• Doesn't fit the tone/style/length of the line
• Poor grammar and writing skills
• Writing that doesn't stand out, no spark.
• Poor characterization, not enough emotion – the characters lack rooting power
• The plot isn't fresh – it's predictable and has been done over and over again.

• Read
  Read widely and throughout the lines. How else will you know where your writing best fits? How else can you learn the subtle nuances of the lines – what makes a Desire different than a Temptation, a single title contemporary different that a long series contemporary, a long historical different than a short? The differences are more than just word count. When you decide which line best suits your voice and style and what you like to write, read books in that line which are written by new authors. You'll see what editors expect from first-timers. Learn how the stories differ from what established authors write. This is important because established authors with a reader following may write stories generally not accepted by editors from an unpublished writer. Don't make selling your story more difficult than it needs to be.
  
  
• The Basics
  You must know the basics of good grammar. If you need help, take a class, buy a book, work with a mentor or critique group, but don't neglect the basics. You may have a great story, but poor grammar can destroy it in seconds. The editor may never know what a great story you've written because she didn't get past the second page. Learn basic manuscript formatting, spacing, font and margins.
  
  
• Target Your Market
  Do your research – know where to send your work. Is your book a long contemporary, a single title, a short sexy romp, a long historical or short, mystery, paranormal or fantasy? Don't assume your book will just fall into the right hands if you send it to any publisher. It'll come back at laser speed if you've chosen incorrectly. Learn the lines, write specifically for your line of choice and send your work to a specific editor. Learn the word count for the line. Don't send a 90,000 word story to a line that looks for 50,000. Do your homework.
  
  
• Put the Romance First!
  The romance is the story. The external plot is the vehicle to get your hero and heroine together and keep them together till the end.
  
  
• Write From the Heart
  Write about something you care about. When you do, that's when your voice will shine through. That's when you can call up emotion and transmit it to the reader.
  
  
• Make Your Conflicts Strong and Believable
  Eliminate misunderstandings or contrived situations. The reader must care what happens to your characters, because without that, your story won't be compelling. Readers want to love your heroes and heroines, they want root for the good guys and hate the bad guys – they want to be swept away. Pacing, dialogue, conflict, characterization, description, a sense of time and place, all lead to emotion. The greatest accomplishment for a writer is to have the reader "feel" something.
  
  
• Make Your Plot Unique
  Don't write the first thing that comes to mind. Decide what will make your story different from all others? It helps to write what you know, and it helps to have a hook – something that appeals to readers of a specific line. Draw on your unique expertise to give your story authenticity. Don't ever think you have no special expertise. We are all knowledgeable in one area or another, whether it's raising children or deciding against it, marriage or single life, death, divorce, career choices and family background – all are fodder for deep characterization and writing what you know. Use your personal expertise to your advantage and don't depend solely on external research for authenticity. You are the expert in your own life.
  
  

"Place and mood should play a more important role in your story." This writer has left out the important details in setting and mood of the story – important elements that will add richness and depth to your story. Where your story takes place, how that setting is revealed, and the words chosen to do it will set the place and mood. If your tale is meant to be light and humorous, choose a setting that reflects this, use dialogue and word choice that bring out those elements; if it's dark, your setting should evoke that mood.

"Just not special enough in this very competitive market." The technical writing aspects may be excellent, but there's nothing unique about this story and the plotline may have been done to death. Think about what twists and turns could make your story different from others of the same ilk. What can you do to make your story, voice and style stand out? Your book must be good enough for the editor to believe it will rise above the competition. If not they'll lose money on the project. And like it or not, making money is what the publishing business is all about.

"The characters did not come alive for me." Your characters must be interesting and unique, and there must be enough at stake for the reader to want to see them succeed. What's at stake must be extremely important to the main characters – enough to make them act against his or her own best interests to get it. Give your characters rooting power, something with which the reader can relate. To do that, the goals must be believable and well motivated.

"Skillfully written, but not fresh enough to be right for our list." The writer has talent and skills, but again, the plot has been done too often (for this editor.) Nothing stands out to make this story unique. A distinctive voice and style, elements that surprise and take the story in another direction can make a too-done plot fresh again.

"The characters seem motivated by the demands of the plot rather than from strongly felt internal motivations." What's needed is deeper internal motivation that compels the characters to act, rather than the characters acting upon external plot situations. The external plot situations should then produce more conflict, both internal and external.

"I didn't buy into the romance, I didn't root for them enough." Again, this speaks to emotion – and making the reader care what happens to the characters. Give your characters reasons to fall in love – and deep internal conflict that makes falling in love with each other the worst possible thing that could happen. Make the reader cheer for the protagonists to attain all their goals.