What might cause us to reject your submission, or later your manuscript
Your Submission or Manuscript Was Rejected - Where To Now?

What Might Cause Us To Reject Your Submission, or later Your Full Manuscript

One of the more difficult things about being a writer is dealing with the rejection of your submission or manuscript. This can be particularly disheartening for first time authors who do not understand how the publishing world works and so have no way of knowing that there are many reasons why your submission or later your manuscript may be rejected. It does not necessarily mean that your manuscript was judged to be of inadequate standard.

Here are some of the reasons why we might reject your submission or manuscript.

1. It is too similar to another book on our list

If you send us a submission about a numerology book which isn't distinctly different from another numerology book we already have on our lists, we would be hesitant to take on a similar subject. We would not publish a competing book within our own list. We still might still ask for your full manuscript after you made a submission to make sure, but we could still reject it.

2. Our list for the year is full

Most publishing houses have a set budget each year that can be used for the production of new books. At Kima Global we bring out six to ten new books a year. Some books are more expensive to produce than others, so the number of books varies from year to year. Bigger publishing houses might bring out a few hundred books a year, the principle remains the same. If we have already committed to as many books for the year as we have funds for we will also might reject your submission. It came at the wrong time. We will advise you that we will re-consider for the next year if you are willing to wait that long.

3. Your submission is not suitable for our publishing house

Here we are thinking of genres. Kima Global prints only books of the Mind Body Spirit type. Any topic that makes a difference to people's lives. This does not include religious books that reflect a dogma. Example: Your submission is all about a religious faith like: Hinduism, Christianity or Judaism to name a few, because you like to promote these belief systems. We will advise you that you will do better with a publisher who specialises in your faith.

Under the imprint: THE POWER OF WORDS we publish Visionary Fiction. Spiritual fantasy fiction and story books with an alternative theme for children and young adults. If you send us your submission which happens to be a historical romance we will not ask for your full manuscript because we are not geared to market that kind of book.

Under the imprint: PERFECT PLANET we publish topics that deal with sustainability, environmental subjects, civil society etc. If your submission is about an ordinary cookery book, you had better try another publishing house, but if your submission reflect that you found a unique way to holistically prepare meals that will benefit the human race, we might want to read your full manuscript.

4. We are concerned about legal issues

If, after we have seen your whole manuscript, we think that your proposed book might lead to law suits related to such things as libel or that it is so similar to something else that you could be accused of plagiarism or if you quote extensively from other works and we do not believe that you have or can get permission to use that work we might also reject your manuscript.

5. We do not believe that your book will sell enough to cover our expenses

Bringing out or originating a new book is expensive and risky. Sometimes we will bring out a book for reasons such as prestige and exposure ( you are well known) or as a social statement, but if your book does not fall into those categories we need to feel reasonably confident that it is likely to make a profit. For more information about this see our page on book marketing.

6. Your book has a dip.

Your book started well but in the middle your book has what we call a dip. This means that you did not keep the reader's attention span. Many writers run out of words, or they take the reader onto a complete new direction, (during their writing they changed their own mind about their topic) with the result that their manuscript does not flow. We then will suggest that the writer must first rewrite their manuscript and re-submit it.

7. Your manuscript needs serious editing.

Example: We might find that writers (especially of fiction) have mixed their past or present tenses or move from first to third person. We will suggest that you engage or employ an editor before you submit your book again. We at Kima Global do not do major in house editing but can suggest professional editors with whom you can work.

Your Submission or Manuscript Was Rejected - Where To Now?

Re-examine your preparation. Did you send your submission to the right kind of publisher? Did you follow our guidelines for submission? Did you supply us with all the information we asked for? If not there is a chance that your submission was not even looked at.

We receive many submissions. If we don't immediately get a feel for your project, or if you have not finished your whole book, or you are not specific in our submission form, we will not ask for more chapters or your full manuscript. Reading a manuscript or having a manuscript read costs time and money. We may not be inclined to incur that expense if we do not have all the information we think we need in order to read your whole manuscript.

If after going through your submission again you are satisfied that you did do your homework then try us again. If not, improve your submission and then try again with another publisher. This is what agents do too. If your book was accepted by an agent then your agent will be out there presenting your manuscript to the various suitable publishers. They may hope (after a submission) that we will show an interest in the rest of your work, but most agents do not expect that the first publisher they offer a manuscript will take it on. If you are your own agent then neither should you. If your manuscript has merit then it is likely that someone will recognise it and accept it sooner or later. Keep at it.

As a courtesy we will always try to give you an explanation as to why your submission or manuscript was rejected. If we tell you that we could not consider your manuscript because our list is full for the year, then you know that it is worth re-submitting the manuscript to us when we make up our lists for the next year. If no one else has snapped it up in the meantime that is. Any other comment we make about your manuscript is worth considering with care. You are being offered support and assistance in your quest to become a published author. Our intent is never to insult you or your work.