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Introduction

It Takes Less Than a Minute to Reject Your Book

I make it my goal to reject every book proposal you send me in sixty seconds or less. This includes book ideas that come in my email box, that are hand-delivered to me at a writer’s conference, that are recommended by a friend of a friend who knew somebody who told them I was in the publishing business, or whatever. If you’ve got a book you want to publish, and you send it to me, chances are very good that I will reject your proposal in under a minute.

The sad part about this goal of mine is that it’s remarkably easy to accomplish. Too easy, in fact. Over the last two plus decades, I’ve worked as an acquisitions editor for three publishers and also as the founder and chief literary agent of Nappaland Literary Agency. I regretfully admit to you now that in that time I’ve issued thousands and thousands of those hated rejection letters, in all shapes and forms, to well-meaning and talented writers just like you.

I’ve looked an eager author in the eye and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in publishing your book.” I’ve sent countless emails, several variations on form letters, and even experimented with that stupid “checklist” rejection where a dozen reasons for declining are listed on the page and all I have to do is put an X next to my favorite insult for you. (“Your book doesn’t meet our quality standards,” “We are not able to project a significant interest for your book,” and so on.)

Now, before you label me as some sort of sadist toward the struggling masses of writers out there, you should also know that I am an author myself. In fact, I’ve published (as author or co-author) more than forty books, sold more than a million copies of those books, won awards, been translated into various foreign languages, and all kinds of good stuff like that.
What that really means is this:
In my career, I’ve happily received forty-plus acceptance letters or phone calls about my book ideas. (Yay me!)
At the same time, by my best estimates, I’ve also personally received more than 2,000 rejections for my book ideas. (Ouch!)

And yes, I’ve had to sit stone-faced while some arrogant jerk of an editor looked me dead in the eye and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in publishing your book.” I’ve received countless emails, several variations on form letters, and even some of those stupid “checklist” rejections where a dozen reasons for declining are listed on the page and all the contemptuous editor had to do was put an X next to her favorite insult for me.

So, you could say that for the past few decades I’ve been a successful author, editor, and literary agent. And you could also say during that time I’ve successfully failed at being an author, editor, and literary agent.

And that’s what this book is about. Learning why we fail—and then turning that knowledge into success the next time around.

I think Craig Ferguson, host of the Late Late Show on CBS, sums it up best. “We prepare for glory,” he says, “by failing until we don’t.”1 That rings true in the life of a professional writer. Still, failure by itself is of no benefit. It’s just another disappointing circumstance in life. However, failure with knowledge gained…well, that’s something completely different.
So, with that (and you) in mind, I’ve culled more than twenty years of my experience as a publishing industry professional and compiled it for you here, boiled down to 77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected (and how to be sure it won’t happen again!). It’s my hope that you’ll find this little tome insightful, helpful, and most of all, something that will give you what you need to get past your last rejection and move on to your rightful place of book publishing glory.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

I’ll be wearing both my “acquisitions editor” and “literary agent” caps while we chat in the pages here. So if I say something like, “When you send me your proposal…,” you can assume that “me” in that sentence refers to both “me-the-generic-acquisitions-editor” and “me-the-generic-literary-agent.” I’m making myself your stand-in for those roles. If something is editor-specific or agent-specific, I’ll let you know. For instance, if I say something like, “When I bring this to my VP of sales…,” that’ll mean I’m obviously talking from inside the publishing house—wearing the editorial hat. When I mention something like, “As I create my pitch list for this book…,” that’s clearly me operating outside the publishing house—wearing my agent hat. Generally speaking, this kind of thing should be clear to you as you read, but when in doubt, assume everything applies to both of those people.

Also, as you read this book, you can start at the beginning and work your way to the end (it makes most sense that way). Or you can feel free to skip around and check out the sections that catch your interest first (it works just fine that way, too).

The point is not necessarily the order in which you read, but the relevant information you gather as you read. So relax, knock yourself out, and jump in. Just imagine that you and I are sitting around having coffee and a conversation, talking over the finer points of your last book proposal. (And hopefully you’re buying the coffee!)

NOW, BEFORE WE BEGIN…

Of course, there are just a few things you do need to know before we get started.

First, foremost, and always, there is actually only one overarching reason why any book is published—or rejected:

Profit.

That’s it, really.

Remember, publishing is an industry—a business that has at its core the innate desire for survival. And, as for any business, survival means profit. A publishing house that doesn’t actively pursue profitability—no matter how noble or sublime its content goals—simply won’t be publishing books for very long. Those are just the facts of this capitalist system we’ve embraced (which also gives us all the opportunity to succeed beyond our wildest dreams!).

So, no matter what book you are currently pitching, you must always keep the idea of profit front and center:
Remove your “fuzzy focus” lenses.
Coldly determine what factors influence your publisher’s profit potential.
Position your book’s content and market features to highlight profit potential.
Propagandize your book’s proposal to hammer home that profit potential for the publisher. (More on this later.)

Compared with the work involved in writing a book, fiction or nonfiction, getting it published is often as arduous and difficult as task. Literary history is filled with now famous writers being rejected over and over again. Mike Nappa has written 77 Reasons Why Your Book was Rejected (and how to make sure it won’t happen again!) ($14.99, Sourcebooks, softcover). It is often brutally honest, but this is made more palatable by the humor he brings to this awful task. A literary agent, Nappa knows most of the reasons given for rejection as well as the ones never expressed. The fact is that, with the invention of the computer, just about everyone has become convinced they can and should write a book. In addition, there are many affordable outlets that will publish it for you, for a fee. With thousands of book proposals flooding agents and editors, it would be useful for the aspiring writer or one who has been rejected to know why one’s book simply cannot find a publisher. I suspect Nappa grew tired of explaining over and over again why a book was rejected. Now he need only hand them his new book and, if you have a book you want published, you should read it!

Are you a writer? Has you work been rejected over and over again? If so, then you need to read Mike Nappa’s 77 Reasons Why Your book Was Rejected.

Mike Nappa is an award-winning marketing copywriter, and chief literary agent at Nappaland Literary Agency. He’s also an accomplished author with more than a million copies of his books in print. Nappa is an expert of the rejection letter. What’s great about this project is that he not only gives you the reason for the rejection he gives advice on how to avoid that particular rejection moving forward.

Reason #46, there’s too much competition for your book. Does this sound familiar to you? Think about all of he books that have been published and are being published, this includes self-published authors too. There are well over a million. So how do you, the writer, avoid rejection? Nappa advises readers to keep current on what’s being published, avoid over published themes, make the competition irrelevant by becoming a pro at differentiating your book. Does this make sense/ Of course it does. Want more advice on how to avoid rejection? Nappa’s book has 76 more reasons why authors get rejected and he also has all of the answers to avoid rejection.

Reason #58, you self-published yourself into oblivion. Is this you? You have friends and relatives that have purchased your book and that’s it. You didn’t market it or have it reviewed by someone who can help get the word out. What else do you need to know? According to Nappa, don’t self-publish as a stepping-stone toward success in traditional publishing. Self-publish for personal reasons, not for professional ones. If you’ve already self-published for the wrong reason, slant it as an “educational experience.” Nappa’s book has 76 more reasons why authors get rejected and he also has all of the answers to avoid rejection.

If you are a writer who is tired of the rejections and you’re not really getting any answers as to why Nappa has all of the answers for you. He has 77 ways for you to avoid rejection and get better at what you do. The back of the book contains a list of recommended resources, such as books about writing, websites to help you promote and magazines that will enhance your writing, these sites can further assist you on your road to publication. Learn more about Mike at www.MikeNappa.com.