Author Q&A: The Truth About Rejection in Numbers

Q: How many rejections have you gotten in your career as a writer?

Here is my spreadsheet for just one book I queried back in 2019. I sent 194 queries to agents and small publishers. I did not get one single offer of representation. The red lines are formal rejections. The orange and white lines are people I never heard back from either way.

Add to this list the numerous rejections I received for at least four other novels, and we’re getting close to 500 rejections to queries alone.

Among the five books and 500 rejections there was one single offer of representation from my current agent, Stephanie Kip Rostan at LGR Literary Agency. I received her offer in August of 2020.

Flash forward four years, I’m still with Stephanie, but we have yet to sell a manuscript. Now I’m acquainted with another type of rejection: editor rejections. Stephanie has submitted two of my books to editors at publishing houses, and I’ve probably received another 50+ rejections in that process. Zero offers.

Now consider all the short stories I’ve submitted to literary magazines. At least 100 more submissions in that category with only one story being accepted for publication.

Adding all that up, we’re looking at somewhere between 600 and 700 rejections with only two acceptances. That’s about a 0.3% acceptance rate. Crazy.

You must have a thick skin if you want to pursue traditional publishing. Rejection is part of the process. And most people never make it past the rejection phase. But numbers matter. It took five novels and 500 queries to get my first offer of representation. If I had given up after the first 100 queries, I wouldn’t have an agent. And I’m not giving up now either!

READ MORE ON MY PATREON PAGE. Even see the query letter that landed me my agent!