It is unfortunate, but almost every writer has to face rejection from a publisher at least once. No writer is safe from this and a very, very lucky few writers are able to land a publishing deal on their first try. A writer has to work exceptionally hard to be able to get a novel published. Since publishing houses tend to have literary agents to pitch novels to them, it is imperative for writers to impress literary agents with their work.

There are some reasons why literary agents and publishers reject novels. If you know what these reasons are, you can arm yourself against them and take the right measures to get your novel published. Here are some common reasons why many publishers and literary agents reject manuscripts.

•  The competition is very high for writers and literary agents, which is the reason why publishers and literary agents themselves are very choosy which manuscript they pick up. Since publishing houses and literary agents get hundreds of manuscripts in a single day so they are very picky about which author they choose. Actually, they have a limited number of new authors that they are willing to pick up in a calendar year, so the manuscripts that fail to stand out for any reason are rejected.

•  Your final manuscript needs to be perfectly ready before you submit it for publishing to the literary agent or publisher. If your novel shows potential and promise, they will pick it up. But if they believe that they need to spend time guiding you through the editing and revision process and helping you develop your writing, then they might not be willing to pick your novel up.

•  Sometimes a publisher or a literary agent will reject a novel because they are currently focusing on a specific genre or market and your novel does not fall into the category. So, it is better for you to do your research a little and see which publisher or literary agent would be more likely to pick up your manuscript.

•  If you don’t have a big enough platform or if you are not socially active, the publisher or the literary agent might not be keen on picking your novel up. Today, many authors are very active on social media even before they publish the novel. They hype their novels up, bring in more people and attract an audience before even the name of the novel is revealed. So, if your social media and marketing presence are not enough, the publisher might pass on your manuscript.

These are some reasons why publishers and literary agents reject perfectly written novels. Your novel might be your best work, but if your manuscript is not pitched at the right time to the right publisher, chances are that you might not be able to get an acceptance slip from the publisher or a literary agent. The best thing that you can do for yourself is research the market or the publisher you want and bide your time.