anyway, at the time Rick Lewis was an agent at Martin Literary Management (he’s an independent agent now) and he was so enthusiastic about the book. It was a breath of fresh air after having such doubts and conflicting feedback from beta readers. He really “got” the book and what I was going for.

Now, the next part of this adventure is really a surprise: SON OF THE SIREN just hasn’t found an audience like we’d hoped, although it is plugging along; despite its sales performance, Oliver Heber Books offered me a contract for my trilogy when they saw me talking about it on social media. I could’ve brokered the contract on my own but I enjoy my partnership with Rick, so I let him know what was what and he hammered out the details of the contract. He continues to be my agent as of typing this, and I hope we can continue working together.

Going the traditional route in publishing is hard (while self-publishing is hard in its own way). If you want a shot at the Big Five you have to have an agent, and smaller publishing houses (but not all) require them, too. A huge part of me, the one that has struggled for years writing, never thought I’d get to the point where I’d have an agent and a contract for a book, and here we are.

If you are going the traditional route and are seeking representation, please don’t give up. And don’t compare yourself to famous writers’ number of rejections, either. While some had many, others may have less than you, and that might make you feel insecure! So don’t look at them for the numbers–analyze the query letters they’ve shared publicly to see what works, and adjust your own query from there. It’s a long, hard road, but if you manage to be the 1 in 6000, congratulations.