Now I know how an editor or agent feels when they tell you to read the guidelines.  I publish a newspaper column about book reviews in The Examiner.  I thought it would be a good thing to do if I tried to include indie authors in the column.  A self published book needs to be advertised, and self-published authors don't have as many opportunities for advertising as the big publishers do.
I placed a discussion on Linked In telling them about my column.  I said I review mild or sweet romance, mystery or suspense, that are in keeping with Christian/Catholic values, and nonfiction books on parenting or art.  Those are the guidelines.
I recieved what I assume is making editors and agents cringe all over the world.
1.  A sweet historical romance novel about a Protestant who falls in love with a Catholic. (Horray! Exactly what I wanted!!)
2. A contemporary erotic romance about a professor who sleeps with his students.
(I can't encourage people to break the law.  I turned it down.)
3. A contemporary romance about a Muslim who marries his cousin.
(I asked for Christian.)
4. A book of poetry about religion, drawn from all sorts of religions, including non-Christian ones, written by someone who is not ordained, and does not have a recommendation by someone who is.
(It's called an imprimpture.  If you're not trained, you need one.  And even if it has a common theme, you can't call a poetry collection a novel.)
5. A thriller novel, set in Alaska, that has airplane fights.
(That's my husband's kind of book.  I asked if he'd review it for me, but hey, he's a chemist.  I'm expecting something along the lines of "As per your request, the parameters for the plot are among acceptable ranges."  Stay tuned.)
6. A Young Adult novel about a vampire.
(Well, Halloween is coming up.  The author has a lot of credentials, and it is about family values.)
Guidelines are there for a reason.  The results I had reminds me of my birthday in Junior High.  My mother asked me what I wanted for a gift, and I asked for some '45 records.  Instead of buying new ones, she went up into the attic and brought down a case of Benny Goodman, Perry Como, and other big bands.  
"I asked for '45's," I said, "but this isn't what I wanted.  I was hoping for The Monkees or The Cowsills."
"Maybe next time you'll be more specific," she said. 

I went shopping for a new pillow.  I found several that met my criteria for a pillow; not too hard, not too lumpy, but then I started looking for my new criteria element.  Was it made in the USA?
The most expensive pillow was Beauty Rest.  The package said it was distributed by Wal-Mart.  Well, that's American, right?  Why didn't it say so on the package?  I looked and looked for the "made in the USA" label, but couldn't find it anywhere on the outside of the plastic bag.  Finally, I opened the package and looked on the label sewn to the pillow; the one you can't remove under penalty of law.  There, I found it.  "Hecho en Chine" is Spanish for "made in China".  What is wrong with that picture?
It takes a little longer to look for the "made in the USA" label, but I figure it is worth it.  If we want more jobs in this country, then each of us is going to have to take a stand.  If we don't buy American goods, the jobs won't happen.  We have to vote for jobs with our pocketbook.
Surprisingly, the American products aren't always the most expensive ones.  The next pillow down in price was American made.  I saved a few pennies by buying a Serta pillow.  I hope I saved