I guess my biggest pet peeve is a sloppy ending. In romance, the hero and heroine are separated by a gargantuan misunderstanding or a dire predicament, only to have Uncle Joey or Fire Marshall Bill rescue them in a page. Dave thinks characterization is the key to a good book. Ergo, the better the characterization, the better the story. Malle Vallik at Harlequin.
People target one line, get turned down, and for some reason think the lines are interchangeable.
If you must revise a rejected manuscript to try to sell it elsewhere, make certain you know the line and that the material is made suitable for it. Malle also commented on how often she receives synopses that start on the fourth chapter, rather than the beginning of a book. To Malle, strong emotionally-driven characters are key, along with clean writing. Jennifer Enderlin from St. Martin's Press. If I can put it next to ten other pages and pick out the author, it's a good clean voice.