By Joe Moore
We’ve all gotten them. Some are personalized and contain constructive criticism. Others are form letters addressed to “author”. Some have been photocopied so many times that the cryptologists at the NSA couldn’t even decipher 
their original message. Or they might arrive as a brief thanks-but-no-thanks email. They all say the same thing: your manuscript is not for us.
Rejected.
There are numerous ways to deal with literary rejection. We can all imagine the negative methods. But today, I want to discuss the positive ways to deal with the not-for-us letter.
After you’ve amassed an impressive stack of rejection letters, start by asking yourself if your query letter or synopsis might be the issue. You might have written the next Great American Novel, but if your sales pitch—your query letter—doesn’t do the job, the editor won’t want to move to the next step of requesting a sample. One method of improving your query and synopsis is to get help from an impartial third party such as a published author, writer’s forum or critique group. If you know someone who’s already published, ask if they can read your letter and give you advice on where you might be going wrong. Many online forums such as AbsoluteWrite, Writing Forums, and others have specific sections on query evaluation and feedback. Use them.
Next, you want to determine if you’re really targeting the appropriate publishers or agents. This is where you need to study the market. Go to the local bookstore and find novels that are similar to your manuscript. Make a note of the publishers. Many novelists include the name of their editor or agent on the acknowledgements page. Note those names. Then go online and visit the publisher’s websites. Read the descriptions of the plot on Amazon and B&N, and compare to yours. Google the agents names. Look at their list of clients. Are those writers some of your favorites? Do they write books similar to yours? Do your homework and focus on specific publishers and agents that deal with your kind of book.
Another question you need to ask yourself is if your book is as good as it can be. Of course, you’ll probably answer yes. Then take a moment to really consider the question. Are you being rejected repeatedly because the manuscript is just not ready for publication? Chances are, it probably isn’t.
So what should you do? Again, get outside help. One of the best ways to improve a manuscript is to join a local critique group. Most towns and communities have a library. Ask the local librarian if there are any groups that meet in the area. Check with the local bookstore. They usually know of critique groups or have bulletin boards that might list them. Critique groups that are made up of serious writers can be a huge benefit to helping you improve your work. Just remember that critiquing is a two-ways street. You want honest and sincere feedback, and you need to be prepared to give it back to your fellow members. There’s a very good chance that a group of fellow writers can help you get your story in shape so you can start submitting again.
Finally, don’t shoot the messenger. Agents and editors are in business to make money. If they don’t sell books, they go broke. If they don’t discover new books from new authors, they eventually go out of business. Their rejection of your work is nothing personal. Chances are, they don’t even know you. All they know is what they read in your query or sample. And the reasons for rejecting a manuscript can be as numerous as the number of submissions they received that day. Don’t blame them.
Forget about the lame excuses like: publishers only publish big established names and famous people. Or your book was rejected because it’s “different”, experimental, too unique for mainstream. Or you can’t believe they rejected your book when there’s so many bad books published. Go to The New York Times bestseller list. Look at all the writer’s names. Each and every author on that list was once an amateur struggling to get someone to read their manuscript and dreaming of making money as a published author. Every one of them fantasized about seeing their name on that list. What did they do? They realized that rejection really doesn’t mean “not for us”. It means “not ready for us yet”. Now go fix your book.
Any rejection stories to share? How many rejection letters did you get before that first book was published? If you’re published, do you still use a critique group or beta readers?
Well said, Joe. The query process is a job interview of sorts, and all the same rules apply. No one owes anyone anything. It’s about getting a well-presented good idea on the right person’s desk on the day and the hour when he’s open to considering it. That’s a lot of moving parts.
John Gilstrap
http://www.johngilstrap.com
John, you’re either up way too early or you’re still in Europe and are probably headed for the bar about now. But you’re right, there are a whole lot of moving parts. And any one of them can jump up and wreck your plans.
Best rejection? I wrote a flash fiction based on a suicide that happened in the local jail. True story. The editor kicked it back saying it was “unbelievable” and that no one would ever kill themself that way (hanging from a bunk). Uh, true story . . .
After the typical rejection dance, I saw that either the tale just wasn’t the editor’s cuppa or I hadn’t been able to communicate the despair of the situation. Either way, on my Stephen King nail and move on!
Terri
Query letters – rejected so many times I’m expecting this post to be rejected and yet, what you have to say is so true but difficult sometimes to hold onto. Writing – a tough, wonderful business.
I like the rejection Tony HIllerman received once: “If you insist on rewriting this, get rid of all that Indian stuff.”
Terri, that’s the best attitude to have. Take the rejection in stride and move on.
HL, thanks for commenting. I think if writers concede that rejection is a basic part of the publishing business, it’s easier to accept. It sounds cliché, but each rejection gets us closer to acceptance. And there may be some comfort in knowing that all writers have to go through the process.
Jim, that’s one of the great classic rejections, and just shows that anyone can be wrong. One of my favorites comes from the world of music: “We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” — Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962
Great post, Joe. I especially like your positive approach to fix what might not be working rather than dwelling on the NO.
Rejections are only from one set of eyes usually. So I figured I just needed to find the right ones to hear YES.
I also didnt want to be that wilting violet that shriveled at one rejection. I loved hearing stories about determined authors getting 100+ rejections before they sold. I had a shredder ritual to dispel the negativity from my house. It gave me satisfaction.
Thanks, Jordan. Admittedly, it’s hard to stay positive about rejection in any form, not just publishing. But I think it’s also healthy to understand that even if we get a book published, not everyone is going to like it. Just take a trip to the local bookstore, hang out around the new releases table and watch how many potential readers pick up a book, read the blurbs, and put it back down only to move on to the next book on the table.
I wonder what percentage of any given agent’s cold queries (meaning with NO insider contacts) eventually become full-blown book deals. My guess is it would struggle to reach 1/100th of 1%. The picture of futility.
What I’ve found is, contrary to Joe’s eloquent post, that agents are far more interested in serving their current roster of clients, probably none of whom were admitted through the gates via the cold query route. The slush pile (with its insulting terminology) is regarded as a tedious chore, a necessary evil best ignored, and often handed off to incompetent, terrified, 21-year-old, just-out-of-college assistant trainees.
I’m sure there are those who will refute this, but I’ve made it a point to ask every author I’ve ever met, “How did you get your first agent?” The number of authors I’ve asked is in excess of 100, and not one said his/her first agent came via a cold query.
Not sure this is my best rejection, but I accidentally queried someone who had previously rejected a partial…and she asked for the full ms. So I sent it to her. A couple months later she rejected that, too. I finally succumbed and went the epub route after getting too many rejects that read, “This is great, but in the current publishing environment…”
sjwangsness.blogspot.com
Mike, cold queries are tough. Most agents won’t even accept them. With today’s tech, a majority of agents do take email queries which means the turnaround time for requesting partials or just rejecting is much quicker than the old snail mail method. I don’t know what the answer to your question is, but I would suspect that email has made it at least easier to get to an agent if they accept unsolicited queries.
One tip would be to attend writer conferences. In most cases, agents are there to meet and chat with new authors, and listen to pitches. ThrillerFest is a good example. One day is devoted to AgentFest. Last year, over 60 New York agents were on hand to take pitches and hopefully find new talent. It all comes down to doing your homework and never giving up. Good luck.
Steven, the good news is that today all authors have the option of going the indie route if desired. It’s quite different than it was even just a few years ago. The bad news is the too many new writers turn to self-publishing out of frustration and before their manuscript was really ready for prime time.
It’s also important to remember that because there is a great deal of economic stress on the publishing industry, publishers have to be even more picky than ever before. Thanks for stopping by, and best of luck with your book.
Great post, Joe, as always.
Gilstrap’s right too, no one owes us anything.
Mike, I can end that record of note for you. I sent my cold query to an agent last January who asked for a full, loved my MS, signed me onto his team with a two year contract, then proceeded to ignore me for eight months.
I’m a professional, and I have never felt so demoralized. He pitched it to three editors, who rejected, but agent did not offer any suggestions for revision, nothing. I could have worked with anything other than being ignored.
Maybe it would have been kinder if he’d just ignored my query in the first place, and sent me the standard rejection, “Well, this just won’t compete in today’s marketplace – Best luck with your publishing endeavors…” rather than getting my hopes up, with no follow-up.
There’s an adage that says something like, “If there’s no blood on the grass, it wasn’t real rugby.”
The hardest rejections I’ve experienced have been after getting an agent then having the book go nowhere, or getting tons of praise at a conference by an agent or editor only to not get signed.
But hey, in spite of the rejections we keep playing. Just the like the rugby player who straps his ears to his head so they won’t get ripped off. He doesn’t strap them down because he’s a wimp. He does it because he plans to get deep in the ruck.
Paula, I would suggest sending the agent a formal written request to cancel your contract. It sounds like neither of you want the arrangement to continue.
Basil, if that’s the case, then why don’t they call it ruckby? 🙂
Thanks Basil. Next time I’ll tape my ears down tighter 🙂
I did that Joe, and thank you for your suggestion. I ended my contract with him before I went Indy with the books.
I’m with Basil – I have these great stories I know made the cut – I just haven’t been able to place them with a house yet.
Learning Moment:
#Ruckby – when your nose is broke it’s hard to pronounce the hard “ck”.
I have to disagree with Mike entirely. I’ve cold e-queried several big name agents, and gotten full manuscript requests within three days of original submission. The professionalism and tone in your letter is critical. That cannot be stressed enough. Ask Stephanie Meyer, Kathryn Stockett, Barry Eisler, or Christopher Farnsworth. They all got picked up off cold queries. Farnsworth got picked up, I think, in ’08 or ’09. Joe’s right, do your homework and make sure your MS is in top form before querying. Otherwise, you’re just wasting everyone’s time. Yours and theirs.
The process is just very subjective unfortunately. A story I heard about Truman Capote and Harper Lee doing a test of the querying process comes to mind in Mike’s defense. The pair submitted a copy of Other Voices, Other Rooms under a pseudonym and different title to a top literary agency that’s last name rhymes with Boris. They received a rather dismissive rejection letter later saying that something written so horribly would never be published and that the plot was boring, or something to that effect.
Little did said agent or assistant at top agency whose last name rhymes with Boris know that the book had already debuted at number nine on the NYT Bestseller list not but two months earlier.
Paula,
For what it’s worth, I’ve had two book agents and one film agent, and there’s not a contract to be found among us. The agency clause is a standard part of book contracts (and movie contracts) and I never wanted to be contractually bound to someone who didn’t want to represent my interests. As it turns out, I wouldn’t dream of leaving either Anne Hawkins (books) or Matthew Snyder (movies), but if we grow tired of each other’s company, we’re mutually free to walk away.
John Gilstrap
http://www.johngilstrap.com
Oh. And my agent came through a cold query.
And, yes, I presume that I am more important to her than the slush pile because I have proven myself. That said, once she takes on a client, all clients have equal status.
John Gilstrap
http://www.johngilstrap.com
Anon 3:24, I’ve heard that story before, and it just goes to show that on any given day a great book can be rejected and a lousy one can be published. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, John.
That’s the kind of inside information I love about this site. TKZ rocks.
Anonymous, that’s a great example of subjectivity, I’m just saying…
Nice try Mike . . .
I can name two people who got their agent through the coldest of the cold, they sent their queries into a query critique site.
One had agents emailing her, begging to see the manuscript. It just sold in an auction after she hooked up with her dream agent. The other writer is coming out from Hyperion this Fall. And I happen to know them both and know the story is true.
The editor on the group blog I write for – agent and book deal via query.
One of my fellow blogmates – agented via query.
Deep breath . . . Need I continue?
Terri
Well put, Joe. One must approach submission as one approaches an onject of seduction: best foot forward, take rejection with good grace, and keep asking likely prospects. Sooner or later, one will say yes.