A few days ago I ran across a blog post from an author who was giving up on his book and writing because his book proposal had been rejected twice.
Twice.
I’ve done a lot of freelance writing, so maybe I’m a little jaded, but giving up after just two publishers say “no” is sad.
A lot of misconceptions float around in the book publishing world, but a few of the biggest ones center around quality and rejection. Authors end up feeling bad because of misconceptions like these, so it’s time to set the record straight.
1. My book was rejected because it’s bad.
Yes, your book might be huge stinker, but good books get rejected all the time. A book may be rejected for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with quality, including, but not limited to:
- The publisher already has a book in production that’s on a similar topic.
- The publisher doesn’t’ think they can sell enough copies.
- The book doesn’t fit with the other books in the current catalog.
- The publisher is considering a similar book and likes that agent better than your agent.
- The publisher’s nephew wants to write a book. (Publishers only release a certain number of books in a given year and in many cases “knowing someone” helps get a book contract.)
Of course sometimes books are also rejected not because the book itself is bad, but because the author didn’t follow directions. Your book will be rejected if you submit it to the wrong publishers for your genre or you don’t follow the submission instructions on their Web site. Again, it has nothing to do with the quality of the manuscript.
Consider this: Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen was rejected 140 times. At this point, the series has sold more than 100 million copies. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach and Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis were rejected multiple times
Two of my favorite books of all time were also rejected. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig was rejected 121 times and Gone with the Wind was rejected by 38 publishers.
Stories like these prove that if you really believe in your book, it can be a success.
2. Good books are put out by big publishing companies. Self-published books are books that were rejected by “real” publishers.
This misconception bugs me for two reasons: 1. being published by a big company doesn’t mean your book will be good. 2. self-publishing a book doesn’t mean it will be bad.
I’ve read plenty of dreadful books that were published by giant publishing companies and plenty of good self-published books. High-quality books can be self-published and low-quality books can be produced by huge publishing houses.
These days many people are self-publishing because they don’t want to wait two years for their book to make it through the Big Company bureaucracy to be released, only to be remaindered six weeks later.
More authors also are choosing self-publishing because they can retain more control and make more money.
The key is to invest in professional editorial and layout services to ensure your book is as good as it can possibly be. When you do that, you give your book the best chance of succeeding in the marketplace.
No matter how you decide to publish, the key is perseverance. Don’t give up on your dream of being a book author!