1. Dagolas

    Dagolas Banned

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    How many?

    Discussion in 'Traditional Publishing' started by Dagolas, Feb 8, 2012.

    How many rejections can one expect for a first book?
     
  2. Jamez

    Jamez New Member

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    I'd say at most one for each and every letter you send out.
     
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  3. Banzai

    Banzai One-time Mod, but on the road to recovery Contributor

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    A lot. What you need to do is rise above them, and keep submitting 'til you get an acceptance. It's always your last submission that gets the good news ;)

    You'd be unlucky to get more...
     
  4. Dagolas

    Dagolas Banned

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    Since this topic's still open, I shall ask another question:

    How much would one make for a book sold in store for say... 7£? (which is 11$, or 8€)
     
  5. EdFromNY

    EdFromNY Hope to improve with age Supporter Contributor

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    If memory serves, I think a writer can expect to earn royalties of somewhere around 20% if his/her book sells.

    Do you have something ready to submit to a publisher? If not, I would recommend concentrating on writing a book before worrying about the process of publishing.
     
  6. Dagolas

    Dagolas Banned

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    I like to know stuff in advance.

    Well, anyway.
     
  7. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Patience is a virtue. For a writer, it's practically a requirement.
     
  8. Tesoro

    Tesoro Contributor Contributor

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    Amen.
     
  9. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    the royalty percentage varies so greatly from publisher to publisher, there really is no 'usual' amount... it will depend on a number of factors, one of which is whether an advance is paid and if so, how large a one... another being the size and standing of the publisher...

    https://www.google.com/webhp?rls=ig#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&rls=ig&site=webhp&source=hp&q=book+royalties&psj=1&oq=book+royalties&aq=f&aqi=g9g-v1&aql=&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=969l3906l0l5406l14l14l0l1l1l2l375l3829l2-7.6l13l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=467a0f7ce185e483&biw=728&bih=387
     
  10. GillySoose

    GillySoose New Member

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    I recently read an article by an author which claims that self-publishing is absolutely the way to go, so... in the case that you decide to do that then royalties are much higher and there's much fewer rejections. I can try to dig up that article if you're interested.
     
  11. Elvis

    Elvis New Member

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    I would be very interested in reading that article, if you don't mind, especially since it runs directly counter to conventional wisdom. Is this an established/well-known author who wrote the article?
     
  12. GillySoose

    GillySoose New Member

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    This one was the one I mentioned in my previous post (I don't really recognize him as a well-known author), though as expected there are a bunch of other similar/dissenting articles floating around on Google, some of which are interesting reads.
     
  13. Kallithrix

    Kallithrix Banned

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    LOL! If I knew how to give reps, I would ;)

    Dagolas, you're asking how long a piece of string is. It depends on many factors, but one above all; how many queries did you send out? Because as Jamez so aptly pointed out, you can get a rejection for every single submission you make. And if you're querying too early, before the book or the query letter is ready, then there's a strong probability of this happening.

    Write the book. Make it as close to perfection as you can. Send out queries targeted at the right agencies. Be prepared for rejections. Be prepared for no response at all.
     
  14. Tesoro

    Tesoro Contributor Contributor

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    Ditto! And I know how to give rep so I'll give you rep for both me and kallithrix ;)
     
  15. Dagolas

    Dagolas Banned

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    My question was stupid I just realised, but giving REP to a obvious(well not to me) answer is just stupider.
     
  16. Tesoro

    Tesoro Contributor Contributor

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    and being jealous of someone getting rep for the obvious answer is even sillier :)
     
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  17. Kallithrix

    Kallithrix Banned

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    hehe

    *highfive*

    *hypothetical reps*
     
  18. Kallithrix

    Kallithrix Banned

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    No it's totally warranted - when someone completely encapsulates the entire board's collective response in one sentence, that deserves muchos reps, man.
     
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  19. Dagolas

    Dagolas Banned

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    Where do you even see rep points?
     
  20. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    keep it polite, folks!... personal attacks/slurs are not tolerated on this site...
     
  21. TWErvin2

    TWErvin2 Contributor Contributor

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    My first published novel took 6 tries. It found it's way out of the slush pile three of those time for full reads, and on the third rise from slush it found a home. THe second novel in the series was accepted by that same publisher, so no rejections.

    Another novel (not related to the previous series) has gone through four publishers. It's at the fifth and has made it out of the slush pile for a full read. Will it get it's fifth rejection? Who knows.

    Those are only a few data points in an ocean of submissions by authors of varying abilities and skill. Even targeting an appropriate publisher is a factor (thus, knowledge of the industry).

    A novel may strike a home run the first time out? It may never find a home and garner three dozen rejections. One of those rejects may have occurred simply because the editor had to clean their desk (inbox) but would have liked the novel enough to publish it if they gave it a chance, or maybe the publisher just signed a contract with a novel that was too similar. If the order had been reversed, the rejected author might have been offered a contract. The point being, there are just too many variables to consider, so an 'average' number of rejections before success isn't something that could be reliably calculated.

    Write the best novel you can, make sure it's in the best condition and professionally submitted (not only formatting, but cover letter, synopsis etc). And while you're waiting for rejections and acceptance of it, write another novel.
     

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