Here's a story... Once I had submitted a partial to an pretty well-known agent who immediately asked for more, then commented on it. Finally, she told me that my subject (Western Mayo Coast Historical Fantasy) was one she'd just purchased from her best friend, who, by the way, just climbed Craigh Pahdraig, so no more Irish Subjects, pleeze... She was chatty and friendly, and despite saying many nice things about my writing, we never connected. It feels to me like finding an agent (if you;re the one doing the looking...) is like hitting a moving target at 400 years in the dark. A shotgun blast won;t get there, and even with a night-vision scope, you're still shooting blind. The only way I will probably ever find an agent is if I can physically hold them down, or with an introduction from someone in the industry, someone they went to school with, or one of their existing clients. Doing your homework is CRITICAL, and as I'm without the whole Masters in Literature network... I'm just out there, stalking... stalking...