Ungood

Ok... well in the simple part...

This was your question...

Lin said... in a lot of words but it all boiled down to "yes"

A works have been, are bing and will continue to be refused by Editor who have ethical reasons to reject them.

If the editor or reviewer does not like what you have written because it appals them, turns them off, grosses them out, crosses obscenity laws, deals in things that are considered hate propaganda, or simply because they though something was "ewww" ... they will drop it...end of story...

They might drop for a ton of other reasons as well... but...just to answer your OP... Lin said it flat up... and I have to agree with him...

However... Do you know beforehand what will turn which editor or publisher?

No... each editor is Human and thus what one hates another might love...

However .. just use common sense... IE: You don't submit work promoting the killing of animals for fun and food to a publisher that has strong ties to the PETA... however... at the same time... the Editor of a mainstream publishing company might be a member of the PETA and dump your book because if how you treat animals in it.

Nothing is set in stone...there is no magic formula that will get the "Passed" stamp...

Just like LIN said... I hope that answers your question.

Just watch things like pedophilia... that's a real good way to get the rejection stamp...

Ungood.

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Erdhexe

Yes, Ungood, he said that and I accepted that. BUT he also said that if I'd write about Barney making a sick child laugh, I might get rejected, which is NOT what I asked.

I'm aware that anybody can do anything or any reason, but it wasn't what I was going for when I posted this.

Claudia

Erdhexe

Btw. I wasn't promoting a violent scene. If you had read the two chapters I posted, you'd know what I was talking about. I'm not promoting the beheading of a child; it was just something that happened which is the cause for a whole lot of events. I'm writing about a world similar to the 14th century on Earth, and things like that happened then (think of King John Lackland who had hanged a seven-year-old Welsh hostage, which happened in the 13th century).

Claudia

Ungood

I am not saying you were...

I am saying... Works get rejected for ethical reasons... will YOUR work get rejected by an Editor?

Only an editor can tell you that... and then at best they can ONLY tell you if THEY would reject your work for that motive.

Is your question:

Are there lines in the sand that can not be crossed by novelist?

If you want to go mainstream... yes there are...

Have you crossed them?

No... you have not..

Will you still be rejected by Editors for Ethical Reasons?

Yes... even if you have not "Crossed the Lines" some Editors do not like to dance the line or publish works that display graphic violence.

You need to pick your editor and publisher by seeing what they publish and go to the people that have already passed works similar to your own.

IE: You don't go sending a book about how Barney made a sick child smile to a publisher that deals mainly with Sci-Fi/Fantasy romance novels.

Does that answer your question better?

Ungood.

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Erdhexe

I wouldn't send my novel to a publisher for Christian works or anything like that. That's for sure. Anyway, your last answer was a better one than the ones you have given before. And again: I am aware that anyone can get rejected for any reason. I'm not naive. I was asking something totally different. You've made your point now.

Claudia

Ungood

I am not sure if I gave you the answer you wanted...

But... I would say... I would not worry about the 'Lines in the Sand', that is an arbitrary thing when it comes to novels, and should NOT be what you are thinking about when you write something...

If they do reject it because of that.. so be it...write it... you can always take it out... or change it later... nothing is set in stone... (Gotta love WP programs)

But... everyone here will agree with this.. if an Editor reads your opening and stops to ponder the Moral and Ethical aspects of putting the killing of a seven year old child into print... you failed... and it had nothing to do with what or who you killed/raped/whatever-ed.

Ungood.

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NaCl

I disagree with this conclusion. If an editor stops to "ponder" the implications for any actions in the beginning of a manuscript, then you've caught his or her attention. Pondering is often the state of mind immediately before asking for a rewrite...a wonderful opportunity for any writer.

.....NaCl

Truth-Teller

I agree with NaCl.

Ungood just needs to shut it with the elipses...

Ungood

OK, Guess I am wrong then.

Ungood

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Ungood

I was told that a if someone is reading your story and they "Stop" that is a bad thing, it means the story is not pulling them along and this is dead.

But I would suppsoe that you are a published author that has a great deal of working experience in this field and this I bow out humbly admitting I am wrong.

"I am wrong" my apologies.

Ungood

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NaCl

No apologies necessary, Ungood...and nobody is "right" or "wrong". We simply have differing perspectives.

As far as a reader stopping, it kind of depends on the reason, huh? Taking a bathroom break is marginal (might be okay if the manuscript accompanies the "reader"). LOL! Probably a very bad thing if it precedes tossing the MS into the round file. Stopping could be great if it's to call in another editor to show off the new writer he/she discovered. But, I would take ANY of these "stops" over my manuscript sitting in the slush pile for months on end!

Intended with respect,

.....NaCl

ps So far, my experience is limited to many years of writing articles for outdoors magazines. My first novel should hit the market in a month or so and I will embark on a whole new learning curve.

lin

If they don't sit there and pee their pants so they won't have to look away from my pages, to hell with 'em, I say.

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NaCl

I was more worried about them using my pages in a more creative way in the bathroom! LOL!

.....NaCl