BRING IT TO THE TABLE 20

Querying, I hate querying, but it has to be done if you want your book published.  I read that Nathan Bransford only chooses 5 books a year.  Go figure, and he is a literary agent.  Suffice it to say, that the odds of getting your book even read or looked at past the query letter is a monumental task.
 
It is not even the query letter that is the issue in many cases, and most of us I am sure do our homework.  Aside from all the figuring out each agent's likes and dislikes, if they have a cat or 10 (like who cares), there is the genre, making sure your genre is for them.  Typing the query letter to suit their idiosyncracies requires a lot of effort and time, and even after all of that you are lucky to get past their secretaries or assistants or lucky if you make the slush pile.

The odds are 10,000-to-1 that you will get the chance to have your first five pages read.  This is why so many people are taking their chances at self-publishing, e-books, etc. these days.

When you know you have a good story, and no one gives you the time of day aside from the query letter, you haven't got a chance in he-double-hockey-sticks.

So my advice to you is to keep on trying, and keep on believing in yourself and your work, and hopefully someday you too will hit the jackpot like others.  I have read many stories, and I mean no offense to others, that I feel their stories suck compared to my story, and I have been told by others (not friends or family) that they like it better than certain other books they have read.

But still, the process is the process when you choose traditional publishing.  Many times it is who you know to just get your foot in the door to be accepted, and that is to be accepted for a review only.

Some companies are years ahead of themselves and it could be 3 years before your book hits the shelves should you be accepted.

If all this information doesn't discourage you, nothing will.  I say, "never give up on your dreams; never stop trying, and someday with lots of hard work and effort, you will see the rewards of your efforts."  If not, at least you enjoyed the journey of writing, and your family will enjoy your words for generations to come.
I was always taught, "when you are down, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again."
Here's to good writing and a good future.  Cheers.

If you have any comments, come on, BRING IT TO THE TABLE.  What better place is there?