As an aspiring writer attempting to build a name, you don’t want to irritate publishers. There are many mistakes that publishers hate. Please make sure to avoid the following:
1. Responding to Rejections – If your writing is rejected by a publisher, don’t respond to the rejection under any circumstances. A response is inappropriate. A response trying to convince a publisher otherwise, insulting them for passing on your writing, or bemoaning the rejection is a huge faux pas.
2. Poorly Edited Material – Even if your concept is interesting, if your writing is poorly executed you’re wasting a publisher’s time—and your own. You must have your fiction edited before sending your work out to a publisher. There’s no way around this step.
3. Material That’s An Inappropriate Fit – How do you imagine a publisher would feel if they had to reject (as they will) the most amazing piece they’ve ever read because it’s totally incongruous with their style? Show some respect and submit your writing to appropriate markets.
4. Fanfiction – I don’t really need to say anything more: it’s called copyright.
5. Ignoring Submission Guidelines – You can’t send seven poems to a literary magazine if they ask writers to send no more than three. You can’t send a short fiction piece as an attachment if the literary journal wants it copied in the body of an email. Always read the submission guidelines before submitting and make sure to follow them.
6. Unprofessional Query/Cover Letters – You’re not displaying personality, all you’re doing is showing a lack of professionalism. A too informal cover letter rubs many publishers the wrong way, even when submitting somewhere that appreciates edgy work or presents itself on their website as rather informal. You’ll be seen as an amateur, regardless of the quality of your writing.
Have you ever made any of these mistakes? It’s time to ‘fess up about your tragic experiences so that other aspiring writers can avoid making the same errors.
I imagine that sharing these experiences will also have a cathartic effect, but don’t quote me on that…
The Literary Game 
Great tips. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Rob. Thanks for reading!
I do a lot of beta reading…oh Lord the crazy sloppy errors that people can make and try to hand off as “greatest story ever written” ! And oddly, some can get rather feisty when I gently hand it back and suggest they run it through Grammarly and/or Spell Check at the least before I really give it a look! Eek!
Ah, sorry you had to deal with all that. I guess they just don’t know it’s a process. You become a great writer the same way you become a great anything – by putting in the 10,000 hours. Of course any writer’s early work is going to be quite, to put it gently, rough. No writer is born great, they can only become great by putting in the work.
…and I LOVE the photo! What a cutey-pie 🙂
She is adorable….but I wouldn’t want to get her angry. 😉