Janet Silver of the Zachary Shuster Harmsworth agency stopped
reading around the 250-word point:
1. Generic beginnings: Stories that opened with the date or the
weather didn’t really inspire interest. According to Harmsworth, you
are only allowed to start with the weather if you’re writing a book
about meteorologists. Otherwise, pick something more creative.
2. Slow beginnings: Some manuscripts started with too much
pedestrian detail (characters washing dishes, etc) or unnecessary
background information.
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| By Rose Brigid Ganly |
