Dealing with Rejection

Tip One

Don’t take in personally. Only a small proportion of book are taken up so if your work ‘is not suitable for us at this time.’ Then more than likely your submission was not suitable for that publisher at that time. It may be rare but I have had a book rejected for this very reason then six months later the same publisher came back and asked if the book was still available because it would sit well in a new series they were launching.

Tip Two

If you receive a ‘good’ rejection letter that is to say you get some form of feedback then read that feedback, digest and follow the advice given. Once I sent in a storybook idea and although the publisher did not like the story they liked my style and suggested a few topics they would like to fill. So I produced a new story based on one of the topics they suggested and got a book published.

Tip Three

Just because one editor on one day did not feel your work was suitable then try, try and try again. Your manuscript only has to be in the right place at the right time once to get published.

Tip Four

Many hopeful authors think of the big names first however there are lots of smaller independent publishers. The larger publishers are unlikely to take the chance on an un-known whereas the smaller publishers do not have the budget to pay for big names. So search the web, visit your local bookshop or library or use such books as The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook to find a publisher you could work with.

Tip Five

If you are lucky to receive a ‘good’ rejection then take any advice given and rework your piece. If you receive a standard letter then still take the opportunity to rework the piece. Several months are likely to have passed and your writing skills will have improved which means you can improve your work.

Tip Six

Once you are happy your manuscript is as good as you can get it send it out again. You never know next time you may get a book deal rather than a rejection letter. 

Tip Seven

Since you sent out your manuscript ask yourself has the market changed or has the subject now been ‘done-to-death?’ If so then take this opportunity to slightly change the angle so your title is different from all those other books. Try to put yourself in the book buyer’s shoes. Why would they pick up your book rather than another authors?

Tip Eight

If no-one else has read your work then give it to someone you trust will give you an honest opinion rather than just nod and say how much they liked it. If you have the opportunity join a writers group and get their feed back or perhaps spend a little money on buying the services of a reputable editing service.

Tip Nine

Whilst you have a piece of work going through the process write another piece and send that to another publisher and so on. It take the ‘sting’ out of a rejection if you know you have several other pieces of work being looked at. 

Tip Ten

If a rejection really hurt then look at any successes you may have had even if it’s a reader letter. Once I received four rejections in the same post! So what did I do? I unashamedly pulled a book off the shelf that had my name on it and grinned, which made me feel so much better.

So don’t let them get you down! 

Brush yourself off and as the saying goes unless you’re in it you can’t win it!