You've trusted me to give you
Advice about your book.
What's best and worth retaining,
What needs another look.
My aim is to be helpful,
And not to cause distress.
But just how can I tell you
Your tale's a total mess?

You've got a great idea,
The background's pretty neat.
The hero is all-powerful
And never sees defeat.
His enemies attack him
But they are always thrashed.
Now just how can I tell you
That concept should be trashed?

The love int'rest is pretty,
Although her only role
Is to admire his prowess
And cheer him to his goal.
She's from a noble family,
Her manner is refined.
But just how can I tell you
She ought to have a mind?

The villain's really evil,
His one goal's to destroy
Whatever makes life worthwhile
Or gives somebody joy.
He works each waking moment
To spread distress and fear,
But just how can I tell you
His motive isn't clear?

The sidekick is the best part.
He's got some clever lines.
He does investigations
And finds suspicious signs.
When there's a tricky problem
He's never at a loss,
So just how can I tell you
He's smarter than his boss?

I've read each page in detail,
Don't want to cause you pain.
It would be wrong to tell you
You did your work in vain.
I hope you can improve it
And don't want you to stop.
The best thing I can tell you
Is "Take it from the top."