Rejecting a Manuscript: An Editor’s Perspective

Editing, specifically book editing, is simply the conception, planning and specifying of the contents of a book, in cooperation with the author, for the purpose of transmitting the author’s message to the reader in the best, most satisfying and most profitable way possible (Festus Adesanoye).

The editor’s main role is that of an experienced intermediary who ensures the successful delivery of the author’s ideas for the information, education, instruction or amusement of the reader.

The editor sees to the development of the manuscript; the selection, preparation and styling of the manuscript; and the organisation of the entire editorial process.

When selecting or rejecting a manuscript he/she puts a lot of factors into consideration:

a)   Does the manuscript fit into the list of his publishing house?

b)  Does the manuscript conflict in any way with the books already accepted by his publishing house?

c)   Are the lists of manuscripts in his publishing house already crowded with similar texts?

d)  Is the subject matter of the book one which has proved unsuccessful for the particular publishing house in the past; and

e)   Most importantly, is there a ready market for the book if eventually published?

It is not until all these factors have been carefully considered – the literary sophistication of the author has very little to do with the publishability or not of his manuscript – that the editor decides, regretfully, to decline.

Unlike the popular picture painted in the mind of an author, of a hard-to-please editor, gloating over all the manuscripts he rejected; is the more real imagery of an experienced professional, seeking to make objective book decisions, acceptable for public consumption and for profitability.

The editor, indeed, tries to make the process of rejection as painless as possible to the author, and he achieves this by writing as gracious a note as is possible in the circumstances.

Here is a sample of a letter of rejection fashioned by the editor of a Chinese journal:

We have read your manuscript with boundless delight. If we were to publish your paper, it would be impossible for us to publish any work of a lower standard. And as it is unthinkable that, in the next thousand years, we shall see its equal, we are, to our regret, compelled to return your divine composition, and to beg you a thousand times to overlook our short sight and timidity (Cited in Festus Adesanoye, The Book in Nigeria).

It is true that the standard rejection note is not as ebullient in tone as this one, but the real goal of the exercise is to say ‘thanks, but no’ in the most pleasant way possible.

Modified from: Festus Adesanoye, The Book in Nigeria: Some Current Issues, Ibadan University Press, 1995.

Descriptive Writing 102 (Guidelines to Writing Good Descriptive Essays)

Continued from last week.

2.    Select a vantage point (point of view) from which to relate events or details. We have three points of views:

a)     First person: In the subjective case, the singular form of the first person is “I,” and the plural form is “we.” “I” and “we” are called subjective case because they are both used as the subject of a sentence. “I” refers to yourself, while “we” refers to yourself and/with others.

For example: I just joined the Lagos Book Club and we are reading, “The Wonders of Africa.”

Other singular first person pronouns include the objective case (this means it is used as the object of a sentence) “me,” and the possessive case (they are used to show possession or ownership), “my” and “mine.”

Plural first person pronouns are “us” (objective case) and “our” and “ours” (possessive case).

I am certain a table will make it easier to understand.

First Person	Subjective Case	Objective Case	Possessive Case
Singular	I	Me	My
Plural	We	Us	Mine

b)  Second Person: This point of view is more appropriate in formal writing. Use the second person point of view for presentations, emails, business and technical writing.

This point of view addresses the reader. It makes use of pronouns like, “you,” “your,” and “yours.”

Second Person	Subjective Case	Objective Case	Possessive Case
Singular and Plural	You	you	your/yours

c)   Third Person: This is the most common point of view used in fiction and academic writing. The pronouns used here are “he,” “she,” and “it.”

For example: It was the best time of my life. “It” is in the singular third-person subjective case.

In addition to having singular and plural cases, the third person also has gender and neuter (a gender that refers to inanimate objects) categories.

Third Person	Subjective Case	Objective Case	Possessive Case
Singular	He (masculine)	Him (masculine)	his/his
	She (feminine)	Her (feminine)	Her/hers
	It (neuter)	It (neuter)	Its/its (neuter)
Plural	They	them	Their/theirs

3.   As you write, include vivid sensory details that paint a picture and appeal to all of the reader's senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste when appropriate. 

4.   Consider including figures of speech, such as analogies, similes and metaphors to help evoke feelings and paint a picture in the reader's mind.

5.   Use precise language. Specific adjectives and nouns and strong action verbs give life to the picture you are painting in the reader's mind. Do not use general adjectives, nouns, and, of course, passive verbs.

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Descriptive Writing 101

Descriptive writing explains, describes or defines the author’s subject to the reader in such a way that a picture is formed in the reader’s mind. 

Good descriptive writing uses sensory details to paint a picture of a person, place, scene, object or convey emotion.

Writing descriptively will make your writing more interesting and engaging to read. It also helps persuade your readers.

The reality is that there is no particular way to teach descriptive writing. Teachers can only help improve their students’ skills by encouraging them to read, read and read.

Below are a Few Guidelines to Writing Good Descriptive Essays

To write a good descriptive essay:

1.   Start by deciding on a method of organisation. Good descriptive writing is organised. Some ways to organise descriptive writing include: chronological (time), spatial (location), and order of importance.

a.   Spatial organisation works very well if your details are mainly visual. You can describe a scene using this method by:

                                     i.        Beginning from right to left or vice versa

                                    ii.        Top to bottom or vice versa

                                  iii.        Inside out or vice versa

                                  iv.        Around in a circle, starting and ending at the same place.

b.   Chronological Order presents details and events in time-order, from first to last or from the end to the beginning. When describing an event, it is best to use chronological order.

c.   Order of Importance enables you draw attention to key ideas by placing them first and placing the least important details last.

Note: When describing a person, you might begin with a physical description, followed by how that person thinks, feels and acts.

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