Rejection: Why Publishers Say No, Part 2
August 20, 2009 by Allison Boyer
Filed under Jobs
I recommend reading Part 1 of Rejection: Why Publishers Say No first! We covered a number of reasons why publishers could be rejecting you. Here are some more:
- There’s no market for your fiction.
You could write something very interesting…to you…but that doesn’t mean that it will also be relevant to other people. Now, in most cases, there will always be a market for well-written fiction, but if you’re writing in a very narrow niche, publishers may shy away from your fiction. You don’t have to totally compromise what you want to write, but remember that you should have a broad enough audience that your book is marketable.
- You send the submission to the wrong person.
Most publishers have very specific places to send submissions. Large publishing houses may have multiple places, depending on genre. If you send your fantasy novel to the Christian editor, there’s no guarantee that they’ll pass it on to the right person. Also avoid sending your work to the company’s general address or to the CEO/president. If you can’t find a specific person who should receive the submissions on the company’s website, call and find out.
- Editors’ tastes vary.
Before you get upset about rejection, remember that editors’ tastes in fiction vary greatly. One or two rejections doesn’t mean that your work has no merit at all. Keep trying! Once you get 5 or 6 rejections, you may want to re-evaluate your piece and check out the other tips on your list…but it could just be a simple case of the first few people not having the same taste as you. Point in case: I have a friend who hates the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Now, this book is a classic and considered one of the top novels in American literature. He doesn’t like it, though – and that’s his prerogative. Many you’ve written the next great American novel, but the first editor just didn’t like it. That doesn’t mean that your writing is bad.
Bottom line: keep writing, and keep submitting. If you don’t have a stack of rejection letters, you aren’t trying hard enough. Perfect your work and someday, it will get accepted.
