Dear O'Abby: How long should I wait?

 Dear O'Abby,

I'm querying at the moment and I'm wondering how long I should wait before trying to rewrite my query.  I have done a ton of work on it with a professional editor, with other writers and submitted it for substantial feedback from agents in contests etc prior to starting querying.  I feel like it's really good now and truly captures the essence of my book.

But I have had six rejections already, from the first 12 queries I sent out, so now I'm wondering if the query really is as good as I think it is.  How many rejections should I get before I need to start thinking about re-writing my query?

Regards,

Rejected

Dear Rejected,

It sounds like you are very early on in the querying journey, so don't get discouraged.  I know it's hard to put your hard work out there and to get faced with nothing but rejection, but unfortunately, it's part of the business.  With only 12 queries out, I don't think you need to worry about changing the query yet. Especially since not all of these first batch have responded yet. 

It sounds like you've done a lot of work on the query, so maybe it's not the query that's not working.  Writers often get so wrapped up in creating the perfect query that they forget they need a near-perfect book to go with it.  Make sure your sample pages are as shiny as the query - and not just the first 5-10 pages.  Some agents ask for more than that and if your writing peters out after the first 10 pages, that could be the problem.

But basically, publishing is a tough industry and even if you have the most perfect query and a fantastic book, you will get rejections.  Agents and publishers often have something very specific they are looking for and if your book doesn't fall into that niche, they're going to pass. Taking on new authors is a lot of work, and unless they're confident your book is going to sell, they're going to pass.

So don't take it to heart.  Keep sending out those queries.

X O'Abby