Random Ranting: What NOT TO DO When Submitting a Manuscript

[fashion_piranha]

If you're serious about getting published, clean up your manuscript!

I've got a little side project going on for the next week or two.  I've been reviewing entries for a major bookseller's 'breakout novel' contest; they send me excerpts from submitted novels and I rate them on originality, style, and so on.  It's been very illuminating.  First of

Comments

[pith]

So many writers do not understand the value of an editor. It's sad. I worked at a small press for a while, and a lot of authors there seemed to be of the "Well, you're the editor; YOU need to be able to spell, not me!" mindset. So very wrong.

[kiri_l]

ugh. Sad to hear that things haven't gotten better with the years. I used to have to read the most horrific manuscripts. Some I'd return (in house) with so much red ink you could barely make out the original text 99% of the time. I had a rule if I spent more time correcting or struggling* through the first chapter or two I didn't go further. No point in wasting everyone's time.

*dealing with wasted prose, looking for a plot, etc