Why literary agents reject novels

If you’ve been submitting to literary agents for any length of time, odds are, you’ve received some rejections. Sometimes, agents send personalised rejection emails that may shine at light on why (such as the book having a protagonist who is too passive). But it’s far more common for literary agents to send what we call “form rejections”.

What are form rejections?

Form rejections are generic rejection emails, often copy-and-pasted to save the agent time. This is common practice in the industry, especially because agents are so busy and usually don’t have time to send personalised rejections to every submission they receive.

If you aren’t sure whether you’ve received a form rejection, look for the following signs:

• It’s short and generic
• It lacks specific details about your novel (such as your characters’ names or very specific plot threads)
• It uses generalised rejection wording such as “This wasn’t a good fit”, “I’m not the right agent for this”, or “I wasn’t as enthusiastic as I’d like to be…”

For the author, this can be tricky, because you can’t know for certain why the agent has turned down the book.

And not knowing means you can’t adjust your manuscript – or your submission plan – moving forward.

I’ve been an editor of fiction for almost nine years, and I’ve also been through the querying process, landed an agent, and become a traditionally published author myself. During my time in the industry, I’ve observed some of the common reasons literary agents reject novels.

Here are the ones I’ve seen the most often – and what to do about them!

You haven’t followed submission guidelines

All literary agents have their own submission guidelines that they ask authors to follow.

This might be sending a query letter and 10 double-spaced sample pages in Word format. Some might ask you to paste the first 500 words below your query email. Some request a synopsis; others don’t.

It’s important that you follow the agent’s submission guidelines correctly. Failing to do this might raise questions about what you’d be like to work with as an author – which you don’t want!

Ideally, you want the literary agent to see that you can follow instructions and work collaboratively. This is a good indicator that you’ll be easy to work with later – and they can feel secure in handing you off to a publisher.

The query letter isn’t working

Query letters are, without doubt, a difficult beast to write. They should be short and snappy and similar to a back-cover blurb – and should entice the agent into requesting more material, such as your full manuscript.

The best format for a query letter is:

• A short introduction, stating your manuscript’s title, genre, age category, and the word count rounded up. Make sure you mention that the novel is complete. For example, MY BOOK is a YA contemporary romance complete at 80,000 words.
• A few paragraphs conveying your hook and main plot.
• A brief author bio.
• Thank you/signing off (keep this short and sweet – thank you for your consideration and best wishes, Rachel is enough).

The paragraphs about the hook and plot are the hardest to get right. You need to make sure the premise is clear and compelling.

And don’t spoil the ending or list out everything that happens (that’s where a synopsis comes in). Remember: query letters entice. You want an agent to request your manuscript and read it, so don’t give away the ending.

Your author bio should be short and sweet – focus on what’s relevant to the query or the basics, and leave it at that.

Make sure your grammar is up to scratch and that there are no typos, too!

They already have something similar on their list

This is, sadly, one that you have very little control over as an author.

The agent may simply have something very similar to your book already.

You can be reassured by the fact that this even happens to published authors! Similar books are released all the time, particularly if there are existing trends. (My cat café novels came out at a time when cosy books about cafés were having a moment.)

An agent, however, wouldn’t want to let down a current client by taking on a project that was far too similar to theirs. They would effectively be competing with each other – and the agent has to advocate for the clients they already have.

The good news is that there are plenty more literary agents in the sea! And your novel being similar to something else isn’t always a bad thing.

It shows there could be a market for it.

The voice isn’t strong enough

Ah, the frustrating “voice” rejection! Voice is something that is so unique to every author. It’s the unique way you tell a story, from the tone to your style and choice of words. You might have a dry, sardonic style. Or maybe you write with a light and upbeat tone.

No two readers or agents will connect with an author’s voice in the exact same way.

But what do they mean by the voice not being “strong” enough?

This typically means that they either didn’t connect with it, or that it wasn’t developed enough.

It could also be a mismatch between your voice and genre, or your voice and the protagonist. A light and upbeat voice is very suited to romcoms, but if you’re writing a gritty thriller where the protagonist is a cynic, a light/upbeat narrative voice wouldn’t work.

Developing voice as an author takes time, as does figuring out what genre your voice is best suited to. Adapting your voice to different genres can also be challenging.

Keep writing, keep learning, and keep growing. Your voice will come, and you’ll learn how to adapt it depending on the project.

It’s doesn’t fit the market

Perhaps you’ve pitched your book as a middle grade but the novel has many chapters from the perspective of the adults involved in the story. This would no longer fit the market, because we shouldn’t experience the story through the eyes of the adults in a middle grade book.

Another example: you’ve pitched a romance but the book has a tragically unhappy ending, meaning it doesn’t fit the conventions of the genre.

The best thing to do to avoid these types of rejections is to learn about your target market and genre.

Read lots of books in your genre and age category. Read craft books and industry articles and learn about what’s expected.

Authors often ask me if they can break the rules around age/genre conventions. And yes, there are plenty of writers who do this. But you will have a much more challenging time on submission if you’re very new to writing and want to be experimental.

There are definitely publishers that take on “niche” titles, or cross-genre books, but it’s much more challenging to succeed at breaking in as a new writer this way.

If you’re trying to kickstart your career, it would be more beneficial to stick to genre/age category conventions. You can always be experimental later.

They didn’t emotionally connect to the characters

This is another very subjective rejection. While one agent might not emotionally connect to your characters, another agent might love them!

The crucial character here is your protagonist – this is the person the agent needs to connect with the most.

There are some things you can do to make your characters more compelling. Make sure you give the protagonist a relatable problem right away in your opening pages – something the reader can connect with and understand.

Characters we can root for are far more compelling than those who are handed everything on a platter. Put plenty of obstacles in their way and don’t make it easy for them to get what they want.

Think about the personality of your characters, too. Do they have positive traits the reader can appreciate that make them likeable? Do they have enough struggles and flaws to make them feel realistic and well rounded?

The following books are very helpful for developing strong characters:

• Creating Character Arcs by K.M. Weiland
• The Negative Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
• The Positive Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

The sample pages aren’t working

Your query letter could be stellar, and you’ve followed all submission guidelines clearly… but if your sample pages are falling flat, that’s when a rejection might come in.

Aside from making sure your grammar, spelling, and writing are generally polished, look out for these issues:

• Lack of hook/premise: Your hook and the premise of your novel should be conveyed fairly quickly. For example, if you’re writing about an alien invasion, does the protagonist learn about this on the news in the opening chapter? Do they end up in the middle of the action when the invasion starts? If you’re writing a love story where a woman falls in love abroad, do we see her depart her current life of singledom, and fly to a sunny location with her girlfriends, who are hoping to help her find romance? If you don’t convey your premise early on, literary agents might be left wondering whether the concept has legs.
• No clear goal: Does your character have a clear goal and sense of direction? In the love-story scenario above, her goal might simply be to relax and escape from her life, while her girlfriends scheme behind the scenes. In an alien-invasion scenario, is the goal to save the planet?
• Starting with a dream: Starting with a dream is best avoided because it can make readers feel cheated when they learn that the opening to the novel wasn’t “real”. It rarely works well!
• Monologues: Avoid monologues, too – we don’t need to open with streams of thoughts from the main character! Try to start with a bang instead. How can you establish the status quo of their life and their main problem in a more interesting way?
• Waking up and day-to-day monotony: We don’t need to see characters waking up for the day, showering, brushing their teeth, making their breakfast… yawn! Keep the story moving so the agent can stay engaged.

There are many other reasons why your sample pages might not be working. The reasons could potentially be deeper or more structural.

All manuscripts are different, but these are some good angles to consider to start with.

You’ve sent it to the wrong agent

Literary agents represent certain genres and age categories. Some work across a wide range, whereas others are very limited in what they will accept.

Make sure you do your research. If you end up sending a YA novel to an agent who only takes on adult fiction, a rejection is inevitable!

This seems like a simple one, but it’s easily done, especially if there are lots and lots of agents working at the same literary agency. Dig deep and check their bios and preferences before you submit.

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Rejection doesn’t mean your book isn’t good. It just means it isn’t ready yet – and that’s completely normal!