I never want to see something that doesn’t know what it is. On the very first page, tell me what kind of book this is and how many words it has.
- I have written a commercial science fiction novel about a clan of aliens who take over the earth. It is 32,000 words long.
What is wrong with that picture? Two things:
- There are no novels that are 32,000 words. You may have written a novella, but this can’t be considered a full-length novel.
- Aliens taking over the earth is not exactly new. What have you done that is fresh and different?
I do charity critiques every month. I recently read chapters of a critique entry that was quite good, but I couldn’t tell if it was a novel or a memoir. It should tell me on the title page.
TITLE by John Doe
A memoir
That’s all you need, but it matters. A lot. How can I properly evaluate something if I don’t know what it’s supposed to be?? It drives me crazy when I don’t know. Don’t think I am somehow supposed to know because of my expertise. No one knows but you.
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