Why aren't agents responding to your query (1)

Anxiously refreshing your email, 1

The goal of each query letter is to get the agent you’ve queried to request the manuscript, whether that’s the full novel, the full memoir, the proposal for the nonfiction project, etc. (Some agents request partial manuscripts; I don’t, personally, if I love a book I’m reading I don’t want to waste time requesting the rest of it.) And then obviously the goal is for that agent (or multiple agents) to offer representation to you for the book.

But the first step is getting that agent to respond to your query email requesting more material to read. And I often hear from prospective authors that this feels like a huge barrier.

In this previous post I covered what a query letter should look like, and described some mistakes to avoid when you’re querying. But assuming you’ve followed the submission guidelines correctly and your book is really ready for an agent to read, what are some reasons that an agent isn’t responding to your query?