Red flags, Turn-offs, and Rejections

Are you sitting there singing "I'm the problem, it's me?" because you're staring at your 100th rejection letter? You're not alone! I've gotten quite a few questions lately about feedback and rejection, and what the author might be doing wrong. The short answer? Probably nothing. The industry is really weird right now and it's even harder to be a debut or indie author these days. Read on for my longer, more detailed answers, about writing, editing, and publishing.

I've been staring and haven't started reviewing my editors feedback on my manuscript.. I want to get started but how would you approach reading it? Do I read only the comments, accept all track changes or read the document with the mark up?

After you get back comments and edits from your editor, especially if your editor is me, I recommend reading them and applying them bit-by-bit. Reading over all the edits at once can be overwhelming. Take the edits chapter-by-chapter or scene-by-scene. Some edits will be small, to fix a line or a spelling error. Others will be larger, like editing character inconsistency or a whole scene. Make a list of needed edits, cluster the similar ones, and address them in a way that fits into your schedule.

I'm getting form rejections for my dark academia/ romantasy crossover. How do I know if it's bad market timing or if my manuscript needs reworking?

Right now, dark academia and romantasy are trending, so the market is leaning toward those genres. I don't think this is a bad time for a genre crossover of dark academia and romantasy at all - it's the perfect time! My assumption is you're getting form rejections on your query letter, which could be due to one of three reasons:

• Your word count is too small or too large (considering your genre, my guess is too large)

• The comp novels you listed in your query just aren't the lit agent's taste and if they don't like the comps, they think they won't like your novel

• The bit about why the agent will be interested in your novel or the description of what your novel is about was either lacking or didn't fit the agent

Is a male POV a red flag?

Not at all! I'm a very feminist-forward author, editor, and reader and I don't mind a male POV. Especially in the romance or romantasy genre, I enjoy getting the male character's POV on the meet-cute, the relationship, and the conflict.

Are gothic mermaids in no one's interest?

I didn't even know this was a thing, but now that you mention it - uh... it's definitely in my interest now. Please write that book.

Is my illustrator background a turn off?

No way, it's a plus! Readers, editors, agents, other authors, all of us in the industry love other types of art in addition to books. Pinterest boards, character art, film, tv, etc. Your background as an illustrator is a strength. Make sure you mention it in your author bio.

Do you have a question for Lennon? DM her on Threads, Instagram, or submit it through the contact box on her website. Your question may be featured in a future post!