I’m a professional independent editor with a global client list, working with both traditionally published and indie published authors, specialising in fiction editing, particularly developmental editing. I’m also an author, and columnist on writing and editing in the national press here in Ireland. I’m a member of the SfEP, partner member of ALLi (and regular contributor to the ALLi blog), an affiliated editor with writing.ie, the Irish writing website, and an Approved Editor with PubLaunch, the Canada-based online publishing crowd-funding website. I also help moderate two popular Facebook groups, Ask a Book Editor, and Fiction Writers and Editors.
As a writer, I’ve been down the rejection path with agents and publishers, so I know what it’s like. I also know that the most frustrating thing about being rejected by an agent is that they rarely tell you why, normally just sending a generic, “This doesn’t fit with our list” comment. Don’t feel too bad. Sometimes it really is a, “It’s not you, it’s me” moment. They’re really just not looking for a book in your genre right now. But if you’ve taken the time to research your agents, you’ll know that they are looking for books of your genre, so why didn’t yours fit the bill?
This site aims to explain to authors why they might be being rejected. I’ll analyse your opening few pages, and tell you what, if anything, might have put an agent off. It will, as it develops, become an archive of such advice, hundreds of different openings, with all sorts of different problems. If you read through the archive, you will get a huge wealth of free advice on writing, searchable by rating, genre and issue raised.
So, many thanks to the authors who submit here. Without their courage and their willingness to learn, particularly in public, the site couldn’t function.
