Member-only story
Getting published
Why Did my Great Manuscript Get Rejected?
The reasons publishers often refuse excellent stories
Click here to read for free, if you are not yet a Medium member.
OK, you’ve just had your latest manuscript rejected by a third publisher. About now, your confidence and self-esteem are shot. You are starting to think: “My writing is crap. My manuscript just isn’t good enough.”
I’ll be blunt: in many cases that is exactly the problem. Novice writers can have inflated ideas both about how easy it is to write a best-seller and how good their own writing is.
But, of course, this is not always true. Your manuscript might be excellent, a potential best-seller. The twelve rejections of the first Harry Potter book have entered publishing folklore. Publishers reject thousands of well-written novels every year.
There were good, sound commercial reasons why experienced editors said ‘No thanks’ to J.K. Rowling. Publishing is a business, not simply a search for great writing.
Understanding why publishers reject great stories can make rejection easier to handle — and make you a smarter submitter.
Here are some reasons to consider.
