5 Obvious Reasons Why Your Manuscript Was Rejected

Let's face it-- None of us enjoys rejection.

To many of us, receiving a rejection letter is just another reminder that someone else dislikes our writing; or did they?

Sometimes the editor who read your manuscript may actually enjoy your writing, but there are some minimum requirements you may have missed which caused him/her to send you the bad news.

Below you'll find a few reasons why your manuscript may have been sent back to you:

You:

• Submitted your manuscript to a publisher that doesn't publish your genre of writing.
• Did not submit your manuscript by the deadline.
• Did not do spell or grammar check, so your manuscript is filled with misspellings and typos.
• Submitted your entire manuscript instead of the query letter or book proposal they requested
• Exceeded the required word count

Even if you're guilty of some of these mistakes, there is good news. You can solve these problems using the following strategies:

• Keep a calendar nearby so you'll be aware of the deadlines for particular publishers.
• Always spell check your manuscript before closing the document.
• Hire a good editor to check if you meet the writing guidelines for the publisher you're submitting your manuscript to.
• Buy and read books on writing good query letters and book proposals.
• Find out the proper word count and adhere to these guidelines.

If you follow these steps and still receive rejection letters, you'll at least know you've done your best. In addition, you can keep sending your manuscript to other publishers until you receive that letter of acceptance. Whatever you do, don't give up!

Be On Time!

In 2008, when I began working at an office job, I made a conscious decision to work at being on time to work and any other appointments. This is significant for me because I had been in sales for over five years previous to this time. My sales job had me spoiled in that I never really had a set schedule, so there was no obligation to rush to be on time.

Now that I'm a full-time writer, I'm finding myself working harder to stay in a "schedule" mode, in order to complete my writing assignments.

Being on time, whether it's for work, a meeting, or even a family obligation, is vital. As writers, we have deadlines to meet. Whether we're working independently or doing an assignment for an editor or publisher, it behooves us to set goals and complete our assignments on time. Doing this demonstrates to others that we value a person's time and rules.

What can you do to be on time with your writing assignments?

• Start writing once you find out about the assignment.
• Create a schedule for completing the assignment.
• Write something everyday.
• Complete your assignment at least 2-3 days before the deadline.

It's important for us to be on time as we write because someone or some people are counting on us!