Rejection Doesn’t Mean You Stink
I’ve been writing for so long now that I really and truly don’t take rejections personally anymore. When I first started out, I thought the sting of having my work dismissed would stick with me for eternity, but now, I often can’t even remember what a particular editor liked or didn’t like about a novel my agent submitted or a magazine story I pitched. (OK, I’m more likely to remember what they DID like–a girl’s gotta live on something!) Point is, rejection is part of being a professional writer. If you can’t learn how to handle it, you’re in the wrong business. So buck up, Nancy! This is no time for a pity party! And to make you feel better, let me give you a few common reasons editors reject books…reasons that have nothing to do with your being a horrible, no-talent, wannabe writer:
1. They hate something about it. I know–this doesn’t sound like the pep talk I promised, does it? But seriously, an editor can really dislike something about your book without the whole book’s being a disaster. Think of a beautiful woman with an obnoxious laugh: just because she sounds like a seal being tortured doesn’t mean that she isn’t gorgeous to behold from a visual standpoint. You may be onto something great with your book but have one aspect of your story that needs fixing. That doesn’t mean your book stinks or that you are a failure as a writer. It simply means your work needs revision (which is another thing you’d better get used to if you want to be a professional writer…but that’s a blog post for another day).
2. Your book is too similar to something already on their list. Let’s say you have a great book about kids who build a spaceship. What a cool idea! Good for you! But uh-oh, someone beat you to it, and the publishing house you had your heart set on already has a contract with that author. They really can’t have dueling books about kids who build spaceships now, can they? Again, it’s no reflection on your work, just a circumstance that precludes your getting a contract from them.
3. They previously had a similar book on their list that didn’t sell well. Publishers put a lot of money into marketing books, and when a title doesn’t sell well for them, they can’t afford to make the same mistake twice. So let’s say they have a book about a dinosaur and the sales are disappointing and you then offer them a book about…wait for it…a dinosaur. That’s probably not going to turn out well for you. Maybe your dinosaur is far more interesting, but they already have in their head that dinosaur books aren’t big sellers, so they pass. Doesn’t mean your book is a failure; it just means you’re not going to sell it to that publisher. (Disclaimer: Dinosaur books probably sell like gangbusters for all I know. Don’t let this hypothetical example dissuade you from writing about the T-Rex of your dreams.)
4. Maybe they’re finally sick of the subject matter. Honest question: is the public at large sick of vampires yet? I don’t know. All I know is that for the past several years, I think I’ve seen every possible variation on vampires, so it’s possible that the interest in bloodsuckers is on the wane/has waned/could be on the wane at some point. I have no idea. All I’m saying is that a lot of writers think, “Wow! This dystopian thing is everywhere! Imma write me one of those!” And by the time they’ve written it, publishers have decided that dystopian is so last season (again, this is a hypothetical–don’t let me talk you out of writing the next bestseller). Your writing may be awesome, but the publishers may be weary of something they feel they’ve seen too much.
Having said all this, I would encourage you to look for commonalities in your rejection letters. If a dozen editors tell you that your protagonist is a wimp, you might want to consider the very real possibility that your protagonist is a wimp. And then, instead of giving up, go back and revise and make your protagonist feistier.
