I won't rattle on today because, as you may have guessed from the the title, we have a guest post with the fabulous Jennifer Blackwood.
Thank
you for having me on Operation Awesome today! My name is Jennifer Blackwood,
and I am lucky enough to be an editorial intern. I’ll point out a few things I look for when a
submission crosses my desk.
Voice-
This is the first thing I look for in a
submission. It is what keeps me going throughout the story—or makes me stop
after 50 pages. It’s what sets your story apart from others. I will faithfully
read a story with an overdone trope with a stellar voice as opposed to a unique
story with a weak voice.
Some things to look for before you submit:
*Passive voice (using “to be” verbs). There
are definitely times where using a “to be” verb is warranted, but make sure it
isn’t every sentence!
*Telling- especially emotions. It’s very
easy to fall back on, but super easy to fix! Helpful hint: Utilize the “find”
button in your document to look for any emotion words (Angry, frustrated,
happy, etc.) Instead of using these, show the reader with dialogue, facial
expressions, reactions, etc. By doing this, you will draw the reader into the
story (and hopefully make it farther in the submissions process!)
*If you have dual point of view, make sure
your characters have two distinguishable voices. I often see submissions where
the two main characters sound like the same person. Make sure they have their
own distinct mannerisms, opinions, dialogue, and thought-processes.
Dialogue- Dialogue should move your story forward. Oftentimes, in submissions,
I see really stiff dialogue that does nothing for the characters. Make sure
that each character has their own unique way of speaking. If you took away the
dialogue tags, you should be able to tell who is talking just by their style.
A good example of this is Derek from the
movie Zoolander. Everything that comes out of his mouth is unmistakably Derek. J
Mechanics- Your submission does not have to be perfect. Commas are the bane
of a writer’s existence, I totally get that. I can forgive that. What I can’t
forgive is twenty typos per page. Before you send in a submission, make sure to
spellcheck. Have a critique partner read over it. It’s a safe bet that your
submission won’t make it past the interns if you submit a rough draft riddled
with typos and grammatical errors.
Overall
story- I have read dozens of submissions and it
strikes me as odd that 90% of what I read in the submission pile is THE SAME
STORY. Sometimes I do a double take because I think haven’t I just read this? I love me some good, solid tropes (older
brother’s best friend, anyone?!?!) but make sure you bring something to the
table that makes your story stand out. Tropes I am seeing a lot of: Virgins,
rape, bad boys turning good, teens discovering they are
werewolves/lycan/fae/anything supernatural on their birthday. I’m all for these
tropes if done in a stellar voice with a unique twist!
Introspection- There is a time and a place for your characters to get deep and
philosophical.
The beginning is not a place to bog down
the reader with a ton of introspection. Like wasabi on sushi, a little bit of
introspection goes a long way. With that said, you shouldn’t leave readers in
the dark about what’s going on with the main character, but ten paragraphs of
introspection probably isn’t a good idea for the first few pages.
Professionalism- It is really important to be professional in your query. There are
a handful of queries/submissions that stick out in my mind—and usually if they
stick out, it means they did something really good or REALLY BAD. Usually the
latter of the two. I’ve seen submissions with title pages saying it was a rough
draft, others saying I was lucky to be reading it. Some said that if it didn’t
get picked up, they planned to self-publish in the next month or so…
These probably aren’t things you want to
say when you are submitting to a publisher. Or anyone you are querying, for
that matter.
Anyhoo, that’s just a little peek inside
the mind of an editorial intern. Thank you for having me on the blog, Operation
Awesome!
Jennifer Blackwood is an English teacher and New Adult author. She lives in Oregon with her husband, son, and poorly behaved black lab puppy. When she isn’t writing or teaching, she’s binging on Veronica Mars episodes and white cheddar popcorn. Blackwood writes about gray area issues with steamy tension and sizzling romance. But don't worry—her tortured heroes always get their happily ever after they deserve. She is represented by the fabulous Courtney Miller-Callihan from Greenburger Associates. Her debut novel, UNETHICAL, comes out later this year with Entangled Embrace.
