Last year, it’s beginning to feel like ages ago. I wrote a blog post on the rejection letters I received from the agents I had been trying to entice with my manuscript. Some of the responses were kind. Some weren’t mean. One particularly pissed me off. I haven’t queried any more agents since the last rejection I got early this year. You could say I’m still licking my wounds. Or, I’m sharpening my swords. Today, I came across an article I just have to share. Maybe there are people like me temporarily frightened off querying, would be encouraged as well. Happy reading!
WHY AM I GETTING REJECTED?
Thereisnoeasywaytofacerejection,andeditorsgivelittleinformation aboutwhytheyrejectedyourwork.Thesearethetestsofthewritinglife. Whenyou encounter them—and, at some point, all writers do (beginners moresothanothers)—facethemwithreneweddetermination.Success beginswheremost peoplequit.
Rejectionstendtohappenfortworeasons:
(1)yourworkisn’tready tobesubmitted,or
(2)youqueriedincorrectly,eitherbychoosingthe
wrongmarketorbyqueryingunprofessionally.Thefirstreasoncanonly
beremediedbymakingyourworkthebestitcanbe,throughconstant
analysisandrevision.Thesecondreasonforrejectioncanbecompletely
eliminatedbyfollowingtheadviceinthisbookandgettinginformation
fromotherexpertsources.
Why areeditors rejectingmywork when familyandfriends loveitso much?
Yourfamilyandfriendsloveyouandseeyouinyourwork.Aneditor
doesn’tknowyouandcanbemuchmoreobjective.(Thanksto JenniePitkus
forprovidingthisimportantquestionandanswer.)
Igetlotsofformrejectionsthathavelittleornofeedbackonmyindividual work. Whatmightbewrong?
Reasonsforrejectioncanbeincrediblysubjective(indefinableissuesof taste),butyoumightconsiderthe following possibilities:
• Somethingsimilarisonfileorwasrecentlypublished:You’renotthe onlypersonwithyouridea.Oftenyourworkwillberejectedsimply becausesomeoneelsebeatyouto it.
• Thetimingiswrong.Editorschange.Publisherscutbackontheirlists. Themarketchanges. Sometimes it’s hard to hit things just right.
•Youdon’thaveadequatecredentials(particularlyifyou’rewritinganon-fiction article or book), or you don’t have an attractivemarketing plat-form—a way to reachreaders and promote yourself and your work.
Ifyou’reattemptingtogetyourbookpublished,keepinmindthatmost NewYorkagentsandeditorstakeonanewprojectornewauthoronlywhen theyfeelthere’ssolidpotentialforasignificantorguaranteedreturn.Your
bookmaybetoo“small”forsomepublisherstoconsider;ifyoubelieve that’sthecase,startqueryingsmallorregionalpresses.
WhatshouldIdoafteranarticleisreturnedwith a rejection slip?
Sendarejectedqueryormanuscripttoanotherappropriatepublicationthe dayitisreturnedtoyou—ordecideit’stimetoreviseorrecastit.Always keepyourworkincirculation.
Howmanyrejectionslipsdoyouconsiderthecutoffpoint—whereIshould giveupcompletely?
Ifyouputalotoftimeandeffortintoaproject,don’tabandonittooquickly.Look attherejectionslipsasbitsofadviceforimprovement,oraspatternsofcriticism. Rejections,if used properly, canbe lessonsto improveyourwriting. Ifyou’vebeensendingthesamemagazinequeryaroundformany months,yourideamayhavegrowntoostaleforyoutokeepcirculatingit.If you’vebeenattemptingtosellabookmanuscript,andhavehadsomenear misses,thenyourtimingoryourluckmaybeoff;somebookscirculate formanyyearsbeforefindingtherightagentoreditor.Aslongasyou feel passionateaboutthework,youshouldn’tgiveuponit—evenifitmeans
returningtothemanuscriptafewyearsdowntheroad.Someideasand manuscripts have to be set aside because the market isn’t ready for them.
IfI’maimingataspecifictypeofmarket,shouldIcontinuetosubmitto (or query)publications thathaverejectedmypastwork?Doeditorsbegin torecognizecertainauthorsas“losers”andpushtheirworkasidebecause ofpastrejections?
Justbecauseamarkethasrejectedyourmanuscriptsinthepastdoesn’t meanitwillinthefuture.Editorsrejectmanuscriptsformanyreasonsthat havenothingtodowithyourmanuscript’svalue.Forexample,theeditor couldhaverecentlyboughtamanuscriptonatopicsimilartoyours.Don’t assumethatthesightofyournameonamanuscriptwillcauseaneditor toautomaticallyreachforarejectionslip.Assumingyourmanuscriptsare neat,appealing,andsuitedtothepublication,thenextmanuscriptyou sendmaybethehappycombinationoftherightideaintherightplaceat the right time, while your earlier pieces weren’t.Ontheotherhand,tread carefully.Ifyou’vesubmittedsixstoriesinthepastsixmonths,andthey’ve allbeenrejected,youmightwanttobackofffromthatmarketforawhile. Watchthepublicationcloselyandtrytomakeyourarticlesasgoodasthe onesthemagazineispublishing.
MayIsubmitthesamemanuscriptmorethanoncetoaneditor(oragent) whohasrejectedit?
Inthecaseofmagazinearticles,iftheeditortellsyouhe’srejectingit becausehe’soverboughtatthetime,orhe’srecentlyboughtsomething similar,youmighthaveachanceatalaterdate.Also,watchthemagazine’s masthead.Ifaneditorleaves,thenewonemighthavedifferenttastes,and youmightbeabletosellhimyourmanuscript.Butuseyourbestjudgment beforeresubmitting.Trytoascertainifthe editor was simply being polite, orifyourmanuscriptmayreallystandachanceatalaterdate. Inthecaseofbookeditorsandliteraryagents,onceyou’vebeenrejected, you’vekilledyourchanceswiththatpersononthatparticularproject—un-lesstheeditororagentinstructsyoutoreviseandresubmit.
If there’s no invitationtoresubmit,thenyoushouldn’ttryagain,evenifyoudorevise theworklateron.Whileyourrevisedworkmayindeedmeritanotherlook, editors and agents don’t want to see it again. Beginningwritersoftenlookforwaysaroundthishardtruth,especially if they realize later the rejection was due to an unprofessional query letter orunpolishedmanuscript.Theywonderiftheycouldchangetheirbook title, use a pen name, or alter the characters' names or otherwise disguise. Thefactthey’reresubmittingthesamematerial.Youcanalwaysgiveitatry, but it’s not recommended; editors and agents often see through the ruse. That’swhyit’ssoimportantyouqueryandsendyourmanuscriptonly whenyou’rereallyready.
Inbookpublishing,it’stoughifnotimpossible togetasecondchanceonamanuscript.Makeittheverybestitcanbe beforesendingitout.
Iampuzzledbywriterswhoclaimthataftermailingapiecenineteen timesandhavingitrejected,theymailitoncemoreandsellit.Arethey telling the truth?
Thesewritersaretellingthetruth,becausetheyhavecarefullyexploredall possiblemarketsandrecognizedthat,eventhoughtheirworkwasn’tright foroneeditor, it still might appeal to another.
This is the first part of the excerpt I downloaded from http://www.writersdigest.com/why-am-i-getting-rejected. More to come.
