I was thinking about the last batch of queries I caught up on last week, and I was trying to pinpoint why I passed on so many of the nonfiction projects.
On the surface, it’s easy to quantify the most common reason for passing—around 350 of the approximately 500 rejection letters I sent were because the author’s platform wasn’t strong enough yet.
The “yet” is the crucial part of this. I was so happy to see so many well-written queries and proposals with sound market research, unique concepts, and strong sample material. But when I looked at the marketing and publicity section, there were too many instances of “I will do this…” rather than “I have already done this.”
Which leads me to believe that the deeper issue is more about timing and perspective than hard numbers. I think two things are happening: