AVOID REJECTION LETTERS… AN EDITOR’S CHECK LIST
By DEE LLOYD
During my six years as Acquisitions Editor for the
now-defunct LTDBooks I must have read several thousand submissions. Many of the
manuscripts I reluctantly had to reject had much to offer. If the authors had
looked carefully at the following aspects of their writing, my response might
have been more positive.
Here are some of my pet peeves. I address many of them in my
October course PUTTING THE SUSPENSE IN ROMANTIC SUSPENSE at Savvy Authors
www.savvyauthors.com .
THE CHECK LIST:
1.
Spelling and grammar. There is no
more obvious fault to an editor than poor grammar and spelling. No matter how
intriguing your opening scene is, faulty sentence structure and spelling errors
will influence the editor’s decision. Even if you are confident about your writing
skills, it is wise to have a knowledgeable person do a careful read through.
Don’t rely solely on spell check. It will accept “There”, “their” and “they’re”
because they are all properly spelled. Their meanings are totally different and
their improper use is jarring.
2.
Compelling opening. Too much background information slows the
beginning of your story. This is my most frequent reason to reject a novel.
Save the backstory for the moment that you need it. The reader loses interest
in long introductory paragraphs where the setting is lovingly set out and the
characters' backgrounds are given in detail.
3.
Believable
characters. Know your characters in depth. Show me who the character is by how
she behaves in a real, compelling situation. Don't tell me she has been hurt in
the past. Show me how she overreacts now. Explain later, much later. (Perhaps
at a point when she has to explain her actions to someone.)
4.
Natural
dialogue. Read your dialogue aloud. Make sure that each character has his or
her own voice. The professor doesn't use the same language or have the same
rhythm to her speech as the man who is repairing her roof. (If he does have the
same kind of vocabulary, there had better be an explanation for that.)
5.
Essential
characters only. I always remember Timothy Findley saying in an article for
students of creative writing, "Be prepared to kill your darlings." Of
course he was talking not only about editing out characters but about cutting
delightful, poetic descriptions that might not be appropriate to the story you
are telling.
6.
Point
of view. Beware of having a character describe herself in a scene that
is written from her point of view.
"How could he sit there cheerfully
filling his face when he had just destroyed her world? Marcie blinked back the
tears that were threatening to fill her sea-green eyes. Her waist-length,
chestnut hair swayed as she stalked up to his table. She would fix his little
wagon!"
She obviously
cannot see her own hair or eyes. In this example, the reader is jerked out of
Marcie’s mind for the description, then back into it. Don’t lose the
reader/character connection.
7. Length
of sentences. Don’t write too many
long sentences. I have no
objection to long sentences; however, in this day of dedicated ereaders and
smaller screens, I have found that they can lose their effectiveness. When I
started to read on my first electronic hand-held device several years ago, I
noticed that shorter sentences had more punch. Be careful though that you don't
fall into the trap of beginning each short sentence with the subject. Sentence
fragments must be used even more judiciously because the shorter page makes
everything more obvious.
8.
Similarity
in character names. I got myself into a bind by being too cute about the names
of a couple of gorgeous twins in CHANGE OF PLANS. Calling them Bret and Bart
was funny, I thought, for a couple of secondary characters. However, when I had
some requests for a story for Bret, and wrote GHOST OF A CHANCE, I was stuck
with the names. And it wasn't easy to prevent confusion. Then Bart got his
story in UNQUIET SPIRITS! Be careful.
9.
Word
count. This is more important in a print book than in an ebook. In an ebook,
the prescribed length of the manuscript is the length of the story. However, be
aware that many publishers release ebook and print simultaneously.Before
submitting to any publishing house read the guidelines carefully and follow
them. Each publisher posts guidelines on its website.
10.
Pace.
Your text must be tight and move along. No reader will tolerate an author
wallowing in description or in long unnecessary philosophic
dissertation. Nothing puts a reader (or this editor) off faster than a sermon
or a political statement passed off as a novel.
These are the most common areas for
rejection. I deal with them in depth in my Romantic Suspense course (October 7
– 27).
My best advice is to read what the
publishing house you are targeting has already released. Each house has a style
and a tone which is hard to describe. Make sure your story fits that style.
Good luck with your writing career!
Hi Dee,
ReplyDeleteVery nice post, it is refreshing to an author to get some advice from an acquisitions editor. A bit of insight can be a very helpful thing. Thanks :)
A post to print, cut out, stick on the wall - thank you.
ReplyDeleteDee really nailed it, didn't she? Good advice, and worth remembering!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! This covers some really important points.
ReplyDelete