I’ve mentioned that for my next book, Fallen, I’d be querying it for a while, at least six months. Why? Because two people I trust strongly encouraged me to do so. Thus, I’ve been sending out queries since late May. So far, I’ve gotten mostly rejections or a resounding silence. The one positive response I received was a full request from an agent to whom I’d been referred by another writer. Even she rejected me at first, then immediately wrote back and said she’d just realized I’d been recommended and asked me to send a full. I complied, of course; that was about 6 weeks ago, but I don’t expect to hear anything for at least a couple more months.
In a recent conversation with one of those who encouraged me to query, I asked what it was about this book (and its sequels) that he found so enjoyable, that quality about it that made him think it should forego indie publishing and go straight to an agent en route to a traditional publisher. He said, “Because it’s so different from anything out there on the market.”
In my head, I heard “DING DING DING,” and I knew THAT is likely why no agent wants it—because it doesn’t fit the classifications in fiction that they *know* they can sell. Even if they read more than a few pages or chapters and find they actually love the story, it’s irrelevant if they can’t sell it to a publisher. After all, selling books to publishers is an agent’s livelihood. They can’t afford to donate time to a project—even one they might believe in—if it isn’t going to put food on the table or pay their mortgage.
Publishers have limited resources (person-hours, finances, bookseller contacts, etc.), and must make the best use of them they can. If they aren’t pretty darned sure they can make back their investment, with a healthy profit to top it off, they aren’t interested. I know it’s not personal, that they have employees, bills, taxes, and oh yeah, a reputation to think about, because in business, one’s reputation is golden. I get it. It makes sense, even if I don’t like what it means for me as a writer of things that may not fit their generalized projections of What Readers Probably Want.
When I translated this massive thought train for my beta-reader friend, I could see that he hadn’t considered this. The usual conversation followed regarding the idea of traditional publishers being “gatekeepers” between writers and the reading public. And in a way, that’s true. Publishers choose—based no doubt on financial statistics and hard marketing data—what will be made available through traditional channels (i.e. bookstores and libraries) to people searching for their next great read. As I said, I can’t blame them for this. Publishing is a business.
This is nothing new. Rejections are such a huge, normal part of the querying process that writers joke about it. They commiserate with one another on social media because any writer who has queried knows the pain and frustration of rejection, usually one that gives no reason, no explanation, only a resounding “No,”—if they respond at all. In fact, rejection is so common that in QueryTracker’s drop-down menu for how a queried agent replied, the “Rejected” option is second on the list (after “Pending Response”). Why? Because it’s the one most used. Most common. The ones we querying authors really want to use—“Full Request” or “Offer of Representation”—are buried near the end of the list because they aren’t needed as often. It’s subtle. But it’s telling.
Is this surprising? Not at all. It’s simple math. There are far more writers completing manuscripts than there are publishers available to take them on as clients. It is, however, the main reason that indie publishing has exploded in the last few years. I hear the arguments from some readers that indie books aren’t as well-written (can’t speak to this; I’ve read some really well-
written indie books); that they don’t have great editing (hey, I’ve found typos in trad published books, too); that indie books have cheesier covers (professional covers are not cheap, let me tell you); that the marketing behind them is less targeted or well-established (probably true, since indie authors are one-person industries, with the writer wearing many hats); and other reasons why they don’t buy indie books. But even this is changing. I’m seeing more people these days posting on TwiXter (or whatever it’s called these days) specifically looking for indie-published books. I, and thousands of other indie authors thank you, fine readers! (And please help even further by spreading the word about indie books you love!)
This not-quite-a-dilemma isn’t likely to change any time soon. Trad publishers are going to publish what they think will sell; indie authors are going to write what they want to write. Whether the twain ever shall meet remains to be seen. In the end, though, it’s the readers who will benefit most. There’s no shortage of great stuff coming at them from all sides, all genres, all reading levels. The hardest part for them will be deciding which book to read next.
And that’s a very good thing.
Photo credits:
Balance Sheet, Photo by Firmbee.com on Unsplash
So many books, Photo by Gaman Alice on Unsplash