Hi everyone,
I am new but have surfed Writewords for several months - it's a great site.
Last year I wrote my first novel and am so far the proud owner of 11 rejection letters!
One agent and one publisher said that they liked the book, that I write well, but that it is....not commercial enough.

I would appreciate any views as to what this means exactly.
a)the type of book you are writing is not currently a popular genre?
b) it's a good story but not good enough to sell well?
...??
(It is a semi-tragic love story set in Paris in the 80s)

When you receive rejection letters saying your work is not commercial enough, do you understand what this means with regard to your own writing?

Any opinions appreciated. Thanks.

Sammy, it could mean all sorts of things ranging from the market isn’t right for the genre at the moment to being unable to think of a better way to say they think the writing is pants. (not that I'm suggesting yours is!)

Without seeing your work, it’s difficult to say. The best thing you can do is upload the first chapter and let us see how we can help you.

Dee

Thanks Dee. I guess my main problem is, like many writers, I pore over my rejection letters trying to derive some helpful, hidden meaning!

'Poppy Love' is uploaded

Sammy

Hi Sammy, welcome to WW.

I think you can take that rejection as pretty much wrote. They do not think they'll be able to make lots of money (an agent's raison d'etre on the whole) out of your work.

It is the same problem a lot of us suffer, and is the reason why pale, middle of the road books are continually flying up the bestseller lists. Not so much because the public want them, as in the fact that they are all that are available and unfortunately, like follows like, especially in this country.

What that means is that say, a book like The Lovely Bones does well, the market trend will then tip in that direction - look at books such as Time Traveller's Wife and The Distance Between Us and all the other paler literary equivalents. There is a definite fear of trying something wildly different because, at the end of the day, the industry has stupidly chosen greed over art.

Of course, one must have faith that there are chinks in that armour, and rebels yet. Now and again a book comes along to prove the exception. But in a nutshell, that is what an agent means when they say your work is not commercial (or not commercially viable) enough. It means they don't think you'll make them rich, and has absolutely nothing to do with how other people will see your book.

JB

HI JB

Thanks for your reply.

I guess this brings us to that controversial question of how important it is to 'the writer' to get published. For me, I am hoping (probably naively!) to write for a living once the kids are older, instead of going back to work. I am 6 chapters into my second novel and am trying to approach it from a more commercial angle. To a degree, I too am choosing greed over art. I've surfed enough writers' sites to know that 'writing to get published' is generally considered a great sin!

Sammy

Sammy - you say: 'It is a semi-tragic love story set in Paris in the 80s'

Take the following remarks with a pinch of salt, which are offered in the spirit of open discussion:

What was happening in Paris in the 80s? Anything much? Would the book work better set in 1968 against a backdrop of civil strife? Maybe during the OAS bombing campaigns of the early 60s? Or does it not matter when it's set?

Maybe the story should be tragic, rather than semi-tragic - or would it be better as tragi-comedy? 'Semi-tragic' doesn't ring a bell for me.

A love story: always room for another of those. What's your angle on it? Did you ever read Love Story by Eric Segal (they made a movie with Ali McGraw playing the dying swan)?

As for writing to be published - I can't think this is a sin at all. Good luck.

<Added>

I meant to sign off:

Jim

Sammy, Waxy's right in saying what they mean is, 'we can't see how it would make enough money for a publisher to be interested,' but of course that could be for all sorts of reasons, so though they're trying to be encouraging, it's not very helpful.

Have a look here:

From Post Box To Agency Inbox:
An Insider Look At How An Agent Reads and Evaluates The Requested Sample Pages For Your Novel

Which is by a US agent, and makes a lot of sense. On the whole, the easier it is for an agent to see how she'd pitch it to publishers and who she'd send it too - i.e., that it fits into known categories - the more likely she is to feel it's worth a try.

But the point is worth remembering that the better the actual writing, the more chance it has of transcending the categories, and being allowed to be what it is. That's why I would say that even though it can be helpful to think about what readers want in your kind of book, it's folly to try to fit a category, if by doing so you compromise the sheer quality of your writing.

Emma

<Added>

they're trying to be encouraging

Honestly, they really are. They don't say that to everyone, and it shows they've actually thought a bit about your work.

Thanks for that Emma, I'll be looking at those websites. You've also made me think about whether I am compromising the depth of my writing in my second novel. And yet I have to say, after a year of writing and reading up on writing, the main lesson I feel I have learnt is that however good your writing is, if you don't take note of what people are currently buying and reading, however good your writing is, you won't sell. (But I do take your point and totally respect your experience) My pride at having completed my first novel has now evolved into an awareness that actually,I'm not that special and writing the novel is the easy part.

Thanks for your comments JIM. "A love story: always room for another of those" is worth remembering...

Sammy

Sammy, I've just started another thread in the 'Technique' forum, with links to some good articles which straddle that awkward gap between writing what you should write, and writing what sells. I think I called it something really dynamic, like 'Useful articles about writing.

If you're looking at the link to Backspace in my last post here have a look on that site for an article about 'how not to sell your soul and still get published', which is a different angle on the same territory. I think there's a link on the LH side of the Backspace homepage.

Emma

<Added>

I mean 'what you should write' in terms of what is right for you.