There are days when I think I should send you all on over to the Books & Such blog and just close up shop. Because, honestly, they’ve got great content and they’re all smarter than me. But … I kinda dig my blog. 🙂 So I’ll just keep bringing these posts to your attention.

In this article, agent Wendy Lawton explains the myriad reasons why your agent might say, “Not this one. What else ya got?” It’s all about the current marketplace. There’s a variety of reasons your manuscript might be turned down, but this one really struck a nerve with me:

Let’s be brutally honest here—if your book makes the reader feel guilty or feel pressured, it’s not going to work, no matter how much we think it should. Especially fiction, which is largely entertainment. In other words, if you write about child abduction, horrible physical or sexual abuse, evil in the world—it’s going to make your book a harder sell.

Why did I highlight this one? Because I have seen so many—so stinkin’ many—manuscripts with agendas so dark I can’t imagine me or anyone else reading them for pleasure. (Human sex trafficking seems to be a hot topic at the moment.) Agenda or mission (as in I’m-on-a-mission) fiction is never a good idea, in my opinion.

Lawton goes on with suggestions for how to react to the not-this-one comment, and here’s the best one: styles and tastes change. What is out of fashion now may well be in fashion a year from now. So just keep writing!

Tweet: The myriad reasons why your agent might say, “Not this one. What else ya got?”
Tweet: There’s many reasons your MS might be turned down; it’s about the current market.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”