You’ve spent years working on your novel. It’s been thoroughly edited and rewritten. You dream of holding a copy of it in your hands, seeing it fill up library shelves, watching it creep up the New York Time’s Bestseller list.

Okay, so maybe you’re getting ahead of yourself. First, you need to find a publisher. You send query letter after query letter and get endless rejections—or, more common, you get no response at all.

Why is getting published so difficult? Celebrities who write at a sixth-grade level can get published. So why not you?

Publishers are not the enemy, but recent changes to the publishing world have made traditional publishing increasingly difficult.

There are a number of reasons why breaking into traditional publishing is challenging—but not impossible. Let’s take a look at these reasons.

1. Low Profit Margins. Publishing is a business with a low profit margin. Think of everything that goes into publishing a book: editing, formatting, designing, cover designing, marketing, etc.

   One of the biggest costs is printing—printing houses need publishing companies to commit to a high number of copies before they’ll agree to an affordable deal for a print run. That means publishing companies need to be confident they’ll be able to sell a high number of copies to make any money—or at least enough to make the money back that they spent. Thus, publishing companies need to make sure publishing your book will be well worth their investment.

   This explains why so many publishers sell books by celebrities, or why they prefer authors who have a large fan base already. Whether or not they’re good writers, their name sells books—which justifies publishing companies investing their time and resources into publishing their work.

2. Consolidation. Most of the larger publishing companies have consolidated into five publishing companies, known as “the big five.” These are all big businesses who have to make a large profit to survive. This means that these companies are increasingly less likely to take a risk on an unknown author. However, there are different branches or imprints of each publishing company, each with specific things they’re looking for, so there is more opportunity with some of these smaller imprints.

   

3. Company Goals. The publishing industry has made a big push for diversity, including diverse characters and authors. This is a good thing, but it may be a reason why they don’t prioritize your book if it’s not something unique or a completely untold story.

   Additionally, there’s been a lot of backlash in the publishing world against authors writing fiction about a race or cultural group they’re not part of, so keep this in mind in terms of topics you pursue. It’s best to choose a topic that you have a clear connection to, at least if you want to publish with a big-name publisher. With today’s cancel culture, publishers may also be unwilling to tackle a book about a controversial topic.

4. The Need for an Agent. Probably the most important reason why publishing is so difficult is because most publishers do not accept unsolicited manuscripts, meaning your manuscript will need to go through a literary agent. That means that first you need to find an agent—but that can also prove next to impossible, as agents can also be wary to take a risk on a first-time author. I’ve heard that it’s typical to query 100 agents before finding one. If you do find one, it’s not guaranteed they’ll find you a publisher, at least not right away.

   The need for an agent makes sense. Most creative careers such as acting and singing require agents as gatekeepers to sell your talent to businesses. However, this means that you have one more hurdle to cross before you can get to a traditional publisher.

   There are still some publishing companies (particularly smaller or niche publishers) that accept unsolicited manuscripts, which can be a great option for new authors. Many of these publishers only publish a few titles a year, or are looking for something very specific, so getting selected by them can be tough. It can also be a gamble how many copies they will be able to sell and whether they have the resources to invest in helping you market your book—but then again, even big-name publishers require you to do much of your own marketing, so a smaller, independent publishing company can be a great place to start.

   Beware of vanity presses, which require you to pay them before publishing your book. This should be a last resort if you are desperate to publish and can’t find another option. You can easily self-publish for free (minus perhaps any payment to an editor or designer), so you probably don’t need to pay a vanity press unless you feel that the help they’ll give you will be worth it to help you sell your book. I’ll talk more about self-publishing, also known as indie publishing, in a later post.

   

5. A Crowded Market. With the rise of self-publishing, there are many easy publishing options. This is good news for authors in many ways. However, as an author, you’re now competing with millions of other books, not only those published by traditional publishers, but also self-published books, including the thousands of inexpensive e-books (which are often offered for free to Kindle or Audible subscribers).

   Traditional publishers want to be sure your book can compete in this crowded market. Because publishers are already stretched so financially thin, they expect you to do a big chunk of the work marketing your book. Thus, they won’t typically take a risk on an author who doesn’t already have a large following or whom they believe won’t be effective at marketing their work.

These reasons can make any author want to scream and tear their hair out. But don’t despair—you still have many possible options for publication. I’ll explore some of these in future blog posts. Stay tuned!

Erin N. Price is a writer and editor; she has a master’s degree in publishing and a bachelor’s degree in English and editing.