Why won’t they publish your book? Since agents and publishers rarely take the time to respond to authors they won’t be working with, you may never know. But I know. Here, in order of frequency, are the reasons you may be getting rejected — or just getting ghosted — by agents and publishers you’ve contacted….
You finally got a literary agent to engage about your book proposal. Now they’re no longer getting back to you and things are stalled. How can you move forward? The first thing you need to accept is that, as friendly as agents may seem, they are transactional by nature, because they only get paid if…
I just read one of the best rejection letters ever. I can’t vouch for the authenticity of this, but Sara Davis, a Post-doc at Skidmore in psychology, claims she received it when applying for an academic position. Here’s the text of the rejection: The faculty position you applied for at [redacted] attracted over 65 candidates….
Is there anything you hate more than businesspeople who “ghost” you? In case you’re not up on the slang, “ghosting” is ending a relationship by just disappearing and failing to respond to all forms of communication (social media, texting, or email, for example). In a personal relationship, that’s cowardly. In a professional relationship, it’s very…
When I work with authors and entrepreneurs on their ideas, one-on-one sessions miss something. So do big brainstorms. The best number is three. One extra person makes a dramatic difference. I’ve done this “idea development” thing about ten times now. (For authors, I call it a “book whisperer” session.) I start with an author, or…