Okay, so you’ve sent off your manuscript to an agent or publisher. After weeks (or months) of nail biting that makes your manicurist want to beat you with a buffing pad, you finally receive a response. With trembling hands you open the email (or letter) and your heart breaks. Sorry Kid, not this time.
Your dreams are shattered and world is set askew. Do you BBQ your manuscript or throw your laptop out the window? No – especially if you live above the first floor. You don’t want to inadvertently maim someone.
Some of the top authors today sent out HUNDREDS of manuscripts before signing with an agent or publisher. Take JK Rowling and Jim Butcher just to name a few. Do you think they gave up after a couple of rejections? No way! They kept on trying and now are household names.
There are a variety of reasons your manuscript may have gotten rejected.
Did you have a good query letter?
If you don’t know what a query letter is stop right there! You may have found the answer to why you were rejected. A query letter to an agent or publisher is like a job interview. Why should this person/company represent you? You have to sell yourself. Go online or take a class on writing a good query letter. It will save you and the people you are submitting to a lot of headaches.
A bad query letter is like walking into an interview wearing cut offs and a t-shirt that says “Free Breast Exams” and saying you want a six figure income. Not gonna happen! There are sites all over the web showing examples of bad query letters. Go ahead and check them out… I’ll wait right here.
Pretty bad huh? Did you see any mistakes you might have made in the showcase of shame? Buck up! Learn from your mistakes and create a better query letter. It would be a good idea to have some of your critique partners take a look at it before you send it out. You don’t have any critique partners? Well that’s issue for another time.
Did you research the agency/publisher?
There are all flavors of agents and publishers out there and they each have their own likes and dislikes. You need to find out who fits your manuscript. Read the agent/publisher’s guidelines. They don’t put them up there for nothing. You wouldn’t send a gothic horror to an agent who deals in children’s books would you? If you did that’s probably why you got rejected – you sick puppy!
It cannot be stressed enough to do your research. Look at some published authors that match your genre and see where they are represented and send your stuff there. Tell them why you are sending your manuscript to them. Just don’t tell them that you’re the next big “Insert their leading author here.”
Was your manuscript formatted properly?
This goes back to checking the agent/publisher’s guidelines. If they don’t like attachments don’t send your manuscript as an attachment. Put it in the body of the email right under your query letter. Many spam filters will just junk anything with an attachment so be forewarned.
In closing, there are hundreds of reasons why you might have been rejected. Don’t take it personally its just business. Wear your rejection like a badge of honor. You’ve at least had the courage to take the next step and remember what Dory the fish sang. “Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.”
Love & Luck,
Stephanie Dawn Callahan
