Dee Power and Brian Hill in "The Publishing Primer" recently asked a number of literary agents: "What is the greatest stumbling block writers face in becoming published for the first time by traditional commercial publishers?" Below are some representative responses...

"Getting their material read."

"Overwhelming number of submissions publishers receive."

"They don't study the very basics of the market. A rack size paperback is 85 to 100,000 words yet people are constantly sending me 'thrillers' that are 45,000 words."

"Competition from other writers. The number of people trying to get published is huge. If you write a high concept, interesting, well-written and fast-paced novel, your chances are much better. Most of the queries I see, I reject because the premises are boring and the writing is bad."

"Most writers think they can write a reasonably good book, with passable writing. NOT! That's what I see every day, hundreds of ordinary submissions. That's the biggest stumbling block. Authors have to come up with a unique idea, write fully dimensional characters, have a great plot, work at their craft, join writers workshops, polish, polish polish and learn to take criticism and use it."

"I think the greatest challenge to overcome is actually a combination of two, maybe three factors. 1) There are now SO many new writers with a nonfiction book idea or a complete draft manuscript of a novel, both editors and agents need ways of keeping the number of new authors whose work they seriously consider down to a manageable amount. 2) And given our culture at the moment, a new book and author need to have some truly exceptional qualities in order simply to make an impression on the market - be it a platform, a sensational story, an extraordinary new voice."

"Not having a strong enough manuscript or a marketable one--ideas or storytelling that don't feel fresh."

"Writing not professional enough."

"If they have written a strong book with a fresh story, I think it's sometimes easier to sell a first time author. Editors are always looking for someone and something new. Authors, however, do have to be patient and hone their craft before they set out on approaching publishers/agents."

"For fiction, it's writing something mainstream enough to make it through the process. A new author may have to impress a dozen or more people in a row to get a deal. You can name dozens of classics that would not have made it through the process today."

"Assuming that their work is well-written (alas, a big assumption for much of what I see), I think fiction writers biggest stumble is trying to mix genres..."

"Poor synopsis."

"Getting an agent who will represent them - most publishers won't even look at a writer who isn't repped."

"I believe the greatest stumbling block is finding the right agent. There are many of us, but we are all becoming more selective because the publishers are becoming more selective."

"The greatest stumbling block is that the work isn't ready yet--many writers try to get an agent before they have perfected and polished their work. Publishers and agents are always looking for great books!"

I've only just seen this, thanks for posting, Datahog. Interesting stuff and echoes what I've heard elsewhere.

This is very interesting. I agree with the above statement that finding an agent seems to be the biggest stumbling block. In most cases you dont even get to have your manuscript in front of the agent because you get teh rejection right after the query letter.
In other words, in order to get representation you must first of all, hone your query letter writing skills.

Follwing is an excerpt from a wall street journal artice about the Gargoyle.
The full article is at
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121392716313490945.html

The pitch, for a first-person narrative then titled "The Gargoyle: A Memoir" began: "It would be an egregious lapse of judgment for you to represent me. Allow me to outline ten reasons why."

Its luck isn't it?

I mean the resons for rejction can be entirely subjective. As an author you need to research the agents so carefully to ensure you get one sympathetic to your genre and style.

It isn't all about talent - there are books out there, published and available (not self printed either) that i would be giving mostly 3's for, if it were on YWO.

It helps if you know people to....

Good article / post though. Mighty like a rose

At least in regard to the major publishers, if you don't have an agent, then you aren't likely to be read at all by a major publisher (unless of course you're a site member here and reach the top ten, but I'm speaking about all unpublished authors), and if you do have an agent then you will almost surely be read, and thus have a realistic chance to obtain a publishing deal; albeit, the odds may still be long, depending on the genre you write and the reputation, skill, and perseverance of your agent.

And given that most reputable agents take on only a handful of new writers each year, almost always less than one percent of the those who query, I would say that landing an agent gets you beyond the halfway mark to publication. By that point you've left the majority of your fellow amateur authors in the dust, so to speak, and the odds of publication are probably no worse than one in a hundred, instead of one in ten thousand or so, and perhaps much better than that.

Hi

Very disheartening for new writers. I had a friend who's non fiction proposal was accepted by a medium sized publisher and she wrote what they wanted. They sat on it for a few years, each time putting off her queries by saying that they didn't think the time was right. Finally, they said they didn't think there was enough audience and paid her out. She found out later that a celeb had written a similar book which they had published and they just wanted to keep her book out of the market.

As for me, I'll just keep plugging away until a publisher picks up one of my stories.

Cheers Olga