REJECTION: GETTING OVER IT

I had a wimpy blog set for today, but yesterday an event gave me new inspiration for a blog that has more meat. I can even tie it in to Banned Books Week. (More on that in a moment.)

I received a rejection yesterday. Boy howdy.

It wasn’t the worst rejection I’ve ever received. It wasn’t even a publisher who rejected me. It was a reviewer. But don’t worry that this is an article condemning reviewers or this particular reviewer. No way. I once reviewed books back in the day. Waaaay back in the day. So I have perspective from that angle. I know what it’s like to read a book and just not understand what the big deal is supposed to be.

I didn’t head for the whine and cheese after I received this review. Not much anyway. ☺ What I did do is ponder the rejection and decide that I could do three things. Get very indignant. Pout. Or get over it.

I chose to get over it.

As I read the review and heard the reviewer’s complaint about the story, my ego reminded me that this same story won a writing award a few weeks earlier. What did this do? It solidified in my mind a few tenants I see as truthful about the world of writing and rejection. It’s food for thought whenever the review demon comes out and clobbers you or a publisher rejects your work.

1. The tired old saying is true: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Once in awhile I run across a best selling book that I can’t finish. Like anyone who has ever done the same, I couldn’t figure out what the big deal was. I couldn’t understand why this was a best seller. But, when a best selling novel doesn’t blow my skirt up, I have to acknowledge that something about their work appeals to a wide range of people. There are certain styles of writing that turn me on, and other styles that leave me cold. It doesn’t mean the book is poorly written because I don’t like it. It may mean I just don’t care for that author’s voice and style.

2. Best sellers/famous-as-hell authors get rejected. Yep. Every last one of them. Some of my favorite authors occasionally get trashed. Stephen King. Dean Koontz. Does it keep either one of them from writing? Nope. ☺ I admire these two authors like crazy, not only for what I consider to be their ground breaking, kick ass work, but their gumption.

3. Damn the torpedoes. I’d venture to say that writing is a lot like no pain, no gain. Most writers struggle for years before they are published. Some are never published. A few never give up. I have known authors who stopped writing because of one thing or the other, and these were talented, wonderful authors (in my opinion). Some quit writing because of rejection. Others gave up because they decided they found something else they’d rather do with their time. While the idea of throwing my hands up and screaming “I give up” has certainly crossed my mind before, I haven’t. Giving up is the only failure, and should I allow rejections to keep me from writing? No way.

4. Sometimes you hit a bull’s eye, sometimes you don’t. I’m an archer. Yep, I love to get out my big ole compound archery bow and hit a bull’s eye. I’m not very competitive so the idea of hitting a bull’s eye every time is nice, but it isn’t what my archery is all about. It’s also about enjoying myself. So in a way I liken writing to archery. Sometimes you hit have a fantastic day hitting the target, sometimes you don’t.

5. Don’t let ‘em get you down. Speaking of Banned Books Week, I wanted to say thank you to all the librarians, readers, authors, and other individuals who face down censorship every day and defy it. I’m one of those people who crusades against censorship.

Now that I’ve overloaded you with copious clichés, I hope you’ll consider what I’ve said and give it some thought the next time you get a rejection…of any kind.

Here’s to enjoying all kinds of writing, no matter where it is or what it says. Freedom of expression is a wonderful thing.

I never used to used to listen to music while I wrote. I’ve always preferred quiet, but for whatever reason that’s changed. The play lists I used to create to listen to while I wasn’t writing have turned into soundtracks for my stories. Each song fits a specific scene, while some songs fit the whole theme.

The title of my September release is MY PREROGATIVE, which is also the title of a song by Bobby Brown, (redone years later by Britney Spears). The title alone should tell you a bit about this story. While the song isn’t exactly perfect for the book, the title fits, and the song was still on the play list…

I admit it, a lot of me is in Kelsey. I’ve been a bartender/waitress for 20 years, and I’ve traveled all over the world. The idea was to give those who’ve never worked a job like that a glimpse at how a person’s outlook on life can be different. Your mind works a bit different when you live a world that is almost always dark, when you watch the sun rise before going to bed, and get up just before the sun sets.

The first song on the MY PREROGATIVE play list was Cuz I Can ~ Pink

“I drink more than you, I party harder than you, and my cars faster than yours too. Hah!”

When Cuz I Can first starts you can hear that line…trash talk’n before the song even starts. It sets the mood, and I love it. I love Pink; I think she’s the epitome of a person who stays true to herself, especially in a business with so much pressure to conform. From her debut album MIZUNDERSTOOD, she’s remained true to who she is…and that’s how I saw Kelsey, the heroine in MY PREROGATIVE.
(more…)

Today, I spoke to someone I respect who told me she’d hate to be a writer and that she feels sorry for authors. She went on to say that she thinks that being a writer, especially a novelist, is an awful job and that she doesn’t envy us. Now, before you decide not to read anymore of my blog, let me first say — she should know. As an industry insider, from her point of view - editors and publishers, and some agents, don’t respect us and, I didn’t want to tell her, but I would add readers to that list.

There are the conflicting responses some of us get from agents and editors: “I don’t like your voice”, “I loved your voice”, or “Can you write in a different style?”. Then there are the rejection letters for the same manuscript – “I liked it but…”, “I hated it!” “You write very well, but…” To some readers we’re only as good as our last book. Disappoint them once, and they’ll never buy you again. Oh, and let us not forget the critics, the low pay, the competition, the changing market – all of this would make a sane person want to run and hide. So why do I continue to write under such unfriendly circumstances?

Well, first off it’s not all bad. At least not for me. Yes, I know about the suicides, drunkenness and the loneliness. I know that except for the brand name authors the rest of us are seen as the bottom feeders of the publishing industry. What’s that they call us? Mid-list authors. Who came up with that lame term anyway? Yes, we provide the product but with so many of us out there, if one of us gets squashed no one really notices. So I ask myself again. Why do I still write?

I love my job. Not just because I don’t have to commute or get dressed to go to work. I love it because I get to create. I get to say “Let me tell you a story…” In a few hundred pages I get to make sense of life and say justice does prevail, love matters, and that we’re all here for a reason.

No, it’s not glamorous—at least not for me and no I’m not making lots of money (yet). No, I don’t have millions of fans. But I’m still in the game because I love to write and there’s nothing else I’d rather do.

Oh and to those readers who give us mid-list authors a career by buying our books, thanks for making our writing dreams come true.

I had to take a roadtrip and I was listening to some writing talks in the car, and I like listening to these talks, especially when I’m in the middle of a book, because it makes me think about my story in terms of what’s being said. How to make it better, stronger… faster.

Anyway, I’m finishing up the last bit of my book, but I wasn’t happy with the end. I knew it was off, but I didn’t know what was off. Like those “What’s wrong with this picture” pictures where your eyes see things that are wrong, but your mind can’t quite peg it.

So, as I was listening to a talk that had absolutely nothing to do with endings, or conflicts, the solution came to me in a flash of inspiration. How to fix it. The Eureka Moment. I love these moments. To me, they are the best part of writing. Newton discovering gravity, Columbus discovering America, and Kathleen discovering the exact perfect way to end her book.

There’s something very mystical about writing to me. I’m a huge believer in reading how-to books, listening to other people talk about it, because my left brain knows that writing is a subject that can be improved through study and practice. But my right brain, the woo-woo side, knows that sometimes things just magically come to me, and I should celebrate those Eureka Moments. I don’t understand why I know, or how I know, or even what little bit of flotsam unleashes it from my brain, but I’m very glad it happens. It makes the writing a journey all its own.

For those of you who are writers, do you get these? And if you’re not a writer, what sort of Eureka Moments do you get?

Hello! This is my first post at Access Romance. My name is Shelley Munro. I live in New Zealand, and I write paranormal stories for Ellora’s Cave and contemporary stories for Samhain Publishing.

Today I thought I’d talk about learning. I love to learn new things. I like to read, take online classes and talk to people. The things I learn might be small or they might be life changing. And of course, learning new things provides fodder for my stories.

Recently I spent almost seven weeks on holiday in America. Here are some of the things I learned during my vacation:

1. American light switches are upside down, or at least they’re opposite to ours in New Zealand, and fooled me every time.
2. Americans and Canadians are very serious about their coffee. There are coffeeshops everywhere and people line up with their to-go mugs each morning. There are even cute drive thru coffee huts. Our coffee in New Zealand is much stronger.
3. American National Parks are beautiful and very user friendly. The rangers are full of knowledge and ready to answer questions. (Thanks Ranger Michelle at Rocky Mountain National Park!!) The animals in the parks, however, are not as friendly and like to hide from camera-toting tourists.
4. Automatic flushing toilets can and will take you by surprise, flushing when you least expect it. I almost jumped out of my shoes a couple of times.  :shock: 
5. When my husband starts to get grumpy it’s time to feed him.

CONTEST: Tell me something you’ve learned during the last month - something random or interesting or maybe world-changing. Everyone who comments goes into a draw to win a print copy of MIDNIGHT TREAT.

Note: I’ll draw the winner on 27 September and announce the winner’s name in the comments section of my post. Don’t forget to check back to see if you’re the winner.

Jackie wrote about reader expectations first, darn it! So I suppose I’ll write about something else - sex and more specifically - sex in books.

I read a lot. Several books a week along with writing but at the moment I’m working on three different projects at three different stages of the process (editing, revising and writing) so I’m so busy I’m not able to spend as much time as I like reading other people’s books.

Anyway, there have been multiple times over this last year when I’ve simply had to put a book I’ve been reading down forever. The thing is, one person’s wallbanger is another person’s keeper. I totally believe this is true. There are books I hear folks raving about all the time but when I read them I just wasn’t engaged at all. By contrast some of my personal faves are not on other people’s OMG lists.

Here comes the part where I ramble about sex in books and a great many things I find myself annoyed by…

One thing I tend to notice is how sex is used in a book. Now, not everyone writes erotica or erotic romance. Not everyone puts big sex scenes in books and that’s fine too. But one of my biggest peeves is how authors will toss in multiple, totally gratutitious sex scenes in a book for nothing other than page filler. I don’t know why they do it. Perhaps it’s because sex sells and people think that more is better. I don’t know. Sometimes, more IS better. Sometimes that’s what the book calls for. Sometimes not so much.

A sex scene is like any other scene in a book. It should propel the story in some direction. If it’s just filler, it’s useless and it reads that way. Put from my perspective - it’s a wasted opportunity for great character interaction. Sex is rich with opportunity for an author! If you use it, use it wisely. If I skim past a sex scene, it’s not really motivational for the characters. Can I skip past large blocks of other scenes with the same effect? If so, same thing - you’re not utilizing your words.

There are authors who don’t have long detailed sex scenes but who understand the complexity and importance of a sex scene. It’s not the level of graphic words, it’s not page count - it’s content and purpose. Look at Nora when she writes as JD Robb - when Eve and Roarke have sex there’s a reason for it. That’s why the physical chemistry between them resonates with readers so deeply. Roberts understands how to use sex effectively even though she’s not writing 24 page sex scenes. There are authors who do write long, detailed sex scenes who DO know how to use them effectively (several of them are on my auto buy list) Sadly, I see a lot of stuff that mistakes quantity for quality and the use of certain words as shortcuts to try and seem sexy. Of course, sexy is always in the eye of the beholder. What I find sexy isn’t necessarily what you would find sexy either.

I’m not an expert more than anyone else is. I write sex. I like to write sex and so perhaps when I read, I see it differently than other readers do. I’m sure I’m far more nitpicky than some people can be. For instance - I don’t care how gargantuan his tool of manly deeds is (hereafter termed the TOMD), it’s not going into the heroine’s womb. A cervix can be bumped which can be painful or pleasurable depending on the woman, the time of the month and heck, the day or level of arousal. But the womb is closed, TOMDs cannot enter them. Now, there are times when a woman’s uterus contracts - often during orgasm and she feels THAT during intercourse, but that’s not a TOMD in her womb.

In many scenes a little goes a long way. As in - just because you have him dangling her upside down from the side of a building, singing the national anthem with sparklers in his ears while attempting four movements from the Kama Sutra, doesn’t mean it’s “hot” - no, sometimes it makes me cock my head and wonder just how bendy any one human can be. Most people aren’t double jointed.

As a reader, I want to believe it. I don’t have to want to do it, but I want to believe it. I want to believe the characters on the page are there with each other doing whatever they’re doing for a reason that furthers the plot. If they’re on the run from gun toting mafioso, why are they stopping in the middle of the road for a quickie? It’s the same as sending the girl down to the basement on her own when Jason is lurking around! It makes no sense.

As an author, it’s my job to make you the reader believe it. Again, you don’t have to want to do it, but it’s my job to make you understand why. Sometimes that’s a hard thing to do! But it’s what I try to do when I write. I hope I succeed!

How about a contest? I’ll give a signed copy of Reading Between the Lines to a random commenter  Monday the 22nd at Noon pacific. Just comment here with your opinions on sex in books! Like, don’t like, whatever.

 Oh and I just got some ARCS of Undercover - my December release from Berkley Heat - be aware in case you’ve never read a Heat title - there’s graphic sexin and two TOMDs in the book (menage).  Head over to my blog to see how to enter to win a copy.

WINNER: Via Random.org is commenter #19 Teresa W!  Just email me your mailing address and I’ll get the book your way.

I recently received my call to jury duty. I know…I know….not many people look on jury duty as a positive thing (other than carrying out our duty as good citizens) but I think it’s a great opportunity for writers. What other experience offers us the chance to sit and watch and study people, to find out all kinds of details of a personal nature and to consider many different ‘what if’ situations about a variety of outcomes from a description of the facts….just the facts?
So, the last time I was called, I did take part in the process known as ‘voir dire’ — winnowing the prospective juror pool down to the 12 needed for the case. I think I must have been enthusiastic about the experience: figuring out what type of juror the defense and prosecuting attorneys were looking for and analyzing each side’s case. Then, at the last moment, I was dismissed. And so it went on all day. In spite of not being seated on a jury, I found it interesting–so many people, both prospective jurors, court staff and legal people.

So, in preparation for this year’s jury service, I gathered my notebook, my Alphasmart, and my intentions to find some new material for characters or stories from amongst those in attendance. Then disaster struck — when I went online to confirm that my attendance was needed. . . and it wasn’t!! :roll:

All that inspiration gone? All those chances to observe real people from all walks of life gone! What’s a writer to do? Find another source? Well, yes, of course!! I went shopping at the mall, watching people shop and chat as I took notes about habits and clothing and the way someone looked or walked or laughed. Then I stopped at the county library and repeated the process. And I did it again at a doctor’s appointment, too. And so on and so on…all through the day.

I guess my point is that a writer doesn’t find ideas only in the serious or dramatic situations, but also in the everyday exchanges and ordinary people in our lives. And from the out-of-the-ordinary ones, too! In truth, there isn’t much that cannot be grist for the writer’s mill. And so, you all need to be very careful because almost anything you do or say could end up in a novel, maybe even mine if you’re are in my area. No one is safe while writers are on the loose in the real world! :shock:

Are you a writer? Do you watch people to get ideas? (C’mon, tell the truth!) Are you a reader? Have you ever served on jury duty?

Terri

PS — my comments about jury duty or the courts are not meant to take that experience in a less-than-serious manner.