Lost in a crowd

Here's a sobering statistic. Over 400,000 books were published last year. Yikes, no wonder it's so hard to grab the attention of an agent or publisher. New writers have to try and get a foot in the door around a lot of productive established writers and a veritable flood of fellow unpublished newbies who, according to agent Jonathan Lyons, often lack the fundamentals of written English. I'm sure he's seen enough bad queries to justify that statement. Janet Reid blogs about the belligerence of some writers who send nasty e-mails after she rejects their query. Rachel Vater posts some queries that are so pathetic, you have to wonder how the person clicking the send button could presume to call themselves a writer. Barely literate is more accurate. Perhaps that's why some agents aren't replying at all anymore. But HEY! There are a lot of us who aren't like that! And for the record, I love agents who are considerate enough to send a rejection, even if it is just a form letter.