In my career, I’ve published 8 books in 3 languages. For some of my books, I was lucky enough to have been approached by the publishers to ask if I would write the book, so for these I didn’t have to seek out an agent and promote my idea (though I did have to submit a summary and outline).

But for a couple of my books—those where I had to pitch my idea first to my agent and then to an editor—I experienced what many authors do when they work incredibly hard to share their concept with the world: the pain of rejection and the need to go "back to the drawing board."

Getting the Rejection Letter

It's an all-too-common trope that writers send dozens of pitches and either hear nothing in return or they receive standard form letters thanking them for their submission, but it’s not the right fit at this time.

I received scores of rejections, probably more than 40, for what is now my award-winning documentary book Women Healers of the World: The Geography, History and Traditions of Herbal Medicine. When the manuscript was in its infancy and I was interviewing women across the United States, I sent an early draft of a proposal to a many agents. But I was not in the “sales pitch mentality,” instead I was still in writing mode.

And I was new to the world of pitching and selling. My early attempts at a book proposal were wordy and complex and verbose (see how I did that) with too much repetition and no clear description of my goal. I feel sorry for the editors who had to slog through my early proposals. I received many dreaded rejection letters.

As I crystalized what I was trying to accomplish, my proposals got stronger. I began to hone in on what my proposal was saying and how it appeared to editors. I would read honest feedback and realize my proposal had not been clear enough. It was my responsibility to clearly demonstrate the value and vision of the book within the sales pitch. If an agent didn’t understand, I needed to go back to my pitch.

Why Rejection is Valuable, and How to Use It

Many authors lose confidence at the pitch stage. The proposal is the selling document, the sales pitch that promotes not only the book but also the author and his or her ability to capture an audience. It’s a completely different type of writing, and yet it’s exactly what an agent or editor sees first. Perhaps because I’ve learned how to sell natural and organic products, I feel comfortable stepping out of my writing identity and into my selling identity. It’s a skill that must be developed by authors whether you are pitching to traditional publishing houses, to Indie presses, or you plan to self-publish. You must master the art of selling.

It helps that the proposal is not a static document carved into cement that you simply mail out over and over. At every stage, you have the opportunity to improve your pitch. It’s a living, breathing document that is intended to change and morph as you grow as a writer and as you receive feedback.

If your feedback is about you as the author and that perhaps you are not the right fit, or not well-known enough, or your platform is too small, take it in stride. Develop your platform with blogging, social media, podcasting, in-person lectures, speaking engagements, attending conferences, and other ways to share your project with others and engage with a growing potential audience. This takes time. Meanwhile, continue to work on your manuscript and hone your proposal.

5 Tips to Upgrade and Revise Your Book Proposal

In my 30 years as an entrepreneur and author, I’ve learned to tackle these important things inside my book proposal before sending it out again:

• Shrink it. Be concise. Streamline. Eliminate unnecessary or confusing words so the core message of your manuscript shines through. In my own cases, my proposals have been wordy because there’s so much of the book’s value that I want to capture and convey to the editor. But upon re-reading these pitches, it’s obvious that I simply wrote too much.
• Engage a friend to read it to you aloud. It’s not enough to ask someone to read your proposal and later tell you what they think. You need to ask them to read it out loud to you in real time so that you hear where they stumble, what confuses them, and what lights them up. You’ll hear words that strike you as “off,” and you’ll hear the inflection in their voice that is illuminating. If possible, be in the same room so you can listen to them read it several times, each time with you taking notes and making edits. Determine where the gaps are, what’s missing, and how it can be streamlined.
• Fougettaboutit. Print the proposal, tuck it into a drawer for a few days, and then read it as if you were the agent or editor receiving it in the mail. Reading it on your computer screen is misleading—when you print it, you’ll recognize mistakes and phrases that scream out at you. Screens are deceptive while paper never lies.
• Enter Sales Mode. Get out of your manuscript head and get into your sales head. Think of yourself as your own business manager and write a sales pitch that is pure sales. Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, your manuscript likely isn’t a sales document. But your book proposal certainly is. Write it (and revise it) as if you are an independently contracted salesperson three steps removed. Look at it subjectively and identify its golden features and key values—from a distance.
• Be project oriented. Lastly, think of your book and its potential future with a publisher as a project and you are the project manager. How do you plan to co-manage this project with an editor? How will you communicate and be involved? How will you support the timeline and how does the publisher know she can trust you as a project partner, both during the editing phase and after publication? Are you a 1-Book-Jennie or do you envision working on future projects? In other words, are you a good investment for this publisher? Your book proposal should indicate this.

While no author wants to hear “no” from their submission to an editor or agent, it happens. It’s not the end of the world; getting a rejection is your best opportunity to re-evaluate your sales pitch to make sure it is the clearest, most accurate, and most compelling it can be.

Book Proposal Bootcamp

My online, on-demand course Book Proposal Bootcamp walks you through the essential steps and concepts for writing a stellar and compelling book proposal. It's extremely useful whether you plan to self-publish or you're seeking an agent.