Hi Jess. Yes, it’s true, landing an agent can be enormously challenging. More than a dozen agents rejected me (probably a lot more, but at some point I lost count) before a small, respected agency decided to take a chance on me. I have been with them ever since. Getting an agent requires sending a lot of queries…and sending and sending until you get a match. I do think it can be helpful to go to small conferences that specifically offer meetings with agents. That’s how I met mine. Huge conferences with 5-minute pitch sessions may prove less fruitfull. If you live in a town with a university or in any big city, you should be able to find author and publishing panels. These panels often include agents as well. Even if you don’t get to meet the agent one-on-one, you can get valuable insights about how they find readers.