Don't get me started. Anywho, here is my post. Hope you enjoy it!
“Thank you for sending your manuscript, however I regret to
inform you that your novel does not fit our needs at this time”
This is every author’s nightmare. It certainly was mine. For years I wrote,
pouring my heart out in each and every story, creating likeable characters only
to hear it was rejected. Talk about feeling upset. One rejection letter was bad
enough, the tenth was devastating. What was I doing wrong?
Apparently, everything.
I couldn’t understand why my stories weren’t being accepted.
I had a strong beginning, an interesting conflict, a couple who meet and fall
in love and a zinger ending. What more do these publishing companies want? I
was soon to find out that there was a lot more to writing than creating a
likeable story. They wanted good
grammar. I’ve got a grade nine
education, learned the basics in school, but apparently it was only the beginning. I was ready to toss it in, give up on a dream
of being an author when my loving hubby convinced me to give it one more try.
Reluctantly and half-heartedly I obliged him and did some
research on-line to help me make my story better. Little did I know that what I
was about to do would make my dream come true. Searching the internet I came
across an epublishing company holding a contest. I had no idea what an ebook
was. But hey, why not give it a shot. I took one of my many stories, wrote up a
synopsis (not an easy job, trust me) and emailed it to the company. Two weeks
later I received an email stating that my story had not won the contest but
that I had come in second place. Boy did that perk me up. As I continued to read the long email from
the co-owner and senior editor my hopes began to rise. She loved my story, but
given that it was a romance contest, they could not accept it because it did
not have a happy ending. A must in romance. And finally, at the end of the
letter she told me that she loved the story and encouraged me to fix it up and
resubmit. Then she went on to say if I had other stories to please submit them
as well. WOW! Someone actually liked my story and wanted to accept it. I was
over the moon!
I spent the next two weeks polishing my stories. Feeling
confident in myself and my work, I submitted two other stories, both
romance. To my surprise and utter joy
she responded stating that one of the stories fit their needs perfectly. It was
the next line that completely blew me away. “Congratulations for choosing our
publishing house for your book. Attached is a contract and information about
the publishing process.” I stared at
those few words, mesmerized and yes, a little in shock. Was she seriously
contracting my work? The next thing I did was begin to scream. My husband and
kids thought I had lost my mind. Until I told them why.
There is no greater feeling than having your dream come
true.
Still, it would be a long process before the book would
actually be published. In another email this wonderfully supportive senior
editor explained to me what needed to be fixed in my story. She had a long
list, which felt overwhelming at first, of things I needed to correct.
“You need to be
careful with your POV.”
I was baffled as to what she meant. So back to the internet
I went and did a search for POV. Point of View. Ah, now I get it. Now what? I
had no idea that I couldn’t have each character have their own internal
thoughts. What was wrong with that? Simple. The reader can’t develop a
connection to the lead characters if others point of views are mixed into the
story. So there I was, going through the entire manuscript for POV errors. Its
amazing what you find when you are deliberately looking for one specific error.
I had the Heroine’s thoughts, mix in with the hero as well as the protagonist
and other characters. Now I had to decide who should be the primary voice in my
story. Not an easy decision. So I mixed the hero and the heroine and gave them
each their own voice. The key was to keep them separate.
This was written nearly eight years ago and boy have I come
far. Since this was written I have published nineteen books, some aren’t
published any longer. Its been a hell of a ride. I’ve had some great editors in
my career, and they’ve helped me fine tune my books. Without them, I would be
lost. I by no means am a perfect writer
with no mistakes. But sometimes its hard to see those until the editor takes a run
at it. Thanks to those editors I’ve had
plenty of success.
What is the moral of this story. Simple. Learn everything
you can about writing and the industry. Fine tune your stories. Aside from
spelling and grammar errors, check for POV, plot, time, season, location, if
your character is drinking on one scene but no longer has the drink in the
next. All of these suggestions can go a long way to making your story better.
So, happy writing everyone!
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