What Do Rejections Mean?

Authors hate receiving rejections. 

Editors and agents hate writing rejections. 

Still, these are part of the business, so get used to the darn things. 

Unfortunately, I think far too many authors really don't understand rejections. They get that the person on the other end said no, but beyond that, they are really clued out. There are actually several reasons why you may be getting those rejection letters, and it may not be all about the quality of your writing. Let's look at some of those beginning with, yes, your writing. 

1. Your writing is terrible. Yes, this indeed a reason and I am sorry to say it, there are a lot of authors who really have no clue how to write. There are a lot of times when someone just sits down and starts writing their "Great American Novel" without a clue of how to write. No, I am not talking about grammar (although yes, this is a problem). The real issue is you may not no or understand why you are doing the things you are doing in the story. Writing, like every other craft out there, takes time to learn how to do it properly. You may still be learning and that is OK. Take the time. Of course, there are a lot of agents and editors out there who will not tell you your writing really sucks. They know there are a lot of authors out there with thin skins and will rant and rave on the internet complaining that the editor or agent is wrong. You might want someone to tell you the truth, but honestly, could you REALLY handle it? 
2. You sent it to the wrong person (market analysis) Here at Greyhaus, I represent traditional romance and women's fiction. There are also a ton of other authors out there represent the same thing. But... we all like different things. When I get ready to send a project out to an editor, I always take the time to figure out who the right editor is at a publishing house. Some like the stories hot, some do not. It is a matter of making sure you reach out to the person who would really get your story. 
3. Your query and the story don't match In this case, you might have pitched us a story that sounds amazing. Unfortunately, you wrote a query letter about a project you thought you wrote and not the one it really is. I had an author pitch me a story once at a conference. She thought it was a straight up contemporary women's fiction. And yet, as she talked, I kept hearing this as really an Inspirational Single Title (at that time I did not acquire those). She was adamant that it was not Inspirational because she did not want to write one. The reality however, was the story was not what she thought. It was 100% inspirational. Literally to the point it would only be found in a Christian bookstore. 
4. The query letter didn't catch us First impressions mean everything. If you cannot showcase your story in that query letter, there is a pretty good chance we will pass on it. I know what you are thinking, "This is why you should read our novels and not just make a decision based on a query letter and synopsis."  Of course, if we did that, you would all complain that we took forever to get to your story. I would also say that in the real world, hiring managers make their decisions on new hires based on the cover letter more than the resume. There is no difference here. 
5. You didn't follow the directions I have said this over and over again here on the blog. We all have submission guidelines for a reason. If one of use says to embed the first three chapters in the query letter, then you should do just that. Not three random chapters. Not the first six because you like those chapters, or you feel like we would want to see more. For me, I am very clear that I only want a query letter and no attachments. I know you might be thinking that this will "save time". Unfortunately, you just demonstrated you cannot follow directions. 
6. It was purely a subjective issue This one sort of goes with item two. There are times when I just didn't connect with it. You as authors should understand this since I am sure you are readers as well. How many times have you heard great things about a particular book. You friends and family raved about it. And yet, you picked it up and really questioned what was so amazing about it. It's the same thing. 

So, what does this all come down to? It simply meant the person you sent it to said no. It's not that the person is a complete idiot. There could be countless reasons why. Just read that rejection letter, learn from it and move on.