1/11 On writing rejection - THREAD: As rejection is part and parcel of an author’s life (I literally don’t know a writer who hasn’t experienced it!) I thought it might be helpful to discuss some of the reasons WHY a trad publisher might reject a book. I think it’s important for
2/11 authors not to internalise rejection as v often, it’s nothing to do with them at all. SPACE ON LIST: sometimes, your novel might be just too similar to someone else’s that is already on your publisher’s list. If that’s the case, we often feel it wouldn’t be fair to take on
3/11 another very similar book bc our loyalty is to the existing author & sales/marketing may have already committed to their book & begun selling it in. We don’t want to cannibalise existing authors. HARD TO PITCH: this happens a lot with me; there might be a book I like but I
4/11 can’t find a way into it that feels unique or stand-out e.g a police procedural novel that follows a traditional set-up but has nothing to differentiate it from existing books. Sometimes I will have a 💡moment & find something to hook it on, but if not, I will reject. LACK
5/11 OF PASSION - publishing can be so subjective & sometimes I’ll reject a really great book bc I personally don’t feel connected to it - this doesn’t mean it’s a bad book & hopefully it gets snapped up elsewhere! SALES WORRIES - all books go through acquisitions meetings & if
6/11 the sales team are worried about an author’s track record or the concept I might not buy the book in it’s current state, bc their opinions are so important. We want your book to sell & so do you! DIFFICULT AUTHOR being honest if I’ve heard from trusted people that a writer
7/11 is particularly hard to work with it might give me pause - I think this is the case with any working relationship! But thankfully it is rare. NOT RIGHT FOR OUR READERSHIP - being publishers we try to do lots of research into who our demographic is, eg who is buying our books
8/11 & from which retailers. Sometimes brilliant books come in but I know our average reader wouldn’t buy them - which means we aren’t the right division to publish them. We have to keep the reader in mind at all times even if that means going against personal preference. And to
9/11 finish, here are some reasons which would NOT make me reject your book: SOCIAL MEDIA - it’s great if you have a good presence & I would take it into account as a plus - but not having one isn’t a deal-breaker at all. PREVIOUS SELF-PUBLISHING - this isn’t a problem unless
10/11 all your reviews are bad! NO WRITING HISTORY - it doesn’t matter if you haven’t done a writing course or won awards - if this is the first thing you’ve ever written & it’s a great book, we will want to publish it! 😊I hope this thread is helpful & remember that rejection of
11/11 your book is not rejection of YOU - and the only way around it is to keep writing. 👍🏻💫 More tips on dealing with rejection are on my website here: phoebemorganauthor.com #WritingCommunity #publishing #rejection #writing #querying
