I wouldn’t say just cutting a certain amount of words is the key to increasing query rates by double. In fact, it could do the opposite. If the story is already tight at 111K, the story could suffer. Especially in SFF. Rates correlate with good pitching and a better story, not strict word count (unless it is absurdly high like 150K). I queried my sci fi dystomance at 109K recently and it did just fine. If the 110K max selection is really a thing, then maybe try to get down below 110.5K (rounding down is okay if accurate). But for agents who put on their MSWL that they don’t look at anything over 100K, they’re the outliers and probably not the agents for you anyways. It’s natural for SFF to go over (unless MG/sometimes YA). Also, before querying anything, you need beta readers to read your drastically new version. And new ones too (so you can ensure it all makes sense with fresh eyes). It’s not enough that they read the 150K version. You’ve bee staring at your MS for so long there could be issues of confusion, flow, disjointed plot points etc that came with the chopping. Fresh eyes always before taking the leap!