10 Reasons Your Book Is Rejected (By Agents & Editors) 

You're one of those unsung heroes, my friend.

You are the choosen one...

Thank You

Or when the professor gives a rubric and includes items such as rough draft included or turn in date is in the MLA heading and then removes the points for not doing it. I have heard many complaints when fellow students got their papers back.

I thought you couldn't tell us how many. You just told us how many. :-P

Levi Hobbs hahaha actually that was an estimate because I couldn’t tell you exactly how many lol

As a current college English professor, I concur 🤦‍♂️

I think one dead genre is most likely poetry.

Sci-fi and all the subgenres of sci-fi are a tough sell in general. So glad to read Steampunk is booming in self pub.

Yep! YA publishing tried to make "fetch" happen with steampunk and it simply never took off. It's a great example of "the books are not bad, YA pub just never found a market for it so they won't touch it." Every so often something steampunky does slip in, though, which is nice. But they're usually labeled as some other genre :)

Now I want this video XD

"The reason your books rejects you", that could be a good story. A young witch is given her first grimoire but it refuses to open or assist her. Eventually, when it does open up it will occasionally switch spell ingredients on her.

@@RoseKindred I would love to read that story. I would be better if it would make fun of everyv known cliche in the world, be it movies, books and series.

Now, I could make a video on that! There's no worse critic of me than my own writings!

@@RoseKindred The grimoire could talk and just judges the girl out loud "Sleeping at 10pm? pfttt" "Are you seriously eating this pizza?" "OMG WHY WOULD YOU DRINK THIS CUP OF WATER" Yeah, I will absolutely read that.

Don't, whatever you do, triple the word count.

@@leenaronalds4155 that makes sense but cupcake could be someone who was a minimalistic author who simply severely underwrote and just changed into someone who did lengthy sentences and moved to the opposite end of the spectrum instead of going overboard.

I hear ya.

Years back that was my fave blog but it broke my heart! So many queries were a million times better than mine and still needed tons of work. 😑

I run an author mentorship program. We pair agented and published trad pub authors with aspiring writers (with complete manuscripts). Next round will be in spring 2020 :)

will this wake the great dreamer?

@@KreativeHogwartsLegacyGUIDES I hope so, this sanity thing is enough to make one go insane.

Oh yes! I wrote in two! Haha. So in YA, time travel and superpowers are almost IMPOSSIBLE to sell as a debut. So many YA time travel and superpowers books have failed that publishing just won't touch them, and that trickles all the way down to agents. PLUS, honestly, just being on the other side now and seeing how many people write these books--I see pitches on Reddit, they're subbed to AMM, pitched in pitch contests--most of them blur together and are very same-same. Standing out in these tropes is HARD. And people can say allllll they want "Marvel movies with superheroes are huge, so that will trickle down to publishing" IT DOESN'T. It hasn't been true for 20+ years and it won't be true in two. I break a lot of hearts with this one, but I learned the hard way. A year and a half of drafting and revising, then lost my agent and failed in queries with a superpowers book :D Also, there's the broad genre of dystopia--still super super dead in YA. Publishing ground that genre into the ground. Post-apoc too. Vampires have been dead as a doornail until very very recently--and now only the savviest vampire books have a shot of getting in (AFAIK, only famous/established YA writers are getting to pub vampire books currently). Paranormal and urban fantasy, generally, are pretty dead in YA. You have to be clever about how you write them/label them to get in... and for example, all paranormal was dead until witches started slowly creeping back about 3 years ago (sales) for books that started pubbing in 2018. YA sci-fi is dead again--I got in during a window, and then the window closed behind me. It'll come back around, as it always does, but I got into YA right as the last window was closing, so my first 4 years/2 books fell into "dead genre" space and then I got lucky with book three. So any author querying a YA sci-fi right now... if they're getting a lot of rejections, it could largely be the genre.

@@AlexaDonne 😮😮😮 So...keep on top of the market trends when you're querying. Right? I can't believe so many of my favs are dead right now. Though I find the superpowers thing kind of funny in the fact that magic seems to be kind of a big thing on the shelves right now and honestly it can be chalked up to the same type of thing BUT the presentation of that magic/power seems to be more focused on the race/species/job of the char themselves and not like "I woke up today with Lazer beams for eyes", so I suppose it really does have to do with how it's presented. 🤔

@Alexa Donne Is contemporary fantasy, not urban fantasy, making a comeback? It seems like recently there’s been fantasy set in a contemporary setting being published in YA again.

@@nootnewt9323 Contemporary fantasy is a labeling cheat being used to sneak UF back in... though it's NOT UF the way UF was in 2008, or as currently exists in self-pub. That's the trick with YA--it's moved on past what these trends looked like when they were super huge (dystopian, urban fantasy, paranormal) and we're slowly feeling our way to what these genres will look like when they are "reborn" in YA. So something like The Devouring Gray can get published, and something like it might have been called UF or paranormal 15 years ago. Now it's contemporary fantasy.

@Alexa Donne Even though the superpower genre is dead, could something where ~80% of the population have superpowers work? Like, it's the new "normal" and not having it, having powers too dangerous, or having powers too weak is looked down on by society? I had tried doing an inversion of the superhero trope (everyone but the protagonist has powers) but superpowers are too fun not to write. Or could a dystopian set in a different country (Mexico, Japan, Norway, etc.) make a book stand out? (Again, another guilty pleasure genre). Do you think the super power genre will ever circle back around? P.S. Sorry my message wasn't exactly eloquent or concise.

That is a great idea. There is something that I recommend doing. Watch multiple videos about bad tropes list. Watch them from different RU-vid channels. I did this and found it really helpful. It is best to pay attention to tropes that pop up over and over again. The more people hate the trope the more likely that it is bad in general. So it is probably a good idea to avoid it. The main reason why certain tropes are hated is that they are cliches. They are not inherently bad. They are just overused and people are sick of them. There are whole lists of cliches, and they can go by genre. So I recommend looking through those. Some tropes are bad because they are problematic and disturbing. There can be PC issues like being racist or sexist. There can also be issues like romanticizing abuse. I reccomend learning about tropes.

Well, and I don't insult people in my query lol

The problem with forms is you really have no clue what the reason is b/c they send them to almost everyone, good and bad. Sometimes, yeah, it's bad... but more often it's "not special enough" or "won't stand out" or "I had a bad burrito and I'm not in the mood" lol. It's so subjective? I know it feels like stumbling around in the dark! Are you getting any requests? If not, workshop the query. If the query and pages seem fine, it could just be market.

@@AlexaDonne def taking my query over to that subreddit! I've workshoped it with writer friends, but more eyes is better! I've only gotten one request for more pages, alas. I'd settle for "wasn't in the mood" or "I don't like cats" lol. Anything to give me an idea what I'm working with. But I know that's the road we all walk.

Omg good luck. Being on sub is H A R D.

Thank you! On the hand, I can't wait since I've been revising with my agent for six months already. But I also know how hellish it's going to be and I'm dreading it! Terrified.

I have a video on how to find agents to query that should help!

@@AlexaDonne Thank you! I am still a long ways from being done, but it is great to know I have a resource to go to when I am done. Thanks again.

I have a video on writing to the market! Don't worry about it. Honestly, you mostly can't. Trends are hard to predict and publishing is always 2-3 years behind what you see on the shelves. You can not write something that is firmly dead, but it's generally not advisable to try to chase what's "alive."

Don't follow writing trends. What may be fashionable today will be stale tomorrow. Write what you love, and write it well and with passion, and the rest will take care of itself.

Look at books on book shelves, deal announcements, agent MSWLs, etc. Steampunk is dead in YA, but not outside of YA, AFAIK. In YA, writers have to be clever about not pitching a book as steampunk, but rather incorporating elements but pitching a work as another genre. For example, Tara Sim's TIMEKEEPER and Rosiee Thor's TARNISHED ARE THE STARS are both steampunk/have steampunk elements but were pitched and sold as sci-fi romances. (But, sci-fi is also a tough sell in YA and I know neither of those books had an easy publication journey, though they did make it!)

@@AlexaDonne Ah okay, thanks for your quick answer! 😁😁

just walk into a bookshop and see what's selling, and what isn't.

I think small batches of 2-3 is smart. If you wait for one to respond, it could take ages.

@@AlexaDonne Thank you! :)

I have a video about writing to trends which covers how I keep on top of things, with plenty of links in that description box!

@@AlexaDonne Thanks. I'll take a look at that one.

It's honestly hard to strike that perfect commercial balance. It takes time to figure out what makes a book commercial, and whether you want to write the book that is commercial. And not every writer is commercial or has to be... but if you're not, it definitely might be trickier in YA specifically (a very commercial category). But there are agents and publishers who like quieter or niche work!

@@AlexaDonne that is true. I don't want to be super commercial. Also, my project isn't YA. It's just sci-fi because the time span of the story goes for many years in the lives of the characters, which in itself scares me because it seems the majority of the market, not just YA has books that take place in short periods of time. So yeah, this is a tough game and I know it. I just need to find my agent. Thank you.

@@DalCecilRuno Just lately there was a series of four books also talking about whole life Neapolitan Novelsץ It goes something like 60 years.It even has mini-series, so you'll be find :)

@@sharonefee1426 thank you! I haven't heard of that series. I miss a lot of things because, I can barely see stuff. So thank you. That's a relief. 💜

In YA, it's dead-ish. It's the very onset of a zombie plague, maybe. Like, it's been dead a LONG time. At least eight years? But slowwwwwlllyyyyy I've seen a few deals start to pop up, starting about half-way through 2018. Vampires are now on a few MSWLs, though so far I've only seen deals for established, famous authors. I've seen a few ghosts. It goes hand in hand with "contemporary fantasy is the new urban fantasy" and UF often intersects with paranormal... I'm seeing a few books pop up that have the tropes we love from those genres, but people are using new genre labels and pointedly not calling things paranormal or UF. I'm very hopeful it's coming back.

Indigo RAINBOW i’ve never looked into publishing personally but from what i’ve heard each company has different guidelines and lays them out on their website or whatever

There are many examples and it varies by timing and category, but in YA, some good examples are steampunk books, superheroes (contrary to what people hope/believe, superpower YA DOES NOT SELL, not from debuts), time travel, dystopia, paranormal, urban fantasy. Now, nothing stays dead forever (except superpowers, seriously), so within paranormal we've seen witches creeping back in, and vampires very recently as well. Urban fantasy has been rebranded as contemporary fantasy, and certain takes on the genre can get through. But for years, labeling your YA book paranormal or urban fantasy was the kiss of death. It told the agent upfront "this is not sellable." Dystopia is still SUPER DEAD in YA.

@@AlexaDonne Thank you.

I can't imagine how that sucks. Especially when it's not something you can just easily look at and fix/change. (Also, can I say how impressive it is that you've written so much? And queried? You should be so proud of what you accomplished so far!)

Katya thank you SO much for the encouragement! It’s what I needed to hear during this time!

I went to a publishing workshop, and the speaker said for her first book, she made a list of 35 agents to BEGIN with, and queried seven at a time! To me, sounds like you are doing amazing and making progress.

Breana Johnson Thanks! I went to Agent Query and I’ve got two lists one is Queries sent by Email or Form and the other Snail Mail. I do love QueryTracker too! I’m still waiting to hear from 3 other agents, according to QueryTracker one of the agents has responded to all the other query’s submitted after me. So 🤞

Yeah it's bonkers. I know at New Leaf, Suzie Townsend has gotten queries that slag off Red Queen specifically. Some people have no common sense! And then they're outraged when they don't get an offer lol.

That doesn't really happen in publishing. Star writers have their own ideas.

Also I literally know the author in question--so I know for a fact when their book was written and sold (before mine). They're also nothing alike except for space. It's a small industry. Hard to pull one over on each other. And "have one just like it" can be so so broad. Literally "we already have a book with space as a setting."

@@AlexaDonne ok, thanks. Maybe I'm just jadded from other industries I've worked in.

@@CayenneTravels I mean definitely be careful! But I don't think publishers routinely are stealing from books that are subbed. The agents would call them out for it, I think!

Depends on the situation and what you want to do. Like, if it's a lot of agents who have said this, so you know you have a good book that just isn't landing... then you have to decide how you want to debut. Once you debut as self-pub, you don't really get to debut again in trad--not unless you're changing your name or a LOT of time has passed (and, thus, many books later). If you know you want to debut in trad pub, you have to write another book. But sometimes, honestly, self-pubbing something that just isn't landing in trad pub is the way to go. Great books do get rejected by trad pub for many reasons and can find great success self-published. That said, know your category/genre and how it's likely to perform in self-pub, and do your due diligence re, editing, page setting, cover, marketing, etc. if you go for it.

Why... would you want to read something that does something you don't enjoy? If someone queries you with a mermaid book but you don't like mermaid books, you'll reject it. It's not for you. That example, by the way, is from Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary, who has openly discussed, on the agency Tumblr and on panels, that mermaids squick her and thus mermaid books are auto-rejects for her. My agent doesn't like grim, relentlessly dark books, so she rejects them. She doesn't enjoy reading them, so she is the wrong person to represent them. I... don't think this one is particularly outrageous?

@@AlexaDonneThat doesn't make any sense because I can make a "mermaid book series" that is amazing New Leaf Literary and yet they won't even look at it. I followed their rules so they can read at least. right? I mean I did wrote a book for them to enjoy the story and the characters not just mermaids. If the characters are bad I understand that, but not a mythical creature like a mermaid. I can think of one main character that is a mermaid in a movie named The Little Mermaid. So am I wrong about this? Since they like fantasy, right?

@@jameschristopher5601 You... are either joking or really don't understand how taste works. Would you read a 400 page book about something you don't like? If you would, then you must read every single story ever written (and watch every TV show and film in every genre ever made)... which you don't. Come on. Our tastes and interests drive what we read. Literary agents are not charity readers. They read to find projects to represent. They won't waste their time on something they don't like.

@@AlexaDonne you're not listing to me. I am talking about the core of the story not surface level stuff . Think about it. If the story is good, no matter what the main character is it could be published right? 1: IF the story was good I would read a 1000+ page book no matter want is in the book. (I was joking about the mermaids story) I am really thinking writing that mermaid story but I got another story to write which has different versions of mermaids.

@@jameschristopher5601 It doesn't matter if a story is good if it's not the kind of story an agent wants to read. That's it. That's subjective taste.

Everyone has different preferences, but I think it's a bit unfair to assume that you know what a stranger's "normal" speaking style might be or to imply that they ought to speak a certain way. People don't communicate in only one set way in daily situations, let alone on camera or in "teaching mode."