Top 5 Reasons Agents Stop Reading (this is from Anita Mumm of Kristin Nelson Literary Agency)
1- Story starts in wrong place (confused about where the action is)
2- Too much set up or data dumping in the beginning
3- No sign of the main conflict (where's this going? Seems to me this ties in with the first one)
4- Story isn't big enough (this isn't about word count but rather stakes. Are they high enough?)
5- Mechanic mistakes (grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc... It smacks of rough draft. BTW, Chicago Manual Style is the preferred writing guide)
Foundations of Fiction (why an editor will reject a manuscripts -- this is from Peter Kenftlberg of Kensington Press)
1- POV issues (no head hopping)
2- Tense issues (be consistent)
3- Conflict (it isn't evident right from the beginning)
4- Static characters (they need to change from the beginning to the end -- did they learn anything? how did they grow? why can't they go back to the way it was?)
5- Plot (what is the goal or motivation to do something - STAKES need to be high)
6- Pacing (don't have it bogged down in emotion, scene setting or description)
7- Info Dump (lots of background or set up; be careful with this in dialogue as well)
8- Dialogue (use contractions! characters refer to each other by name too often)
9- Cliched opening (wakes from dream, looks in mirror, in a car)
10 - Mechanics (punctuation, grammar, spelling, voice (how does the voice differ from other books?)
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