Comments on: 17 Reasons Book Manuscripts are Rejected

By: Linkfest Wednesday « The Writing Cave

Linkfest Wednesday « The Writing Cave — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:58:18 +0000

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By: Stephanie Gunn » Link goodness: on failure, doing nothing, rejection, dialogue and excuses

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:54:51 +0000

[...] 17 reasons manuscripts are rejected. [...]

By: Sunday Wash-Up, 20th September « Shack's Comings and Goings

Sunday Wash-Up, 20th September « Shack's Comings and Goings — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:56:19 +0000

[...] 17 Reasons Book Manuscripts are Rejected Can you find your problem in this list? Well worth bookmarking this post and reviewing often. [...]

By: Laurie PK

Laurie PK — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:30:19 +0000

I definitely write to get published — and to earn money. One of my writer friends (who’s never been published or earned a penny from his writing) says that writes who write for money are “hacks.”

Call me a hack…and keep sending the paycheques!

My own personal and professional definition of a “real” writer is someone who earns a living from writing. That’s just me — I welcome and respect other writers’ definitions of “real” writers!

My unpublished friend, for instance, doesn’t see me as a real writer. In his book, HE’S the real writer because he’s practicing his literary craft. That’s cool.
Laurie PK´s last blog post ..Writing Strategy #1 – Let Your Writing Go

By: Derek Thompson

Derek Thompson — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 15:17:51 +0000

I enjoyed your comment, especially the term ‘real writer’. If there’s a single definition, I must have missed that briefing. Some writers write artistically, for the expression of their souls. Most of us, I suspect, write to get published. Agents are vital for that, in the main. The publishing industry is just that – an industry. Agents are professionals just as much as we writers are.

By: Laurie PK

Laurie PK — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:36:27 +0000

The only thing I can add to George’s answer — thanks, George! — is to check the publisher’s website. Some offer guidelines for age ranges and age groups. I can’t think of any offhand of course, but I seem to recall coming across information like that when I was searching for a publisher for “Traveling Teens, Rocky Roads” (which is as yet unpublished).

Good luck, Jane! Since you’re a writing teacher, I think you have a leg up
Laurie PK´s last blog post ..How Freelancers, Nonfiction Writers, and Novelists Succeed

By: Tumblemoose

Tumblemoose — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:54:34 +0000

@Jane

It’s kind of a difficult question to answer given the age range.

A six year old will probably be reading picture books which have a standard length of 32 pages. A 15 year old may read YA genre books that can have upwards of 300 pages.

In the spirit of your question, The first chapter books that a child, say 8 – 10, reads will probably be anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 words. Expect length to go up exponentially from there.

My experience from working in an elementary school library is that if the vocabulary level is right for the child, they don’t seem to care about length too much.

I hope this helps to answer your question, Jane.

Cheers

George
Tumblemoose´s last blog post ..Is content theft a bad thing?

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:38:38 +0000

I agree with the (17) points elicited above. I’m a writing teacher and these are going to be important points to keep in mind. I am writing my first book.

My only question is how many words should a children’s book manuscript be! Surely we’re not talking 100,000 words!

Any responses? Suggestions as to the word count/length of a book for children? Here we’re also talking about a book for children anywhere from 6 to 15.

By: A. Belay

A. Belay — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:50:25 +0000

A real writer does not need your advice; you are preaching. Who gives you all this power? A real writer gives birth to a beautiful book which does not require boasting and empty literary agents.

By: I feel like a zombie… can I get published? • kristanhoffman.com

I feel like a zombie… can I get published? • kristanhoffman.com — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:16:14 +0000

[...] worth checking out are the 17 reasons book manuscripts are rejected and The Publishometer: How to tell whether a manuscript will be acquired. You’ll laugh, and [...]