For Aeviya:

Hey guys, Mahana here. This week's article is going to be a little untraditional. You see after every BOTM we get slogged down in questions from entrants:

"Why didn't I make it to semifinals?" 

"How can I improve my book?"

Some of you have asked these questions a couple times now and we (the judges) are feeling a little fatigued. 

Part of it might be that some of you are looking for reviews. BOTM is not a reviewing system. It's a competition for us to find the best book we can and give them the attention they deserve. 

I'm sorry but quite frankly we don't have time to do reviews for every single book that doesn't make it through the screening process.  Simple as that. If we were reviewing we'd be taking notes. But we're not so we didn't.  We can't point out every little flaw we find, but we can tell you about the types of things that make us stop reading.

If you want a review sign up in our reviewing book. ~Mansi, Queen of the Fae Folk

Moving on, here's how we judge books:

We read until we get bored, or you hit on one of our pet peeves too many times and we stop reading. 

Which leads me to our topic this week: Why your book may not be doing well in BOTM. 

This week I've asked some of our admins to write about their personal pet peeves they have when they're reading, because we keep getting pm'd about it. Not everyone had time to answer but most of us went out of our way to give some answers. 

So, before you enter botm again, read through here and attribute our thoughts to your book. Are you hitting some of our pet peeves? You probably won't get through. Can you fix them? Yes. Once fixed you probably stand a good chance of getting through. 

Also, keep in mind that we have almost 30 entries a month and only sixish of them make it through. You may be getting beat by sheer numbers so don't despair too much. 

And also, please, please, please, if you do write us, think about how you're saying it. I know it's stressful, but sometimes we get rude messages from people demanding to know why they didn't make it through. I'm not saying everyone does this but sometimes we get one or two that think they've paid with cash for an answer. 

Here's an example of a nice way to ask for information.

"Hi! I entered your February BOTM. I didn't make it to the semi-finals but I was hoping the judge of my book could give me some brief pointers on how to improve. My book was The Sentinel." 

See? Not that hard right?

Also, make sure it's timely. Some people make it a habit to write us days after the competition is over. Here's the problem with that: #1 we each read 3-4 books. #2 We don't take notes. #3 We're sad to say but your story is no longer fresh in our minds. 

When you ask me what's wrong with your story, and you want it like a review, you're basically asking me to read your story all over again. Which isn't fair to me or the other admins. 

So I think we've all reached the point of: 

Though, of course, we will be nice about it. Some more than others... but we'll try to be nice. ;P

Alright, I shall now stop ranting and introduce our admins and their pet peeves:

**************************************

mansi747: Pacing

Hello, all! Cici here and I'll be talking about what I look for when I judge BOTM entries. Pacing! I'm all about the action and I love nothing more than to read a great book that plunges the reader right into the action! Of course grammar, descriptions, plot and dialogue all matter to me a great deal as well but I feel pacing outdoes all of these factors for me. Pacing is a factor that gets overlooked a lot of times but trust me, it plays a /major/ role when it comes to continuing a book or not. 

Slow pacing can bore the reader and they lose interest quickly while fast pacing tends to confuse the reader until they have no idea what's going on. By then the reader has lost interest. One way that it can be improved is by not dragging on a certain scene for too long as well as not rushing it through. Plan out your scene beforehand and write down potential notes for your scene. That way, you're prepared and you know exactly just what to write and /how/ to write it. Writing takes time and it's better to do it the right way. 

This is why I pick stories that have a potential in pacing. How do I know that? The summary! If the summary looks appealing to me and shows potential for an action-packed novel, I read it immediately! Of course, they are all amazing books to read. So how does a book advance to the semi-finals? That is also pretty simple. Whichever book keeps me hooked on the longest based on their pacing, of course, will move on to the next round.

StarfireStories: Beginnings

"Daggers flying in the direction of my head had become a daily occurrence."

See the thingy above? That's a beginning. Beginnings are really important when it comes to writing, because that first sentence can build an interesting perspective or make them put the book down for an indefinite amount of time... Aka forever. If a book starts badly, it's going to affect how the reader sees it no matter what else you put after. So please, for the sake of our Fae Folk's sanity, don't begin your book with "A long time ago...", "Once upon a time...", or "Hi. My name is --character--". Because, well...

Many things go into a beginning, whether it's what type of scene you set up or how much action you include, but that first sentence is a game changer. Try to think of the most exciting way your book can begin, then mix in something unexpected (yet reasonable for your book) and don't create a let-down, which is the first amazing sentence... And then a book that exceeds a sloth in slowness.

"The writer blew dust off the delicate pages, running a finger over the cover as the book finally closed itself."

See? That ending's important, too.

AnnabethC: Mystery characters

Hey, Lin here! I want to talk about one of my biggest pet peeves in writing. Now, I don't want any of you who do like this stuff or use it in your stories to get offended. If that's your style, cool, go with it. But, personally, it's not my cup of hot cocoa. And that thing is dangling participles and mystery characters.

Now, let me explain. A dangling participle is when you have an action but no clear participant of the action, therefore the name. Now, we all make this mistake once in a while. In fact, it's one of the most common mistakes of grammar in the English language. But that's not what bothers me. I'm using the term "dangling participle" to describe mystery characters at the beginning of books. You know the ones I'm talking about. That mysterious figure standing under the lone lit street lamp in sight in a dark suit and top hat that seems to be waiting for something. The guy who doesn't have a name and doesn't even have a relevant role in the story.

Now, if you like this kind of beginning, that's fine. You do you. But I'm not in favor. Having a mysterious figure on the street is totally fine. A good way to build mystery and intrigue around your protagonist's situation. However, if you simply call the guy, "the mysterious figure" or "the handsome stranger", you're gonna lose me. Give the mystery guest a name. My favorite example of this done right is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone. At the beginning, when Dumbledore is about to meet Hagrid to drop baby Harry off at the Dursleys', J.K. Rowling gives him a name. I won't quote it here so I don't warrant any copyright charges, but go see for yourself. Rowling gives the bearded stranger a name. Not only that, she gives it to use quickly and he actually has a HUGE role to play in the story. In fine, when it doubt, look to Harry Potter.

mahana258: Dialogue

I am a stickler for dialogue. In fact, you should know that I'm a skim reader, which means I skip mostly everything and only read the dialogue. I believe that the most important info can be found through dialogue. If your dialogue is good and developed this means I understand everything that is going on in your book. I don't need to look for context, and I don't need a lot of dialogue tags. 

While judging stories I look for dialogue that is: original, creative, authentic, and entertaining. 

My suggestions for improving dialogue is to read it aloud like it is a script. Get into character and read it how you think they would say it. Get a group od friends and do reader's theater. 

If it doesn't sound right, nix it or rewrite it. Most issues that I see in BOTM can be fixed with good editing and proofreading. Trim your dialogue say only what you need to say. It's basically the same rules with sentence variety (y'know: short sentences, long sentences, exciting sentences, statement sentences." Mix it up. Most of what I'm seeing lately in the books I deny for BOTM have a monotonous tone. 

************************************************

In closing, we want to say that we love you guys and we want to help, but before you write us asking for advice, look here. We may have already given you the answers you seek.  

Sincerely,