Why Literary Agents Reject Books - Three Top Reasons
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- Bonus Gift: "Quick Start Guide to an Author Platform" - bit.ly/2Sl5PuB
Like many of our clients at kn literary, you may want to at least try for a “big publisher” on the road to getting your book published.
A first step on this journey to traditional publication pertains to finding a literary agent-that connected human who’ll introduce you at the publishing ball.
But literary agents reject many, many more books than they represent. So what are they looking for? This video will teach you just that!
You’ll learn:
● How to convince a literary agent that your book is saleable
● The number of different agents you should plan to submit your proposal/manuscript to
● When a literary agent gets paid
● What you should do if your writing isn’t strong enough to get noticed by an agent
● Plus a FREE GIFT that will help you build a strong platform for your book!
I hope you’ll take a peek and let me know what you think.
Bonus Gift: "Quick Start Guide to an Author Platform" - bit.ly/2Sl5PuB
For more information and to have a free call with a real live book editor, visit us at knliterary.com
Thanks for speaking about the publishing reality so cleanly, clearly, and kindly, Kelly.
Aww, you're so welcome. Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you found it helpful!
I'm going to say it again---Your videos are an OUTRAGEOUS help! Precisely the info I've been trying to cobble together over the past couple years, all in one place. A sincere thanks to you, Kelly, for your channel!
I'm so glad to hear that the videos are such a great help for you! We are so happy to offer the channel and we're so glad to have you as a viewer.
Sorry, if I have to hire an editor just to get an agent to read it, I may as well self-publish. One of the appeals of traditional publishing is access to editing resources, both from editorial agents and the fine folks at a publishing house.
You must be a lot smarter than I am.
I agree, agents better start sweetening their deals because the allure of self publishing is really tempting to authors these days.
I’m traditionally published and had the advantage of being an editor for many years first. The difference between edited and unedited can be so vast as to be the difference between engaging and nearly unreadable. Although I do edit my own writing, and give it to my agent self-edited, she often has notes to make it better before we send it to my editor. So an agent who will spend time with your ms is very valuable! But you can’t expect line editing either because time is money.
I agree that paying someone to edit your book should be unnecessary, but the service exists because so many writers' 'voices' are like fingernails drawn slowly over a dusty blackboard.
It isn't even about grammar or spelling, it's about having a tin ear and love of clichés.
I really enjoy your videos, Kelly. I always learn SO much from you. Your videos and PDFs are really great. I appreciate you.
Thank you for your kind words!
THANK YOU! Really appreciate this video and the Author Platform freebie. I LOVE the way you talk about the platform building. The sweetest, heartfelt ever. I've tried building before and hated it, but I was not coming from the loving place you are talking about. I'm going to give it another go--as a "creative outlet" as you say!
Deanna, I so understand what you're saying! I'm really encouraged to hear that you plan to take a fresh look at your platform. Please keep me updated on how it goes for you!
Thank you for all your support!
I read one article about hybrid publishing that it has appeal to women over 50. That’s me. I follow the rules, I’m seasoned at queries. I have worked with other writers on developing a good pitch. What does it mean when you get a rejection letter that says ‘you have a strong voice. Keep writing.’ Is that honest feedback or just bs? When you’re over fifty and the process is so slow, we may be dead before we get in front of a publisher.
Thank you Kelly... as usual, valuable information
You are so welcome!
Such a fantastic video... so clear!
Thanks! So glad it helped!
I really like your videos because I think you're very articulate, you obviously know what you're talking about, and you come across as friendly! As you know there are a lot of writers and editors on TH-cam doing the same type of thing. But, some of them come across as kind of haughty, or arrogant in my opinion. You don't. You come across as friendly as I said.
Another thing I've noticed is that a lot of these types of videos on TH-cam tell us what not to do as wanna be published authors. I wish more videos would tell us what to do instead of what not to do. I think you did that in this video ie, Follow submission guidelines, be able to tell what your book is about in one to two sentences etc. I think I will keep watching your channel of videos and continue learning. Thank you.
thank you so much for your kind words, and I'm so glad to hear my video was helpful. There are tons more on our kn channel, on every topic we can think of, so keep exploring, and keep learning!
This is very informative. Thanks a million. How an author would be sure the the agent will respect the confidentially of the information in the material the author will send to him?
My downfall will be the rebel in me that truly dislikes rules and guidelines. I love to write but I am a horrible salesperson! Thank you for the information!
I have to be satisfied Kelly really does provide clean resources and her people quoted a price lower than what I have charged for 25000 word. I can submit a New Age book 26 times for one VIP fee.
Thanks for your comment Kate!
Even if all this is true, and I respect your knowledge of the profession, it does not address the issue of good manuscripts being rejected even when the rules are followed to the letter. Equally frustrating is the amount of very bad writing that somehow does make its way into print. If the process worked as designed, then online self publishing would not have taken such a huge bite out of the market.
I've heard that no. 4 on this list is submitting to an agent who doesn't deal with that genre.
That can definitely cause a rejection.
This talk makes me lean toward self publishing, even though my stories would draw, hold the interest, and amaze millions of people. It seems like going through this hassle--even with a definite best seller--would hinder a winning literary work.
I find hard truths helpful, so I subscribed
We learn a lot from hard truth!
Why would a book be rejected if it’s not finished yet
Agents don't need to read an entire book to decide if it's a profitable idea for them to take on. With nonfiction, they will make a decision based on the proposal.
If my book is an educational encyclopedia for authors and screenwriters with hundreds of new ideas, I am not involved in social media. Will the poor performance of my platform be a reason for rejection as well? Thank you❤
Platform size and engagement are very important to agents and publishers. You can take some time to build this up or instead self-publish your book. Or if you sell a good number of books within the first 18 months, you can usually find a publisher to pick it up.
Kelly do you take orders to edit manuscripts.
Meena, we do offer editing services. Please check out our site for more info: knliterary.com/editing/
So what are the most common guidelines!?
Thanks for watching! We've got complete guide to writing a book proposal here: knliterary.com/2021/04/16/how-to-write-a-book-proposal/
And yet every successful author can list the dozens of times they were rejected by an agent. What does that tell you about the skills of the agents?
It's not so much the skill of the agent but what they are looking for. Many authors who get rejected by agents eventually find the exact person they need to work with. It's all about finding that perfect fit.
@@knliteraryarts Hmmm. But surely an agent is expected to have their finger on the pulse of what is likely to sell. The opportunities missed by of dozens of agents with pretty much every well-sold author has to bring their skills into question.
Let’s be honest and say why the real problem is: there are too many submissions. There are too many because people who do not take writing seriously are flooding the inboxes of agency readers with junk. You said it yourself: the no.1 reason books are rejected is because submissions guidelines are not followed. If you can’t be bothered following submissions guidelines, then you are not a serious writer. So, stop putting me and others at a disadvantage by forcing readers to give time to your junk submissions! This is why Stephen King, JK Rowling and others were rejected - because readers/agents feel rushed and overwhelmed by the rubbish beings sent to them and cannot engage properly with what they are reading. Stop wasting our time!
This is 100% True
📙💯
Well it looks like I am not ready to find an agent. Hmm. Am anyway out for beta readers for my adult mediaval Fantasy centering around women's rights and freedom right now. A witch is fleeing inquisition and learning social skills in the way, trying to find her place in society.
Not the first thing I wrote but....well. Queries. Hrmpf.
Everything takes time, Brigitte! You'll get to the agent hunt. But it's important to be prepared when you get to that step! Thanks for watching.
@@knliteraryarts I sure hope so. Doing my best to get an overview allready. Nervously. But for a newbie it is allready quite a voyage to find critique partners and beta readers. Not complaining. Just realizing that writing a manuscript is just a small part of publishing.