Guest Post: 5 Reasons You May Be Getting Rejections--Thoughts from the Editor's Side of the Desk

Getting rejected and don't know why? Today's post is for you, a guest post from longtime freelance writer, author, editor, and all-around publishing pro, Jennifer Lawler: 

In the course of my career, I’ve been a freelance writer and book author, a magazine editor, a book development editor for nonfiction, and, most recently, an acquisitions editor for fiction. Now that I’m a freelance writer again, I wanted to share some thoughts about why you may be getting rejections instead of the acceptances you’d much rather receive.

1. Quality of the submission. Since editors don’t want to get into a heated debate over your pitch or your manuscript, they’ll just reject a poorly written query with a “not right for us, thanks!”—that is, if they respond at all. The black hole of silence is often what greets submissions that just aren’t up to par. The problem is, perfectly good submissions can also get eaten by the black hole of nonresponse, so how can you tell which is which?

If you’re getting mostly rejections or radio silence, it’s time to ask someone in the business for their opinion. Do this at arm's length—someone who isn’t published in your field can’t really help, and friends and family have too much invest in their relationship with you to be able to give it to you straight. Writers’ groups and online communities can help you understand where you’re not hitting the target.

2. Not a fit. When I acquired for a romance imprint, we got submissions for nonfiction books, children’s books, and the like. It didn’t matter how good they were, I wasn’t going to publish them. What a waste of everyone’s time. This is easy to fix—spend a small amount of time researching the outlet before you pitch!

3. Too similar to something we already have in the lineup. This is especially difficult at magazines that run a lot of information on the same topic. Women’s magazines always want articles on losing weight and saving money. So how is your article going to be different from all the others?

Sometimes there just isn’t much you can do about this problem. I once acquired a novel about a woman who was turned into a black Lab by a witch and not a month later got a submission from another writer about a woman who ... you got it. Now, what are the odds? And even though the second book was different from the first, it was too similar for me to acquire.

There’s not much you can do about this problem except pitchanother outlet. Fortunately, if your work is otherwise solid, the editor will often explain this reason for a turn-down, and then you can know what to do.

4. Coming across as a prima donna or a pain to work with. If your pitch letter comes along with demands (“I expect an answer by Friday”) or you sound otherwise unprofessional (“I’ve never done this before so don’t really know what I’m doing ....”), that’s going to be a ticket to nowhere. Make sure your interactions with editors are friendly but professional.

5. Not being flexible. When I worked at a custom publication, I’d get queries from people who had good writing skills but didn’t quite understand that at a custom publication, the client calls the shots. So I would sometimes respond to a query with, “I like this idea, but we’d need to take this approach,” only to have the writer withdraw the pitch in a huff.

An editor who suggests a different approach is trying to help you succeed. Don’t respond with a knee-jerk reaction. Think about what is being said and recognize that such flexibility is crucial to a successful freelance career.

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Thanks, Jennifer, for this insightful post! Lawler runs www.BeYourOwnBookDoctor.com and offers classes for fiction and nonfiction writers, including two classes coming in June. If you have questions for her, comment here and I'll ask her to answer them. 
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A Month of Templates: A Nonfiction Book Pitch

Welcome back to the month of templates. This one is for those of you with a nonfiction book to pitch. While you'll need a book proposal to actually sell your book, you open the door with a query you send to an agent or editor (if you're contacting publishers directly). Here's one that's included in Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money; my comments are in orange:

Dear Ms. Harper:

I’ve heard good things about you from fellow ASJA member Tina Tessina and am writing to query you about a nonfiction book proposal you may be interested in: [Always open with an "in," if you have one. Otherwise I suggest mentioning a book that the agent or editor has repped or published to let her or him know that you've done your homework. The majority of writers don't even bother!]

Falling in love is the easy part—it’s the day-to-day challenges that really put a relationship to the test. But while maintaining a strong, loving bond is difficult for even the most committed couples, those in long-distance relationships face an even greater challenge. [This is a brief description of the book's concept.]

According to recent statistics, at least 1 million Americans currently have commuter marriages and maintain two separate households. Millions more—including the more than 1,300,000 men and women in the U.S. armed services—face extended time away from each other because of jobs that require frequent travel. And every fall as students leave to attend college and graduate school, hundreds of thousands of dating and engaged couples face the prospect of long-distance love as well. [I've described the audience for the book, using relevant stats. Remember, you have to have an audience of eager readers who will buy your book!]

Any couple faced with a long-distance relationship faces a multitude of concerns. Will distance threaten their relationship? How will they maintain intimacy? What kind of financial burden will it cause? How will it affect the couple’s future? Is infidelity more likely? What if children are involved? How do they know if this is the right decision? How will they cope with the inevitable stress of being apart? [This gives an idea of the kinds of issues my readers face.]

My book, Make the Heart Grow Fonder: How to Survive—and Thrive in—Your Long-Distance Relationship, will answer all of the questions and concerns that these couples face. Heart will include the experiences of hundreds of long-distance relationship “veterans” as well as expert advice from psychologists and relationship experts. The book will also feature quizzes and activities for couples to use to determine whether a long-distance relationship is a healthy option for their relationship as well as ways to cope with loneliness and separation, tips on dealing with the financial burden these relationships can cause, and advice for parents who want to maintain a close relationship with their children regardless of physical distance. Heart will also look at the reasons for the growing trend in long-distance relationships and report on recent research on the factors that influence the success and stability of such relationships. [More detail about the book and what it will include.]

This down-to-earth, anecdote-filled book will be both a source of strength and encouragement as well as a wealth of practical information for the millions of people facing this increasingly common challenge. As a fulltime journalist and a veteran of three long-distance relationships, I can bring a unique perspective to this timely subject. [Here's where I fumble the ball a bit. Yes, I'm uniquelyl qualified, but I should have mentioned that I'd already written hundreds of articles for national magazines--evidence of my "platform."]

I hope you’ll be interested reviewing my book proposal for Heart—please let me know if I may send it to you immediately. Thank you very much for your time; I look forward to hearing from you soon. [Pretty typical close.]

Very truly yours,
Kelly James-Enger

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While this book didn't end up selling, this pitch letter did get me my first agent. You can use a similar format to approach an agent or editor with your own nonfiction book idea. Just make sure you have your book proposal ready to go first...in a future post, I'll talk more about teh elements of a successful one.

Market like a Maven (or, How to Succeed in your Freelance Biz)

Hopefully my post from earlier today (see below) didn’t scare you. The message? Marketing is critical to any freelancer’s business but it doesn’t pay off until you get paying work. So how exactly do you do that? By marketing efficiently, effectively, and consistently.

If you freelance for magazines, websites, and/or newspapers, the query letter is the most important weapon in your freelancer’s marketing arsenal. Use these 6 techniques to make your queries stand out from the pack:

• Capture the editor’s attention. Let me tell you about my first few queries. They sucked! I started most of them with language like, “I am a freelance writer who is interested in writing for your magazine...” Snooze alert! Now I start my queries with a lead—almost always the lead I use for the article itself. You want to intrigue your editor just as your story will intrigue readers.

• Pick up the phone…or at least send an email. Magazine editors come, go, change positions, titles, and responsibilities with alarming speed. Don’t rely on outdated writers' guidelines to tell you who the appropriate editor is—pick up the phone and ask the receptionist for the name (and correct spelling) of the editor you’re looking for. Got “phone phobia?” Then send out an email…but I find calling gets me the info a lot quicker.

• Demonstrate familiarity. Let the editor know you’ve read her publication by saying something like, “Interested in this idea for your ‘Latest News’ [or whatever section/department is appropriate] section?” You’re not just another writer trolling through Writer’s Market for a quick sale—you’ve done your homework, so let him know.

• Make it easy for him to say yes. When I pitch a story, I suggest a working title, word count, possible sidebars, and list the types of sources I plan to interview. If he likes my idea, and my angle, all he has to do is pick up the phone and assign the piece. Think like your editor, and offer him a package, not just an idea.

• Strut your stuff. Highlight your relevant writing experience and demonstrate to the editor that you are “uniquely qualified” (keep reading this blog and you'll hear me use that phrase again and again!) to write this article. If you’re pitching a gardening piece and grow award-winning cucumbers, mention that. If you’re writing on social media and have 10,000 followers on Twitter, include that. If your profile subject has agreed to be interviewed for the piece, let the editor know. You want him to read your query and think, “Wow—this writer is the perfect person to do this story!”

• Don’t give up. When you get a rejection (what I call a “bong”) from an editor, follow up immediately (with a day or two) with a new query. Start off saying something like, “thank you for your response (not rejection!) to my query about [fill-in-the-blank.] While I’m sorry you can’t use it at this time, I have another idea for you to consider.” Then include your new query. By doing this, you’ll start developing a relationship with the editor…eventually nail an assignment. Case in point: it took me multiple queries to crack big markets like Woman’s Day, Redbook, Health, and Fitness, so don’t give up. The next query you send may be the one that nets you your first assignment from that magazine...and turns your marketing into actual money.