Not long ago, while spelunking in the garage in search of my husband’s fencing foil and kit bag, I came across a storage crate labeled Garillon Originals . Inside the crate were Kelloggs Cornflakes boxes sealed with packing tape. These proved to contain the original hard-copy manuscripts for my Garillon trilogy. It was like stumbling across the ruins of some lost civilisation. An archaeologist, pondering these documentary artifacts, might be moved to write the following article:   The Pre-Industrial History of Writing a Novel Evidence garnered from a recent study of the Garillon manuscripts suggests that, prior to the dawn of the Cyber-Age, professional writers composed their works on crude hand-operated devices known as typewriters . Using a proto-model of the computer key-board, writers inscribed their works on sheets of paper, letter by letter, one page at a time 1 . There were only two font sizes available: pica (large print) and elite (small print), and each ...

I evaluate fiction manuscripts for a publisher, using a standard form crafted by the publishing house. The form contains a list questions, grouped by subject: opening, premise, plot, POV, character, dialogue, and setting. I’m sharing some of the questions here, so you can see specifically how a publisher might evaluate your manuscript. Opening: Does the first page grab the reader’s attention? Does the first chapter set up the basis for the rest of the story? Premise and Tone: Is the basic premise or theme interesting? Believable? Unique? Is the focus of the work revealed early in the novel? Is the basic premise of the novel well executed? Point of View: Is the point of view consistent throughout? Are shifts in point of view, if any, necessary and simple to follow? Is the point of view used appropriately to convey the thoughts or emotions of various characters? Structure, Plot, and Pace: Is there a planned series of carefully selected interrelated incidents? Are there ...

Yes, do a little dance. Celebrate. You have finished your book. And of course, you know this means a new phase begins. A phase of editing and research and submitting your book to editors and agents. But before even that, you need to format your manuscript. Of course, as you are researching editors and agents to submit your literary baby to, you want to pay attention to their specific format rules and adjust your manuscript accordingly; however, what I provide for you in this article is a checklist of the most standard rules of manuscript formatting. Many of the formatting rules will no doubt make you go, “Duh, thanks, Shōn,” but you’d be surprised at how many people forget one thing or decide not to do something a specific way because they like the way they do it better. This isn’t about what you like; it’s about getting your foot in the door of PublishDom that is currently closed. GENERICS Use letter-sized white paper – 20 lb. 1″ margins all around. These days, most use Tim...

What turns you off the most in a manuscript? Marilyn Meredith Book: Kindred Spirits Buy from http://www.mundania press.com Website: http://fictionforyou.com ------------ --------- --------- --------- ------- A caveat to start: IMHO a “turn off” is a subjective judgment. It is fair to say that one person’s turn off just might be someone else’s “Oh boy, do I love that!” Having said that, here are some of my least favorite things: 1. A novel that starts with the character waking up, hung over or not, fumbling for the alarm clock (or telephone or staggering to the door or whatever) then showering, and observing self in mirror. Maybe it’s just me, but I always take this as a cheap, lazy-writing way to reveal the character’s looks and maybe a few other points. My attitude probably comes from the fact that this opening has been done to death. It’s a really good idea to figure out what those DTD things are and not do them! 2. Mysteries that resolve the plot through some “cheat the reader” devi...