I have a very reputable agent. She's sent my book to about 20 publishers. About a quarter of them have turned it down. We haven't heard yet from the rest. Any thoughts on this? It's obviously discouraging, but at the same time I realize I'm lucky to even have an agent after all I went through to find one, it's only been about a month since my agent sent the book oout, and 75 percent haven't even given an opinion yet, which I'm told is not uncommon. Guess I'm just looking for some hope. Or are these rejections likely a sign of what's to come with the rest of the publishers? Thanks.
where do I stand?
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You still have to hear from 15 publishers. If you found an agent who is excited about your book, I think the odds are pretty good that a publisher will too. Good luck!!!!!!!
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Hang in there! It gets hard waiting for publishers to get back to you, but your agent will probably keep you in the loop as things progress. Mine was good about sending me e-mails saying "Still haven't heard from Pendant Publishing -- I'll check on it" without me even pestering (I couldn't keep track of all of it anyhow!)
And Cynthia's right -- if your agent has confidence in the work, he'll most likely keep submitting until he finds the right publisher for you. That can take time, too, of course....
And Cynthia's right -- if your agent has confidence in the work, he'll most likely keep submitting until he finds the right publisher for you. That can take time, too, of course....
Thanks to both of you. The agent truly does believe in it and is keeping me updated without me asking. I have faith in her and believe it will sell. But yeah, waiting is the hardest part. Thanks again!
Bookfreakguy--I'm wondering how long your manuscript/proposal is ... that too can make quite a difference.
I'd be interested to know what kind of a difference a long vs. short proposal would make? And how long would you define each?
Ask your agent if the publishers gave him/her reasons why they rejected it. That helps to gauge how well the proposal is written and relevance of the subject matter.
With my humor book we were rejected by a few houses but the editors all said the material was funny. At least we knew it passed the humor test. If they had come back and said the humor didn't work then we knew we had a problem. Luckily, Warner liked the stuff.
Good luck.
-Paul
With my humor book we were rejected by a few houses but the editors all said the material was funny. At least we knew it passed the humor test. If they had come back and said the humor didn't work then we knew we had a problem. Luckily, Warner liked the stuff.
Good luck.
-Paul
From my experience if editors hate it or love it they reply rather quickly. If they are not sure then they get others in their house to read it and give their opinions and that can take time. good luck!
I remember waiting on a bunch of academic publishers once: they all seemed fairly impressed with the content of the work, but kept waiting for the reviewers to get back to them on whether they should take the book or not. During this process the press kept switching editors and personnel, it was a long drawn out time that resulted ultimately in my pulling my book from consideration and going with someone else. Rejections are often more arbitrary than anything else... I would not get discouraged by rejections, they often do not reflect too much on the quality of the work.
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Find a project to keep yourself busy for the next several months to a year.
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While waiting - Start research how to market your book
While you await a reply, look into what steps you will need to take to market and promote your book - whether it be in response to a publisher's request to support the effort, or in your self-pubbing efforts if you choose that route.
While you await a reply, look into what steps you will need to take to market and promote your book - whether it be in response to a publisher's request to support the effort, or in your self-pubbing efforts if you choose that route.
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