Pet Peeve #21 - Questioning Guidelines
You may not have missed me, but you certainly missed pet peeves…
Or not. Moving on.
I am so, so tired of wandering around looking at writing sites and finding a multitude of sites dedicated to answering the same publisher and/or agent guidelines over and over. I can understand if you want to clarify something like a technical term or the like with someone who knows, but my teeth truly grind when I see someone ask something like this:
“The guidelines say to submit three consecutive chapters, but can I submit chapters three, nine, and eleven?”
Yes, I’ve seen it.
First, it’s not “can I” it’s “may I”. Secondly? Open a Word document, type in “consecutive”, and press shift and F7. (I’m assuming if you have a question like this about the guidelines, you don’t have an actual hard copy of a dictionary or thesaurus.) In none of the alternatives does it even hint that “three consecutive” is anything other than three in a row or three chapters - one after another.
Again, I understand clarifying something important and not obvious with someone who knows what they are doing, but do you really need clarification beyond your dictionary for what the word “consecutive” means?
Your manuscript is not special. Your manuscript is not a best-seller. The day your manuscript is special and/or a best-seller is when you’ve:
*Been accepted by the publisher/agent.
*Had a agent and/or copy-editor(s) go through it.
*Have your book on the stores shelves.
*Had people actually pick up your book and want to buy it.
If you let the experts get back to their jobs and stop answering questions about exactly what consecutive chapters means and why you absolutely shouldn’t send your manuscript on colored paper, then they’ll get through their piles of manuscripts faster and just might see yours some day.
May 15th, 2007 at 11:00 am
Hey, lol. If they don’t know the definition of consectutive then they have more problems than a website can fix.
Plus, if chapters one, two, three are not strong enough to sell the book what use is there in loving three, nine, eleven? Know what I mean? Because the reader would have to trudge through 2-8 to get to the next fantastic part.
Anyway, as usual, I always get a kick out of reading your posts because they are informative and fun at the same time.
May 15th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
I agree with Sara. I’ve been exploring the site for a while and there are many informative and fun articles; I find the “Pet Peeves” particularly useful and interesting.
Great blog, congrats, I’ll try to visit daily since I see you post a lot ^^. Hope you visit mine and find something worth reading too.
W.
May 15th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Finally! Someone to explain the usage of ‘may I ‘ in place of ‘can I’.
I grew up with a grammarian mother. She was also an editor for a newspaper in the 1940’s and 1950’s. My foundation in our English language was drummed into my head.
It mattered not if I was ten or thirty years old. When I said something improperly, it didn’t matter if we were private or not, she would immediately correct me. On top of this she would then give me an example to explain why the rule made sense.
For years I tuned out some of this. She just insisted on correcting me time and again. I was a fortunate child and I believe I have most of the rules down.
I liked your blog. Now, if we could get folks to stop saying the ‘reason why’. That’s like saying reason, reason!
May 15th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
Sara - I agree! I think this definitely qualifies as a “if you don’t know this, don’t write” situation.
I’m glad you enjoy the Pet Peeves. I like the opportunity to rant about the things that annoy me.
Wonder - I’m glad you enjoy the blog. I have yours bookmarked, but it’s a show of how busy I’ve been that I haven’t wandered over there yet. I’ll just add you to my google reader.
Theresa - Thanks for another Pet Peeve! I’m envious of your upbringing, no matter how hard it may have been at the time. I’m very guilty of all kinds of mistakes while speaking, but when you’re typing to a *professional* and asking questions, you should show you’re competent enough to be asking in the first place.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:07 am
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