A writers group in Las Vegas invited me to speak on the Ps and Qs of Publishing, to help them navigate through the very confusing world of getting a manuscript published. In addition to explaining the plethora of options now available, I discussed the query letter, the synopsis, common submission guidelines, and most important, the major reasons a manuscript is accepted or rejected.
Surprisingly, one of the top contenders for rejection is not the genre, the page or word count, or even the writing style. Manuscripts get turned down more often than not because the query (or cover) letter and/or synopsis have spelling and typographical errors! Why in the world would an agent or publisher believe a submission is the next great American novel when the author’s letter for submission isn’t edited or proofread? Such a simple task – yet so frequently overlooked.
According to spell-check, my title is “right,” but it is so wrong. So PLEASE, I beg you, don’t monkey around. Don’t rely on spell-check, and DO get an editor!