A question for DU authors:

[mlawson]

Just received my first rejection letter today, from my first book proposal. It was a standard card, that said "We read it with interest, but the project described is not one we believe fits into our current publishing plans." So, how do I know why they didn't like it?? I sent a cover letter and two chapters, exactly as requested on their website. Of course, I expected to get more than one rejection, but I did expect to get some reason as to WHY, so that I might correct the problem(s).

I *suspect* that my book (a historical novel about my hometown) is too long; I had to tell them that the wordcount is 254,000. But if that is the case, I wish they had said so. I need to know whether to TRY to cut it back before the next proposal goes out, and that will not be easy. I have no phone numbers, and no names of the editors who supposedly read my sample.

It is usual practice, to not reveal WHY a work is rejected???? Thanks!

[Robb]

1. Yup.

It's the rare publisher that will give you a critique along with a rejection slip. Actually, I've only gotten feedback after they've asked for more (post-proposal)....

Keep plugging. And for a historical novel about your hometown, think about local small press publishers, if you haven't already -- you know, in case Random House says no. ;)

[BigMcLargehuge]

2. yep

you'll be lucky to anything other than a form letter 99.999% of the time.

The worst rejection letter I got was a post it note stuck (crumpled of course) to the first page of my manuscript that read:

"sorry, out of forms"

just keep sending it, ignore simultaneous submission guidelines if you're a slush writer (i.e. not represented by an agent) because you should be so lucky as to have two publishers interested in your book, develop an armadillo-like hide (you'll need it, believe me), and learn to target your queries.

It helps. I've been a professional writer for nearly 11 years now, and with exactly ONE piece of professionally published fiction, three unpublished novels, and two years worth of weekly column writing under my belt, I manage to stay motivated. Sometimes it's not easy, but it's harder not to write than it is to receive rejections.

Perservere.

[WilliamPitt]

3. Yup

Now is the fun time, when you get to writhe in agony impaled upon the sword or rejection and self-doubt. That was my favorite part. It passes. Keep trying.

[mlawson]

4. No, no real self doubt.

I know it's good, dammit! Yes, I THINK it is.... Ah, fuck, who knows??? :-)

Thanks, Will!!! Of COURSE I will keep trying!!

[WilliamPitt]

5. In all liklihood

they rejected your book because they have other titles in the same vein either in production or on the shelves. That is the case a lot of the time.

[Gingersnap]

6. it's a double edged sword

in academic publishing, manuscripts are anonymously evaluated and you are usually sent the evaluators' comments. But it's a double edged sword--some people use the veil of anonymity to be assholes or to take personal grudges out on you. I think Will's right, it is probably because they already have similar things in production or don't think it can sell to a large enough audience.

keep trying!

[Plaid Adder]

7. Yes, it is usual practice, unless you make it past the initial screening.

I know it hurts, but it is totally normal.

I used to read fiction for a small literary magazine, and the system went like this:

If the first reader rejected it, the author got a preprinted postcard with a message much like the one you described.

If the second reader rejected it, the author got a form letter on an actual sheet of paper, with a slightly more encouraging message (but still one size fits all).

If it went to an editorial meeting and the editors considered but rejected it, it got a letter explaining why.

I can also report, having spent years trying to sell a 250,000 word novel myself, that the length is definitely an issue. I had one agent who refused to shop the book over that issue alone. They like them small so they can print more cheaply and fit more on a shelf. It's dumb, but it's true.

If you want more tales of publishing woe to make you feel better (or worse) you can read mine here:

http://www.plaidder.com/wof/market.htm

The brutal truth is that unless they are interested in you, they will not find it worth their while to put the effort in to telling you why they don't want you--just like when you apply for a job, and you don't get it, you often don't even get a call back. It's rude, but it's life.

Good luck,

The Plaid Adder

[mlawson]

9. Thanks, Plaid Adder, and everyone else!

I also suspect that the length is prohibitive. It's like War and Peace coming to Asheville, in this case. And, me NOT being Thomas Wolfe (yet), I guess it won't sell. But my book is unique, there is no doubt about that; no one but me has read any of it, so my characters and their eccentric (but entertaining) ways are still safe from copying, so I don't think that the reason for rejection was redundancy in titles.

I will try to think of ways to cut it down, but the subplots are all so interwoven it might screw up the whole thing.

Q: WHAT IF I 'fail' to mention the word count in my query letters??? Yes, the editors will be suspicious, but at least my sample chapters might have a chance.

[Plaid Adder]

11. OK, first thing: Get someone else to read it!

Obviously, it should be someone you trust, and preferably someone who knows something about fiction. But you don't really know how your book reads until you have heard from someone who hasn't been carrying it around in their head for months/years/a lifetime.

It can be amazing to find out what other people think is going on in the book you thought you knew, but that's the magic of reading.

C ya,

THe Plaid Adder

[mlawson]

16. You are right.

Actually, two good friends of mine have asked to do just that. I hope they are still willing, but when they see how much there is, they might be sorry. :o

[Wolfman 11]

8. don't cut it yet

send the same thing out to every possible publisher (assuming you have a Writer's Handbook or similar source of contacts), before you decide to rework anything. I know it's hard, but try not to get too discouraged. We have chosen a field with an astronomically high rejection rate. I know this doesn't help much because you probably decided to write because you don't like to do anything else, (as I have done) but don't give up. Just keep chugging, try to meet other writers, and submit as much stuff as possible. The only place I've ever been published in the 2 years I've been writing is the DU Articles page. If you are serious, it will happen eventually.

[Plaid Adder]

10. A second opinion

Wolfman11 is right about not giving up! And also about not cutting it yet. However, I have a cautionary tale about sending it out everywhere:

For a while I had an agent who was trying to sell one of my novels (not the 275,000 word one). She sent it out to everywhere she could find and accomplished nothing. I eventually fired her because she was unresponsive and not doing jack, and tried to get a second agent, who had expressed interest earlier, interested in the project. However, she said that since it had already made the rounds, she wouldn't be able to submit it again; once it's rejected, it's rejected.

The moral of the story is: You will only have one shot with each editor, so you need to make sure that the book is in the best shape it can be before you start mailing it everywhere. The thing is that you personally are probably not in the best shape to make that determination, as you are closer to it than anyone else.

My advice, if you really want to sell it, is to try getting an agent interested. This is difficult, because most agents prefer not to represent unpublished writers, but it can be done (I'm unpublished too, except for DU and in my unrelated nonfiction life). But most of the big houses don't really give much consideration to unsolicited and unagented manuscripts, and it helps to have someone who is in the business giving you advice. The agent I fired was very good at helping me refine the MS; she just sucked at selling the thing.

Good luck,

The Plaid Adder

[mlawson]

13. I won't.

The subplots all work together, and cutting one out will diminish or negate the impacts of the next ones. It's sort of like the sitcom Seinfeld, where at the end, everything that happened during the episode comes together.

I do have a handbook. Most publishers, as you know, either do not want fiction, or they want 'agented' authors, etc. My book is part fiction, part real, but I guess I have to consider it fiction.

Thanks!! I'm not discouraged, but I was shocked to get a rejection in just two weeks.

[SOteric]

12. Yes, it's the usual practice.

Most publishers will not provide feedback unless they've already accepted your work for publication and feel that changes would increase their ability to market the work.

Look at it from their point of view, a well-known publishing house receives hundreds of thousands of manuscripts. It's not cost effective to employ someone to write carefully worded advise to every manuscript they review.

Console yourself with the high number of brilliant authors whose works were rejected repeatedly before someone took a chance on them.

Don't change your work just because you feel it will more likely be published. 2 or 3 publishing houses down the line might accept it just as it is. If you've tried all the options, then maybe you can rework it and send it around again.

[Plaid Adder]

14. And with the number of authors who have been rejected repeatedly...

...and then just gave up!

That's what I did, in the end. I don't recommend it for anyone who is really attached to the idea of publishing for its own sake, but I eventually came to the realization that I was not willing to do what it would take, and so I made my peace with the idea of writing for my own enjoyment.

I wasn't happy about it, really, but I found that the stress of trying to get published--which really is heartbreaking--was making writing so painful that I didn't wnat to do it any more, and I had to change that. Now I'm off the market, happily working on the fifth novel of an unsaleable series, and still enjoying it.

Don't let the market make you feel like if you can't sell it it's worth nothing. Not everything of value has a price!

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[mlawson]

15. I just realized two likely reason they don't give feedback.

If they did, then many authors would make the changes they felt the editors wanted, and resubmit, taking up the time of editors who had already rejected it.

Also, since every rejection would provide hints that might improve the book, the editors would be helping their competitors out. Eventually, the improved manuscript would sell, and perhaps eclipse the previous editors' own pet titles.