Dear Author
Jun. 23rd, 2008 06:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
neadodsDear Author,
In the first 7 pages of your book, I learn the following things:
- the number of magazines published by Harper's
- the size and location of the Harper's HQ, down to cross-street names
- the decorations on the interior and exterior of the building
- the dress code in the offices
- the view from one window
- the height of the Brooklyn Bridge approach
- the geographical direction of the iron struts holding the bridge
- the geographical direction of the train that runs under the bridge at that point.
What I have not learned:
- what the book is about
- why I should care about any of the characters
- exactly when it is set
Seriously, you can take the time to tell me that the north-south train runs under a set of east-west iron struts beside the 5-story building with gargoyles on it, but you expect me to deduce what friggin' YEAR it is?
If you want to write a book about the construction of New York, or the publishing business in New York, or whatever nonfiction it is you're trying to write, then just write that please, and stop trying to pass it off as fiction. According to Amazon, this is about your 4th book, which makes this incredibly bad opening even more full of fail, as you should certainly know better by now. As far as I can tell, your book doesn't actually start until Chapter 2, which is 17 more pages than most readers are going to put up with, and 16 pages after you stood a chance of a flattering review.
PS - Making me google your various hints to figure out the date in the middle of chapter 6 because you STILL hadn't given the date? Not good. Finally obliquely giving a date that does not match? Worse.
In the first 7 pages of your book, I learn the following things:
- the number of magazines published by Harper's
- the size and location of the Harper's HQ, down to cross-street names
- the decorations on the interior and exterior of the building
- the dress code in the offices
- the view from one window
- the height of the Brooklyn Bridge approach
- the geographical direction of the iron struts holding the bridge
- the geographical direction of the train that runs under the bridge at that point.
What I have not learned:
- what the book is about
- why I should care about any of the characters
- exactly when it is set
Seriously, you can take the time to tell me that the north-south train runs under a set of east-west iron struts beside the 5-story building with gargoyles on it, but you expect me to deduce what friggin' YEAR it is?
If you want to write a book about the construction of New York, or the publishing business in New York, or whatever nonfiction it is you're trying to write, then just write that please, and stop trying to pass it off as fiction. According to Amazon, this is about your 4th book, which makes this incredibly bad opening even more full of fail, as you should certainly know better by now. As far as I can tell, your book doesn't actually start until Chapter 2, which is 17 more pages than most readers are going to put up with, and 16 pages after you stood a chance of a flattering review.
PS - Making me google your various hints to figure out the date in the middle of chapter 6 because you STILL hadn't given the date? Not good. Finally obliquely giving a date that does not match? Worse.
