You might think book publishers and their editors are misguided or ignorant about what really sells. That Manhattan elites are out of touch with the real America may be argued, but they remain the literary gatekeepers to getting your book traditionally published.
Writers, being craftspeople and artists, sometimes resist accepting creative parameters they didn’t agree to. Got it. And I’m well aware exceptions exist to every rule. Bestseller lists periodically include unexpected hits that buck all the trends, so feel free to tell me I’m full of it. Even so, let me offer a few potential turn-offs to consider when seeking mainstream publication.
- Dialect. You might argue that your historical fiction work with Southern dialect is historically accurate, but a lot of readers find that it slows down their reading, often making those books end up in their DNF piles. Further, there will likely be readers who find dialogue written in dialect to be offensive. So here’s a question for you: Is writing your dialogue this way worth turning off those readers, and possibly even the editors and publishers who will see the book before that? Casting a wider net may result in more readers, presumably your goal.
- Scattered Point of View. More than any other reason, POV issues may result in good novels getting rejected. Highly experienced book editor Janet Benton describes a common problem plaguing many new authors: “Among my students and clients, a scattered POV usually results from writers not knowing what POV is or how to use it (and not knowing what they don’t know). I call what I see most often scattered rather than omniscient because often they just add whatever perspective they need at the moment, sometimes not even realizing they’ve changed points of view within a paragraph or scene or chapter, certainly not realizing that this shift affects the story beyond that point of convenience. They usually aren’t intentionally trying to create omniscience.” This jumping around reflects a lack of clarity about whose story it is and why it’s being told.
- “I didn’t connect with the character.” This is a rejection letter cliché, but it gets at something important: Will editors—and, crucially, readers—understand and connect with your protagonist’s motivations and decisions and actions? This rejection letter brush-off may also be about voice: Is the protagonist’s voice convincing and—a key to success—will readers want to spend three hundred pages with them? When writing, make time to step back and consider the reader experience: Figure out and emphasize what is appealing or compelling about your protagonist, drawing readers in on Page One.
- Confusion is not suspense. While you might begin with a “hook,” don’t bombard readers with countless mysteries and too many ambiguities in the early pages, thinking readers will be intrigued and content to understand a baffling point of confusion later, say, on page 233. A novel’s plot asks a question. Readers like questions: they keep them reading. But if faced with a vertiginous barrage of unknowns, readers (and editors) may choose to check out.
- Dream sequences—Rare is the dream sequence I want to read. They feel like clutter when I want to get to the real action. Also, dream sequences can feel indulgent, like a psychological character study the author should do off the page, along with their characters’ star signs. I say this without derision; the deeper you explore aspects of your characters, the better. Even so, please do not start your book with a nightmare or dream.
- Cliched plots. Writer and poet Archibald MacLeish said, “A real writer learns from earlier writers the way a boy learns from an apple orchard—by stealing what he has a taste for, and can carry off.” Maybe so, but there’s a line between inspiration and appropriation. Even if your plot shares elements with other bestselling fiction, publishers expect it to be original (“the same, but different,” as agent Paula Munier says). Cliched prose is an immediate turn-off for editors; cliched plots bum them out. Can you write a hero’s journey, include a quirky sidekick, or have a dead parent or two? Absolutely. Just make it your own with a voice and an approach only you can provide.
What causes you to stop reading a new book? Share your turn-offs with the rest of us on Facebook. We want to know!