The vast majority of submissions I see suffer from the same old fatal flaws. Here is that roll call of infamy - please read and learn!

1. Don’t Be Boring!

Most submissions I see are simply not very interesting. Generally, this has nothing to do with the choice of subject-matter… it’s usually a consequence of the writer’s inability to produce gripping prose. How on earth can this happen? Well, I believe it’s partly to do with the “can’t-see-the-wood-from-the-trees” syndrome. Once you commit to writing a book, you surrender the role of detached reader, and become passionately caught-up in the writing process itself.

Sadly, just because you enjoy writing your manuscript doesn’t automatically mean that the world at large will enjoy reading it. To guard against this, constantly ask yourself: “Why should the reader be interested in what I have to say?” If there’s no obvious answer, then you’re probably running into trouble. Remember: the reader needs constant encouragement to keep turning the page. It’s your primary duty and obligation, as a professional writer, to deploy every strategy, tactic, trick and technique in your arsenal to keep this happening.

2. Failure to Understand “Point of View”

This very common flaw frequently affects rookie fiction writers who haven’t yet mastered the subtleties of their craft. The dullest, most insipid way to tell a story is for the author to assume an omniscient “God-like” role, and narrate a sequence of events… “First John was born, then he grew up, then he died.” While this style is entirely appropriate for writing a brief plot synopsis, it’s no good for anything else! The rule-of-thumb here is: show, don’t tell. As the all-powerful creator of your universe, you have the unique ability to let us see, hear, feel and experience the reality of your world from any character’s point of view. Like a film editor who carefully cuts a scene for maximum dramatic effect, you have to deploy this skill very thoughtfully and with considerable control. When it works, you’ll find it produces a deeply satisfying emotional response in your reader… and reading is primarily an emotional experience.

3. Don’t Be Derivative

Too many book proposals, manuscripts or screenplays we receive are simply variations on an existing theme. Why does the world need yet another book about calorie counting? Or a sub-James Bond thriller? You’ll never make your reputation as a writer (or your fortune, for that matter) rehashing a tired old formula. Give an agent something that twinkles with the fresh dew of originality, and you might just find that those sparkles turn into diamonds.

4. Don’t Be Afraid Of “The Big Idea”

Virtually every successful book has, at its core, a “big idea” - a powerful, original, enticing concept capable of seizing the reader’s attention, and engaging their mind and emotions. “Make no little plans” wrote D. B. Hudson. “They Have no Magic to Stir Men’s Blood…”

5. Don’t Neglect Your Craft

A great concert pianist, at the very pinnacle of their success, will typically practice for upwards of four hours a day. How much time do you spend honing your craft? Many writers dangerously assume that they have no need to improve themselves or their skills. Almost everyone believes that he or she can write, because we all use words, all the time. What sets a good writer apart is their confident, controlled, creative and virtuoso use of language… A rare and subtle skill, and one which demands constant practice - use it or lose it!

6. Don’t Hide Your Talent

When you submit a proposal or sample chapters, make sure they really reflect the very best of your writing ability. If you have a flair for dialogue, show it. If you can bring tears to the reader’s eyes, show it. If you’re a demon at plot construction, show it. Publishers want to discover brilliant new talent - help them to discover yours!

7. Plot, Plot and Plot Again

The older I get, the more I realize that fiction and non-fiction are very, very closely related. Fundamentally, they are both ways of telling a story. One of the oldest of all human instincts is the desire to be told a story: in the hands of a good writer, we all become wide-eyed children. Remember that structure comes first, and structure is all about telling your story as effectively as you can.

And finally… Don’t Give Up!

“Nobody Knows Anything” wrote William Goldman in his seminal book “Adventures In The Screen Trade”… “Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what’s going to work. Every time out it’s a guess - and, if you’re lucky, an educated one.”

This is as true of publishing as it is of movies. Publishers and agents basically back hunches. If they are unsure about a project, the natural tendency is to play safe, and pass. That’s one reason why it’s so difficult - but not impossible - for new talent to break in.

So don’t become discouraged when you encounter rejection; pay serious attention to criticism but never at the cost of ignoring your own inner voice; never lose faith in yourself; challenge yourself to constantly reinvent your writing style; and finally, remember that there’s really only one cardinal rule (perilously ignored by many writers) which is to keep the reader turning the page. Everything else, ultimately, boils down to that one simple dictum.