Common mistakes when submitting your novel to a publisher (and how to avoid them). Finishing a novel is a huge accomplishment. Months, or years, of work, revision and second-guessing culminate in a completed manuscript. But finishing writing is not the end of the road: it is the beginning of a new stage. Knowing how to present your work correctly is key to getting it read. Many novels are discarded not for lack of talent, but because of errors in presentation. Avoidable mistakes that generate a negative first impression before the editor even gets to the first page. In this article we review the most common mistakes when submitting a novel to a publisher and how to solve them in a practical way. Mistake 1: Not researching the publisher. One of the most common mistakes is to send the same manuscript to all publishers without checking their editorial line. Each publisher has a catalog, an audience and a clear positioning. If you write juvenile fantasy and send your work to a publisher specializing in historical essays, your proposal will most likely be automatically discarded. Before sending your novel, analyze the catalog. -What kind of stories do they publish? -What is the predominant tone? -Do they work with debut authors? Adapting your proposal to the publisher's line does not mean changing your story, but rather contextualizing it correctly and directing it to those who may be really interested. Mistake 2: Sending a weak or poorly structured synopsis. The synopsis is not a chronological summary of your novel. It is an editorial tool. A common mistake is to confuse it with a detailed listing of events or, conversely, to write something so ambiguous that the central conflict is not understood. A good synopsis should present: -Protagonist -Main conflict -Obstacles -Evolution - Ending (yes, the ending must be revealed) Hiding the denouement thinking that you will generate mystery is often counterproductive. The editor needs to know if the structure works.
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A course by Bett Norris
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