Ask any aspiring author about what it takes to become published, and no doubt you’ll receive a myriad of answers.
“Publishers are ruthless!” some will say. “They send you let- ters that say they’ve reviewed your manuscript and that it
‘doesn’t fit what they’re looking for right now,’ and they’ve never even read what you sent! They have hundreds of unsolicited manuscripts that they pile in this giant closet of a room, with the packages unopened. It’s called the
‘slush pile,’ and they put people they don’t like in there and tell them to search through the rubble for something that might sell.”
Or you might hear how others have been rejected dozens of times from traditional publishers, as they vow never to buy one of their authors’ books again.
I never went through any of that. Most authors are not salespeople, which makes them highly susceptible to Rejection Disease. I just decided that I wasn’t going to be rejected, but that someone simply needed to see the wisdom that I obviously was going to bring to some lucky publisher’s life.
Book Expo America is the annual trade show for the book industry that features rows and rows of publishers,
Chapter = c09 Date: Sept 14, 2009 Time: 1:58 pm
WANT TO BE AN AUTHOR? GET READY FOR REJECTION 113
authors, and suppliers—all of whom are eager to talk about the industry and give out books. My first Book Expo was at McCormick Place in Chicago, just an hour’s drive from my home, and I talked to authors, publishers, and anyone else who would listen to my questions.
The next year, I decided that I needed to talk to more authors to find out how they became published. Since I worked for a radio station, I wore my station’s logo polo shirt, borrowed the cassette tape recorder from the sta- tion’s news department, and pretended to be on a reporting mission.
I had carefully scripted my approach to each author:
“Hi, I’m from a suburban Chicago radio station, and I’m interviewing authors for a potential radio segment. Would you mind answering a few questions?”
Hungry for publicity of any kind for their new books, the authors were only too happy to oblige. I asked five questions, all written down on a legal pad:
1. What is the title of your book, and what is it about?
2. Who does your book appeal to?
3. How long did it take you to write it?
4. What was the most difficult part about the process of writing it?
5. What would be your single best piece of advice to an agent-less, unpublished author in today’s mar- ketplace?
I heard fascinating stories from dozens of people—
from teenagers to seniors, PhD’s to unschooled individuals—from all walks of life. Each was very generous in describing to me their various heartaches, trials, and challenges in birthing their books. A few had no
Chapter = c09 Date: Sept 14, 2009 Time: 1:58 pm
114 SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF YES
challenges at all; the publishers had actually approached them to write their books. Others had used thousands of dollars of their own money to self-publish, in the hopes that a major publisher would see their book, like it, and buy the rights. The stories were as different as snowflakes, but their number one piece of advice was nearly universal:
That was it.
Many of them had been turned down by other publish- ers, struggled with lack of support from family or friends, had personal tragedy interrupt their journey, and had expe- rienced a hundred other things that stood in their way.
Several told stories of their many rejections from certain publishers and how they kept trying with others until they finally got a yes from someone.
Those who were the most successful didn’t allow rejection to determine whether their books were good enough to be thrust upon the world. They took rejection in stride, made the necessary changes, whether it was in their style, their manuscript, or their approach, and never, ever gave up.
It may seem very simple, but for those who dominate in sales today, it is the ultimate secret of success.
TAKEAWAYS
Getting Beyond Rejection in Sales
Rejection is not personal; it’s a lesson in how to become more dominant. Without knowing why people say no to you, it’s impossible to improve on your product or your presentation.
The very best in sales are rejected more often than you might think. No one ever sees the countless
Chapter = c09 Date: Sept 14, 2009 Time: 1:58 pm
TAKEAWAYS 115
rejections that today’s dominant companies or reps faced on their way to becoming dominant players.
Getting prepared for rejection will help you fight through it. Learn all the reasons someone should say yes to you; then learn all the comebacks to the rea- sons they won’t buy. Your presentation should then be given with the confidence that if your product is a good fit, rejection is not an option.
A no is just no for today. All 800-Pound Gorillas understand the time value of relationships and that some of tomorrow’s customers are ones that had to say no yesterday before they could say yes.
Don’t give up. Don’t give up. Don’t give up.
Chapter = c10 Date: Sept 3, 2009 Time: 10:39 am
10