10 mistakes Writers Make that Generates a Rejection Letter

10 Mistakes Writers Make That Generates a Rejection Letter.

1)      Failure to have it professionally edited: Agents and publishers aren’t going to waste their time with a manuscript that has misspelled words, or improper spacing, run-on sentences etc. Want to be taken seriously? Then have the manuscript PROFESSIONALLY edited before submitting.

2)      Speechifying: Lack of contractions, soapbox oratory, bombastic self-serving dialogue.

3)      Talking heads: Conversational dialogue where there is no action. People gesture when they speak, have facial expressions, respond to outside noises (dog barking, train whistle) touch surrounding objects etc.

4)      Telling not showing: Don’t just write it was a dark and stormy night, describe it. Make us feel that we are in that place.

5)      Stagnant pacing: Suspense requires scene building detail, concise description utilizing all five senses. (What they see, hear, feel, smell and taste.) Action require sharp, to the point pacing with no unnecessary detail.

6)      Timeline errors: You can’t have Bob go out to get Tuesday’s newspaper then announce when he comes home that he wants to watch Monday Night football that evening. Or switching between past, present and future without a clear and self-explanatory jump-cut.

7)      Inconsistent dialogue: Once you establish your character he/she must be consistent in his or hers conduct and speech patterns. You can’t have a British nobleman suddenly start wise cracking or using southern colloquialisms.

8)      Exposition: You shouldn’t stop your story to explain to your reader what led up to their present circumstances, weave it into the story.

9)      Magic solution: You should NEVER use a solution to a problem that hasn’t been mentioned anywhere else in the story. For example: Jane is about to be murdered by crazed assailant then suddenly remembers she has a gun in her purse. If this fact hasn’t been address earlier you shouldn’t use it. EVER!

10)   There is no “Secret” The secret is what keeps the reader reading. Who is the mysterious stranger who calls Jane every night at 2 am.? Who is that boy in the picture she keeps in a locket around her neck? What is Ben using to blackmail Kyle?  Remember it’s very easy to put a book down. Make it difficult for your reader to do.

There is a lot more to mention. In fact there is an entire book filled with everything you need to know to get your book published. It’s called The Best Book on How to Write, Publish and Market your Novel into a Best Seller and you can get it if you CLICK HERE

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The Top 5 Reasons You WON'T Get a Book Deal From a Traditional Publisher

The top 5 Reasons You WON'T Get a Book Deal From a Traditional Publisher: 

You aren’t going to want to hear what I’m going to say. It will destroy many of your illusions and you will vehemently disagree with me.

But everything I’m going to tell you is true.

So before we continue, ask yourself. ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT BECOMING A PUBLISHED NOVELIST?

Are you sure?

Because as published novelist I’ve met a considerable number of people who fancy themselves as yet to be discovered writers whose ticket to literary superstardom will arrive at the completion of their latest book.

No it won’t. And the reason is because they fancy themselves to be undiscovered authors on the verge of superstardom.

I’ll explain. The number 1 reason talented writers fail to become a published authors is their EGO. A writer’s EGO is enormous. And until the day comes when they value constructive criticism FAR more than praise, they’re not going anywhere. The amateur is devastated when their labor of love is criticized or told it requires a lot of rewriting. 

They are so convinced their manuscript is a masterpiece of word and phrase that ANY attempt to improve it will only destroy its beauty.

That belief is proof that writer isn’t publishable. A publishable writer can take their manuscript and rewrite it six ways from Sunday and each and every rewrite will be better than the previous one.

Reason #2 You think the publishing world is the same as it was in the days of Steinbeck, Faulkner and Hemingway. The days of writing a novel with cross outs and erasures and instruction to remove this paragraph and place it at the end of page thirty-five are long dead. A PROFESSIONALLY edited manuscript is expected and anything less will almost always wind up in the rejection pile. And you better know what a “As you know, Bob” is, the first 5 page rule and what your characters need to be doing while they talk.

And a hell of a lot more. But, moving right along.

Reason #3  You’re nobody, so why would an agent or publisher working within a very tight budget take a chance on an unknown? Been to Wal-Mart or Target lately? Notice that the majority of the books being sold are from media superstars? Kardasians, Duck Dynasty, Televangelists and already established authors like King and Collins and Grisham? Do you have any idea what books are presently selling? You should, because that’s what agents and publishers are looking to publish.

But you just read an article about a completely unknown author submitting the first book she ever wrote and it sold immediately and became a best seller. So why shouldn’t that happen to you?

Because it was LUCK. If she didn’t have a book published, she probably would have won the lottery. You read about it because it was news and it was news because that very, VERY rarely, happens.

And if you’re waiting for that to happen to you, here’s what will actually happen.

Writing is a VERY solitary profession. Very Solitary. And eventually your spouse is going to get fed up with your dream of literary superstardom and start looking for someone they can actually have a life with. And they will leave you to your dream.

Alone.

Reason #4 You haven’t actually made any money writing.  True artists can’t be bothered writing copy or work for hire because it’s beneath them. That’s why most artists die, usually by suicide. And why not? Their fantasy with becoming a world famous novelist has taken over their lives. Their spouses have gone, their kids want no contact, money is non-existent and they have alienated all their friends.  But at least they’ll have the comfort of believing that their work will be discovered after they’re dead and then people will appreciate them.

If that’s what you’re thinking then ask yourself, if you’re dead, how will you know?

Reason #5 You haven’t learned to sell books. This is the most important skill for a writer to acquire. Here’s how it works in today’s world. Say an agent actually shows interest in your book. He calls you and asks you to talk about your book. If you say it’s a feel good story about a man and his dog and their travels through Vermont, you will likely have a very short call. On the other hand if you say the self-published version is selling 500 copies on Kindle a week, you will have an agent, a publisher and a very hefty advance in a short period of time.

So you have a choice. Keep sending manuscripts to agents and publishers. Keep collecting rejection notices, keep telling yourself that your next book will be the one that will get you that book deal and watch as the years pass as you obsessively feed that dream.

Because that’s what it is…a DREAM.

OR…

You can pick up a copy of How to Write Publish and Market Your Novel into a Best Seller, so you can stop dreaming and learn what you have to do to get that deal!

Here’s one last fact that you’re not going to like, but you need to know it exists.

There are thousands of “writers” who make 7 to 10 thousand dollars a month in royalties who have never written a single book. You don’t know their names because they all use pen names.  Agents and publishers are dying to sign them but those “writers” aren’t interested. Why? Because they make much more money selling on Kindle than they would with a traditional publisher. How do they do it? They outsource the ENTIRE process.

Isn’t it time you stopped chasing agents and publishers and instead have them chasing you? It Can happen but first you’ll need to read How to Write, Publish and Market Your Novel into a Best Seller. It’s available as an e-book for under $5.00 as an Audio book for under $7.00 and as a paperback for under $10.00

Dreamers dream.

Writers take action. Here’s is the link for the e-book and audio book. http://www.amazon.com/Write-Publish-Market-Novel-Bestseller-ebook/dp/B00EHYIMCI/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406127967&sr=1-1&keywords=zackary+richards

For the paperback version http://www.amazon.com/Write-Publish-Market-Novel-Bestseller/dp/0615997112/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406128170&sr=1-8&keywords=zackary+richards

In the meantime check out our webpage 

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