[afa]

Perhaps an even better analogy is American Idol.

In many ways, Simon Cowell & Co. have a job not dissimilar to that of a literary agent or publisher. They have to wade through hundreds of misguided or -- in some cases -- outright delusional aspiring 'astists' to find a handful who have even an outside chance of success.

In the same way that Idol always has thousands of people who audition, oblivious to the fact that they simply are not good enough, I'm sure agents and publishers, too, are inundated with an endless stream of mediocrity.

With that in mind, a 98% rejection rate doesn't seem entirely unreasonable.