eBook Reading and Writing

Sandra, the Editor in Chief at Aspen Mountain Press shared this list of eBook editor pet peeves. Writer, beware!  

Editors and agents have pet peeves.  Talk to enough editors and
agents and you discover they have several pet peeves in common.

Here are a few of them:

Dirty manuscripts (for those that don’t take electronic submissions)
Wordiness
Dialogue tags
Common place dialogue that doesn’t move the story forward
Information dumps
Incorrect use of periods of elipsis
Incorrect use of dashes
Not following house guidelines for submission procedures
Submitting material that is not suitable for the house
Over-inflated self-worth in a query
Synopsis/query that is difficult to read (too small type, smudged,
etc.),
Inconsistent point of view
Backstory
Weak characterization

If you have not had the opportunity to read Noah Lukeman’s The First
Five Pages, I encourage you to do so.  Lukeman is an agent and in his
book tells you some of the nitty-gritty about editors and agents.
They don’t have scads of time.  They get so many submissions, they
can’t read them all.  They will toss immediately those that don’t
follow their guidelines.  They look for reasons to “dismiss” a
manuscript.

You literally must connect with this reader in the first five pages.
If you do, the agent/editor may skip to the middle (if they requested
the full) and read five pages there.  Were you consistent in your
writing style?  Your ability to move the plot forward?

Still have the agent/editor’s attention?  They may skip to the end
and read the final five pages.  You must remember a person in this
position is reading your work, not for the fun of it, but to see if
they can make money with your story.

If you don’t snag an editor or agent’s attention in the first five
pages of your work, your work will be dismissed, often with nothing
more than a form note.

Once you get to the point you have an editor or an agent you need to
listen to their counsel.  Remember, they are in business to make
money.  If they signed you, they believe that is possible.  If they
suggest additions, deletions, areas where you can up the conflict,
ect., you need to remember they are the professional and they are out
to make you both money.  Listen to them.

Writers who are difficult to edit often will not get a second
chance.  There are too many fish in the ocean of writing hoping to
get hooked by a person of influence.  Agents and editors want a
person they can work with, not a person who fights them tooth and
nail.  Remembering their goal is to make money, not tear you down
will help make your relationship smoother.