Why You Should Love Agent Rejections

The odds of getting an agent?

1 in 6,000.

Here’s an excerpt from literary-agents.com on the odds:

“The best book agents can get as many as 1,500 queries per month, and they sometimes only offer to represent approximately 6 new clients per year. Some writer representatives take on more. But, for this example, let’s use that math. If a literary agent only offers to represent 6 new writers per year, that’s one every two months. Or, the odds of getting a literary agent in that scenario are 1 in 3,000.

But, let’s assume, in this example, the chances of getting a literary agent are less. Because we’re talking about one of the most powerful or famous literary agents here. In other words, 3 of the 6 authors that the most successful literary agents offer to represent each year are already published with traditional publishers. Those authors might even already have a bestseller or two—or they might have a very strong author platform.

That’s why your chances of getting a literary agent are 1 in 6,000.”

Seems…almost impossible?
But here’s the reasons why I love rejection (and you should, too).
1. With every single one, you’re improving your odds.
2. Every no means you’re getting closer to a yes.
3. And all you need is ONE YES.

Sure, sometimes it can be demoralizing - particularly when you happen to get multiple rejections right in a row. Or you’ve been querying for months or years. But you have those words in your heart for a reason - and the world needs read them. So you let yourself sit in the sorrow for a bit and then you dust yourself off and keep trying.

Think of your favorite authors. The number of rejections they got. I know so many authors who keep their rejections in a file or folder as a reminder of how far they’ve come.

Think of each rejection as a trophy. Collect them. Wear them as a badge of honor. Failure only happens when you quit.

Now dust off those typing fingers and get that query out in the world!