This week: What Editors and Publishers Hate Edited by: Vivian  
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Many times manuscripts come across my desk and are immediately rejected. Why? Because the submitter sent a manuscript filled with things I hate. I don't mean the story was one I hated (although, that can happen, too). I discovered I'm not the only one who rebels against manuscripts from people who seem to have no clue. Therefore, here are a few clues for those who actually want to submit a manuscript that might be accepted.
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What Editors and Publishers Hate
Editors and Publishers hate poorly written manuscripts. Hate, like in all capitals HATE. They do not want to wade through what appears to be a rough draft. They want a polished, edited, revised, and polished some more manuscript
According to Ian Irvine: People often ask me to give an opinion on their writing. In most cases, when I agree to take a look at the first section or chapters, I’m astounded (and frequently offended) at how unprofessional their work is – full of spelling mistakes, typos, horrible punctuation or no punctuation whatsoever. I’ve been writing for 24 years, and I wouldn’t show one of my first drafts to my dog, yet I’m often sent work with such gross errors that it’s clear the author hasn’t even bothered to read the story through before sending it out. Not only is this insulting to the person asked to give up his or her own time to read this story, it’s counterproductive because it instantly creates a negative impression.
If you’re asking an author or other professional to read your work, don’t send them a first draft and ask, ‘I just want to know if I can write.’ All first drafts are bad, as Hemingway famously said, and no editor or publisher will take your first draft and edit it into shape. All professional writers have learned the craft of storytelling by working out how to edit their own work. There are oodles of great books around on writing and storytelling. – Ian Irvine
According to Amanda Hampson, in The Write Workshops (and with comments from me), the top ten turn-offs and tips from publishers are as follows:
1. Bad punctuation, spelling and grammar - it smacks of a writer with no experience, who hasn’t taken the time to do training or research the conventions.
2. Unnatural or unrealistic dialogue. It needs to flow and not sound stilted. Dialogue is one of the hardest aspects of the art of the novel. If you don't feel it's your strength, I'd suggest minimizing your use of it as much as possible.
3. Lack of scene setting; just ‘throwing’ the reader into sudden dialogue. Sometimes this occurs at the start of a section or chapter with little or no detail about each scene. We need to know where each scene is taking place
4. Characters that you just can’t like or identify with. There has to be someone in the novel for the reader to care about and engage with – why else would they want to read on otherwise?
5. It drives me crazy when an author doesn’t know the word length of their manuscript. It’s important because if an author tells me, as I had one recently do, that their manuscript is 346,000 words then my response is I don't want to look at it. And that would also apply for
the reverse. If a manuscript is 30,000 words, which is a novella, and the writer is a first time author, then I don't want to see it nor will a publisher.
6. A plot that hasn’t been properly thought out. What’s the story about? What’s the best way to tell it (voice, structure, beginning, ending, etc)? Is it complex/engaging enough? Does it matter? What’s the hook?
7. A dreary title can be viewed as a bad omen for what’s to come! As we all know, publishers deliberate very carefully over titles and often change titles in the course of a book's publication, but a really bad title on a submission is off-putting.
8. A turn-off can begin (and end) when I read a letter of approach saying 'This novel is – for example - Wuthering Heights meets Mad Men. It’s a gimmick I dislike whether it's used to describe a book or a film, as what I crave most is originality and freshness.
9. No punctuation around dialogue. Some experimental authors don’t use it and most editors hate it as it makes it harder to read and more difficult to follow who is actually speaking.
10. Authors who do not have a clue what market they are writing for. Writers are often horrified when I tell them that the very first thing I look for when assessing a manuscript is a market. Whether the text is actually any good is a secondary consideration. The best writing in the world is useless to me if I can’t see a market for it.
Before you hand your book to an editor, you should have already gone through these three levels of review…
The Basics: Writing
1. Editors hate it when it’s clear that you never ran that spell-check.
2. Editors hate it when you serve leftovers: Plot or character inconsistencies Timeline issues
Beyond the Basics: Writing in Style
3. Editors hate it when the writing is heavier than a ten-ton-truck.
Inflated sentences – polish your sentences, don’t use unnecessary lead-ins. Get to the point or meat of the sentence quickly.
Stilted language – you want to meet your readers through your work and you want to call the readers attention to your story or argument. Unnecessary language reminds readers that they are actually reading and takes them away from being immersed in your world.
Overuse of adjectives and adverbs – makes a story feel cumbersome and lazy. Most adjective and adverb phrases don’t do the description justice.
4. Editors hate it when style isn’t really style but writing in your comfort zone: Repetitive use of vocabulary Repetitive sentence structure and length
5. Editors hate clichés.
Far Beyond the Basics: Writing to make your world come to life
6. Editors hate it when characters resemble cardboard cutouts.
7. Editors hate it when the narrative tells rather than shows. Scenes need to show how characters act and interact. Narrative needs to observe, not comment.
8. Editors hate it when dialogues turn into speeches. Dialogue shouldn't be information dumps or telling.
9. Anything goes! But just because you say doesn’t make it so. Events must be caused by earlier events and lead to the next. Natural story development depends on the interplay of plot and character. A character’s natural behavior must be motivated by his/her psychological disposition.
Remember, in a novel one event must lead to the next and the interplay of your characters and events should create the plot…in other words, it is the characters that write their own stories.
10. Editors hate hangnail writing. Everything in your story has an impact on your readers. Show your readers only what is relevant. No more. Show your readers everything that is relevant. No less.
An extra scene, banter, subplots, or characters that don’t drive the story forward create boredom and distrust of the author. Show the readers what is relevant, no more and no less. Readers take in everything about the story, so you must follow through. You absolutely must show everything that is relevant as readers only see what you show not what you may know.
A quick but hugely important tip: Take time off from your manuscript, a step back, and gain distance. In that time…READ, READ, READ (other people’s work) then, reread your work. First, start looking for the big picture stuff. Before you edit, read it again and look at style and genre. The third time, go for typos, spelling etc. DO ALL OF THIS BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO REVISE!
Are those the only things that publishers and editors hate? No, but they are a solid foundation. Learn your craft before submitting a manuscript that does not appear polished. Make sure your work doesn't end up on the hate list. |
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Words from Our Readers
The first comment is about a newsletter written in December, apparently someone does like grammar. 
oldgreywolf on wheels  
I understand electronic warfare, weapons, basic classical and basic quantum physics, and I'm a technical writer. I can make a knife from start to finish with a fitted sheath. But Grammar? H0ly sh!!t. What you've written above makes sense, but studying the rules of grammar in a classroom doesn't make sense. I've graduated from 2 effective writing classes, so I know a lot of what we were forced to learn as children is outdated (good). I read a lot, and write background (and sometimes, stories). Excellent newsletter. Thank you.
I hear the argument all the time about grammar rules being outdated, but if they make what we write understandable to readers, they aren't outdated but necessary. One company lost a lawsuit because they didn't use a comma, which changed the meaning of a contract. Isn't our job as writers to make sure our readers understand what we are communicating? I think so.
Since no one commented on last month's newsletter, I will end with a word of encouragement for writers: Never give up; never stop trying; never stop learning.
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For Authors: April 20, 2022 Issue [#11316]
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