Hearing a “no” from a literary agent or editor for a publishing house is never easy. Very often, however, hopeful authors misinterpret brief personal notes added to a stock rejection letter. Sometimes the misconstrual leads the writer to give up when they should have simply changed their strategy for approaching agents and publishers.
Here’s how to crack the code of what common reasons for rejection actually mean, how they relate to realities of the publishing world and how you can respond in a smart, positive way.
1. The market is too small.
Translation: We don’t know how to make money publishing your book. Most often you hear this from a large publisher or an agent who deals only with major publishers. They may be misinformed about the size of the market, something you can remedy by adding statistics from credible sources before sending out the proposal again elsewhere. Or you have aimed at the wrong publishers. A company that specializes in books on your topic knows exactly how to reach your niche and is content with that number of potential readers.
Remedies: Add market numbers to your proposal. Add specific marketing suggestions.Try a smaller, specialized publisher.
2. It doesn’t fit our list.
Translation: We haven’t published a book in your category, of your format, or for your audience, and aren’t about to try. Understand that even general publishers gravitate toward certain kinds of books and away from other types. Do not take this comment as indicating anything at all about the quality, appeal or marketability of your book. It indicates a mismatch, plain and simple.
Remedy: Try elsewhere.
3. This type of book doesn’t sell.
Translation: Books like this haven’t sold in the past. No one in publishing has a crystal ball, and genres or topics that don’t sell well in one decade experience a resurgence of sales in another, or vice versa. Folks in the business often believe they have their finger on the pulse of what the public wants, but this is part hard data, part subjective judgment. Unearth the facts and put your best spin on what you learn.
Remedies: Research this assertion through Publisher’s Weekly.Compare your book to something that has sold.Try a more specialized publisher.
4. It’s not right for us.
Translation: We didn’t like it. Here they are not saying why they didn’t like it. There could be a quality problem getting in the way, which is something you can and should fix. This comment could also indicate lukewarm enthusiasm, which fixes itself when you dig harder to find someone who feels excited about your book.
Remedies: Get your proposal reviewed professionally — it may be sloppy or unpersuasive in ways not obvious to you.Keep trying. Tastes differ.
5. It’s too narrowly focused.
Translation: We sell more general books to the general public. Like reason #1, this says more about the publisher’s preferences than about your book’s viability. Niche publishers do very well with extremely specialized topics, so don’t let this comment discourage you. Just change gears.
Remedy: Try a more specialized publisher.
6. It’s already been done.
Translation: You didn’t convince us your book differs enough from what’s out there. Successful book proposals include a diligent and convincing analysis of competing books, explaining one by one how your book differs from each. Agents and editors are experts at telling the difference between someone blowing smoke and someone truly understanding the market. If you receive this reason for rejection, your section on competing books was unpersuasive. Redo it and do another round of submissions.
Remedies: Re-research your competition.Differentiate your book better in the proposal.More carefully define your readers.Change the angle, audience, approach of the book.
7. It’s an article, not a book.
Translation: You didn’t persuade us that you can fill 150-250 printed pages with meaningful material. Flimsy books lack the heft on a shelf that publishers and book buyers usually prefer, and they can leave customers who purchase books sight unseen feeling they did not receive their money’s worth. First-time authors often miscalculate how much they actually have to say on a topic, and experienced agents and editors are skilled at spotting this pitfall.
Remedies: Lengthen the book to at least 60,000 words.Create a more detailed outline of your book.Write it as an article.
8. There’s too much competition.
Translation: You didn’t convince us there’s an unfilled niche out there waiting for your book. This objection sometimes gets hopeful authors grabbing at their hair in frustration, since if publishers obviously felt the market had space for 17 books on the topic, why isn’t there space for the 18th? Don’t give up hope, though, because a publisher who doesn’t have any of those 17 currently available books might very well want a piece of the action!
Remedies: Do or cite market research on the need for your book.Rewrite your proposal’s analysis of competition.Try a publisher without any titles on the topic.
9. It’s too costly to produce.
Translation: We can’t make a profit publishing your book. This concern comes up with extremely long or oddly shaped books, those with very complex formatting (such as mathematical formulas), books described as needing many full-color glossy pages as well as those where authors seem to demand unusually high production values. In response, you need to show that you understand the economics of publishing, that additional expenses will receive due payback and that you’re not a prima donna “my way or else” type of author.
Remedies: Reduce requirements for photos or an unusual format.Cite evidence that your market will pay more.
10. You’re not an expert in your field.
Translation: We can’t book you credibly on talk shows. Books on health, law and semi-academic topics normally do best when the author is not merely a researcher or journalist but has been properly educated in the subject matter and has the backing of degrees or other widely recognized credentials. TV, radio and newspaper interviewers want to be dealing with someone who speaks from deep, trustworthy knowledge – an authority. Our culture doesn’t respect self-education on matters like science, medicine, economics and foreign policy, and on your own, you are not going to be able to make much of a dent in this prejudice.
Remedies: Find a co-author with the credentials you lack.Obtain more credentials.
Armed with this translation tool, you’ll be better equipped to understand the terse, cryptic comments literary gatekeepers are known for. You’ll know how and why to regroup where needed and when to simply keep trying. Good luck to you in your search for a publisher!