Becoming a writer isn’t for the faint at heart or thin-skinned. Rejection is a given on the path to becoming an author.
What many would-be authors don’t know is that rejection happens for many reasons, several of which don’t include poor writing or a boring story.
While rejection at some point in your writing career is a given, there are actions you can take to minimize it. Here are five reasons agents reject submissions so you can work to improve your work:
Poor quality submission
This includes everything from typos and grammar errors to weak writing, wordiness, and disorganization. Don’t submit anything without revising to fix errors, remove weak words, and check for clarity and flow.
This also includes problems with the premise of your story or topic and/or poor execution of your idea. I can’t tell you how many queries I’ve received in which the premise has intrigued me, only to be disappointed at the quality and execution of the writing.
Pitching the Wrong Agent
One of the biggest mistakes writers make is sending their book query to an agent that doesn’t represent the book’s topic or genre. It’s an automatic rejection if the agent doesn’t work with the topic or genre you’re pitching. They can love your book, if they don’t have the contacts, it doesn’t do you any good. All you do is waste your and the agent’s time.
Do your research. Visit the agent’s website online and read the submission guidelines.
Don’t think you can squeeze your genre into another genre either. Just because your book includes a love story doesn’t make it a romance.
The same is true in nonfiction. If you have a book on leadership, submitting to an agent that represents small business and marketing might not work.
If you’re uncertain about expectations of genre fiction or nonfiction topics, do research on that. Join writers’ groups and attending writer conferences to get help in understanding the various genres.
Poor fit
Sometimes the agent covers the topic you’ve written about, but your work still isn’t a good fit for them and what they’re looking for. I regularly get queries that are good and are in a genre I represent, but the premise or something else about the story doesn’t resonate with me. There’s nothing wrong with it, it just doesn’t fit with what I want to represent. That might sound bad, but think of it this way; wouldn’t you rather work with an agent that was excited about your work?
Didn’t follow directions
This is similar to pitching the wrong agent. But even if you find the right place/person to submit to, you still have to send what the submission guidelines ask for. Failure to do what the submission guidelines tell you to do only shows you don’t know how to read or follow directions. If you can’t do what’s needed on the submission, what does that say about your ability to work with the agent and eventually a publisher? It’s a long process to get a book published and if right out of the gate, you’re not able to meet the guidelines, agents are worried how difficult it will be to get what they need or publishers need from you. Most agents I know reject without reading anything if the material doesn’t meet the submission guidelines.
Read the guidelines carefully as some are very specific in their requirements, such as what needs to go in the subject line of your email submission, what information you put in the headers of the document, and the type of document file (.doc, .pdf, etc). Think of it as your first chance to make a good impression.
Overly Self Confident (Cocky)
You may be a fantastic writer, but selling yourself through boasting is a sure way to get a rejection. First, the odds that you’ve written the greatest piece ever written are low. Second, even if it is the greatest piece of writing ever, people still won’t want to work with you if come off cocky. If your work is so great, let the writing speak for itself (show, don’t tell)!
Getting a piece from submission to print is a long process that requires authors and agents to work together in peace and harmony. Arrogance will make you appear difficult to work with.
If you get a rejection, don’t lash out at the agent via email or online (e.g. social media). The agent won’t care that you think they’re passing up on the next Harry Potter. You’re not going to change their minds, so you’re better off accepting the rejection and finding a new place to pitch.
Further, responding with anger or snark could do you more harm than good because agents and editors talk to each other. You don’t want your named passed on as someone who is rude.
You can’t always avoid rejection, but you can work to improve your odds of acceptance by heeding the above advise. Give your writing a fighting chance by submitting quality work to the right agent in a professional manner.