Hi Ya :)

Hello,

My name is Rana. My sister Kystar told me about this place. She thought you guys may be able to help me with my new book. Or at least give me some clue as to what is wrong with it. Not that I mind getting rejection after rejection.. but I would really like to know why.

So I am here.. With hope. Not to mention this place looks like it could be very fun.

Thanks for haveing me.

-Rana

Hello Rana!
Welcome to the forum. This place is great to get feedback from your work. We're very supportive, and very honest! Don't give up!

I enjoy helping people write and I have been told that I ask good questions that make you really think about your work.

I certainly suggest letting us know how far along on your book you are, and what problems you're having. With a little more information, hopefully I and the rest of the group can help you get back on track!

There is nothing more satisfying than identifying what has been blocking your writing!

Thanks.

Well the book is done. I have sent letters out to several agents and even sent the whole book to a publisher. They all have basicly the same thing to say about it. Great idea but not what we are looking for.. or not a strong enough voice for us.
But none of them are really giving me a clue as to where or how to fix it.

I would have no problem posting some of it here if you would like but as the book is 122,000 words i don't think posting it all here would be wise

Let me know what if anything you would like to see


thanx again

From what I know of the publishing world, they are probably referring to a "Passive Voice", when instead of saying something forceful like, "Waves crashed upon the deck, making the boat roll unsteadily under his feet." you would instead write, "The waves rose high, rolling onto the deck. The water flowed away, but he still slipped a bit as he walked."

The difference is in how strong and forceful the wording is. Also, any non definates in writing tend to make it sound weak as well, resulting in writing that sounds as though it might be pandering to someone.

I couldn't tell without reading your novel if either of these two apply to your work, but these are the most common answers for the advice "It's not strong enough".

The other response of "It's not what we're looking for right now" is actually a much better one. I've heard that lately Science Fiction/Fantasy has not been selling well, making the publishers cut back on book purchases. They're only picking up ones that will obviously sell well. Any doubt, and they're sending them back.

This is good, because it means that in a more lucurative time, they would probably consider purchasing your novel. This does give you some time to continue revising it as well, continuing to make it better!

If you really want to send it out and get it accepted, you can try to hire an agent to send out requests on your behalf or if you can't get an agent (since many first time writers can't), you may wish to hire an editor on a one time basis.

A professional editor would probably be able to help you figure out exactly what might be making the publishers turn away from it at this time.

If you wanted to post a small scene, just a page or two, then perhaps we would be able to help you figure out how to improve it.

I wouldn't worry too much about the publishers though... Writer didn't come up the the name "the 10-Year Overnight Success" because they weren't getting so many refusals.

(Publishers Can't live with 'em, Can't feed them to the axe weilding Smiley )

poste the prologue under Characters and Characterization .
Thanks .

Greetings and welcome to the writers retreat, I'm Grimwell nice to meet you and welcome to the board.
I'll be your moderator for this evening, so please keep hands and arms inside the ride at all times and enjoy yourself while you're on the board

LOL thank you for the welcome. Wish I could be witty tonight but I think the fever is messing with me.. I will think of something better next time

I hope you'll start feeling better soon Rana...

Get some sleep. Sleep cures all ills.