Did you know that signing with an agent doesn't guarantee your book will be sold to a publisher? Here are 8 True and Hard Agent Facts about the agent-author-publisher relationship. 1. At the querying level...get ready: 99% of manuscripts are rejected by agents. Through talking with a few agents and assistants I have found that most stuff in the slushpile are novels that have not been polished. Contrary to popular belief, although agents work with clients to get their book ready for submission, they want polished work. Which means getting at least a beta reader or critique partner and an editor in most cases. 2. Of those agents that have signed you as a client, typically they sell three out of five projects which means that only 60% of the signed clients find homes for their book. This means just because you find an agent doesn't mean you find a publisher. Agents sign you for the potential of you MS. 3. An agent sells to editors but editors also have to "sell"