(Apart from not following our submission guidelines)
1. We’ve had a flurry of similar submissions and had to choose between them.
2. The work is beautifully written but doesn’t tell enough of a story.
3. The opening paragraph didn’t draw us in and the story takes too long to get going, if it gets going at all.
4. The ending wasn’t a satisfying conclusion to what had gone before. The commonest problem is that the story fizzles out.
5. The work is overwritten: too many adjective, too many adverbs, too many similes, too many metaphors. In short, taking too many words to say something that could be said simply.
6. The work is underwritten. Little sense of place and/or time, lack of context.
7. The work is difficult to follow. It jumps in time or place or changes point of view in a way that doesn’t enhance the story.
8. The characters are stereotypes or poorly described and don’t come to life.
9. The dialogue is stilted and doesn’t resemble the way people speak in real life.
10. The story is too predictable. We get a lot of stories about illness, bereavement, family squabbles, relationship breakdowns, school days, college days. If you want to write on these topics, it needs to stand out in all aspects – language, characterisation, dialogue, plot, story arc, structure and pace. Have a look at what we’ve published so far to get an idea of what makes us sit up and say ‘Yes.’
If you would like more detailed feedback on your work, please contact us on [email protected]