I went to the James River Writer's Conference this year. I sold stuff on eBay to raise the money for the admission fee. Part of the package was five minutes with an agent. Of the three agents taking appointments, I had already been rejected by two via mail last year.
The third was immediately encouraging, telling me a book proposal about an Iowa library cat who had just died sold for $1.25 million dollars. (I'm sorry, but that book is not going to sell that well. It's one cat that lives in a library.) She gave me her card and said I could send the proposal. I imagine she does that with all 20 people who interviewed with her during the conference. How do you say no when you're face to face?
I sent the proposal; they asked for three chapters. My first two chapters are not the strongest since they have to set up the whole book. I do open with a family story, but then it's on to the set-up. I never know which chapter to pick after the first, since they all seem equally balanced.
Anyway, Mollie, the "reader" for this agent, wanted a funnier book. My book is funny, just not hilarious from the very first word. It alternates funny and tragic, as all lives with pets do. I can think of a different way to approach the book opening and I'll work on it. And I've changed the name of the book from The Evolution of a Crazy Cat Lady to the less serious Confessions of a Crazy Cat Lady.
