Typical...Ouch...Rejection as seen by Jamie Hill

According to Wikipedia (so it must be true) : The word "rejection" was first used in 1415. The original meaning was "to throw" or "to throw back". Makes sense to me.

Every author has a tale about that first rejection. I've told my story numerous times...an outrageous, 120K manuscript and 27 rejection letters...I barely knew what I was doing back then. That book didn't get published until I knocked it down to a tight 60K.

Instead of rehashing that tale, today I'm going to talk about reviews. Obviously the word rejection shouldn't go hand in hand with the word 'reviews', but occasionally, ouch. In my defense, I've received many more good and decent reviews than negative ones. But those first few bad and so-so comments stuck with me.

There was the man (I'm picturing a middle-aged, paunchy man) who didn't care for my first romantic suspense novel and said it read like a romance novel intended for women. Huh? Excuse me? He was obviously not my target audience.

Some reviewers haven't liked my sex scenes, thought the supposedly sexy dialogue was cheesy, and didn't think I'd rounded out my characters enough. These are all points other people/reviewers have loved about my writing, which goes to show taste is subjective. An early reviewer rated my story in an anthology very low, suggesting it smacked of incest because my ghost was acting promiscuous in front of her ghost father.

Oops. My ghost bad. Okay, that one's not available anymore.

A while back I opened my email to another review. I'll share the last line with you.

It is short, which made it easier to get through and fans of the author’s writing may enjoy this story, as it’s typical of the writing and plot of her offerings.

Typical. Ouch.

One of my critics said, "That's just not the type of book I like to read." (I hate to break it to you, Mom, but that's the kind of book I like to write.)

Fortunately, there are people (and reviewers) who like my work and seem to get what I'm trying to do.

Some of my favorites include:

The talented Jamie Hill creates a story of romance and suspense that is both sensual and realistic. 

A short story that will have readers seeing the light that is Jamie Hill.
 
Jamie Hill is at the top of her game with her new release and I look forward to reading more from her in the future!  


Bottom line for me...rejection sucks. It stings, but I try not to sweat the small stuff and take joy where I can find it. The 'light that is Jamie Hill' line brings a smile to my face every time.


Find all my titles here: http://www.jamiehill.biz/ or at my publisher's website, Books We Love: http://bookswelove.net/authors/hill-jamie/ and if you've enjoyed something I've written, please leave a review on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0044DJ9TM

Go ahead, make my day. 

A Writing Anniversary by Jamie Hill

Ten years ago in June I signed my first contract to have a book published. Family Secrets wasn't the first book I wrote, but it was the first to get published, other than a couple of short stories. I had a wonderful editor (thank you, Susan) and I really loved the book. I'll never forget my first ever review-- 4 and 1/2 stars out of 5, and the reviewer said glowing things. I printed that puppy out and carried it around for days, reading it to anyone who would listen.

The book did okay, and garnered more lovely reviews. Sadly, the small press that published Family Secrets closed it's doors and my book was an orphan. It took several years before I found a new publisher and the next two I chose folded before I ever really got going. (The book had five different covers in it's short life, too!) I didn't give up, kept persevering, but just couldn't seem to find the right fit for the book and me. Harlequin liked my premise but said they could never have divorced heroes or heroines with kids for the lines I submitted to. (Really?)  By the time I got done trying to figure out their guidelines, my head was spinning. But it would have been nice to see my book in bookstores.

Actually, a nearby bookstore, Hastings, has a local author section, and they let me place some copies of Family Secrets there on consignment until they got too dusty a couple years later. I sold two, and one was to my best friend. LOL (An aside--Thanks to Books We Love, Family Secrets is now available by request at any bookstore, just for the asking. That's so cool.)

Family Secrets was always meant to be part of a series. I started book two, Family Ties, shortly after book one. But frankly, when I couldn't find a good home for the first book, I didn't have much motivation to complete the second one.

My publisher, Books We Love, came along at just right time in my life. Once Family Secrets was happily settled in, I got busy and finished Family Ties. In 2012 the Amazon revolution happened, and many of our Books We Love titles took off. I'm thrilled to say that Family Secrets was one of them. It hit #67 on the Top 100 Paid Kindle Books, which was great considering the thousands of books Kindle offers. 

What that did was motivate me to get off my duff and write that third book I'd always imagined. It actually came easier than I expected, and I was very, very pleased with the result. Family Honor made the sixth novel I'd published, three romantic suspense and three older titles that were straight romance. At that point I decided that romantic suspense is my true love. 

I've continued in that spirit with my latest romantic suspense series, Witness Security. I'm currently working on the third book in that one. I hope you'll check out my books and join me on my unfinished journey!

Family Honor

Bodies of dead women are piling up and Detective Melanie Curtis is doing everything she can to solve the 'Cheerleader Slasher' case. Surprised to discover her chief has requested help from the FBI, she's even more shocked when she meets the sexy FBI special agent sent to assist her.
 

SSA Nate Willis tracks serial killers for a living. The slasher case is a challenge, but nothing compared to the feisty police detective he finds leading the investigation. Their attraction is swift and mutual, but the killer is escalating and they need to solve the case before they can focus on their personal relationship. When the unthinkable happens and the investigation is turned upside down, is their chance for happiness also in jeopardy?

“Author Jamie Hill has a knack for pulling a reader deeper and deeper into her stories as they try to figure out where she is leading them.” ~ Tammy, Fallen Angel Reviews

~ Find this title here

~ Find all Jamie's titles at Books We Love

Writing is a Learning Journey - Ginger Simpson

I started my writing journey in 2002 and my first novel was published in 2003.  I thought it was awesome, but several years later, after many editing sessions and learning through critique groups and on-line classes, I shuddered when I read the finished product and realized the amateur mistakes I'd made.  Luckily, when my contract expired, I took my rights back and reworked the book, improving it.  Is it perfect?  No.  I still find things I wish I would have known and changed, but every book I write is better than its predecessor.

I highly recommend critique groups to help you hone your work and reviewing the writing of others has helped me immensely.  No, I'm not a know-it-all, but I sure recognize problem areas in books, and often wonder why their editors didn't suggest changes.  One I'm reading right now has me scratching my head over that very thing.  The story is very interesting and the author writes with great descriptions, but because I read with an editorial eye, I can't get past what I consider problem areas.

Several would disagree with me, but one publisher limits the amount of "internal" thoughts an author can use, and I understand why.  My first manuscript was fraught with them, but when i re-read the book, I realized switching from third to first person on a regular basis pulls the reader out of the story.  My preference is to have the internal thoughts posed as questions for the reader to ponder.  See which you prefer:

 I thought he was going to kiss me.  He's good with the girls, and I think he likes me, but he does seem worried about something.

 Her heart raced with hope he'd kiss he but he didn't. She earned only a brief hug on his way out the door.  He'd been so good with the girls and acted as though he truly liked her, but he seemed preoccupied. Should she worry?

IMHO, the flow is much smoother.

A second pet peeve for me is using unnecessary adverbs.  Why not just use stronger verbs?  For example: She ate her pancakes hungrily.  How about she devoured her pancakes?  Or...The dog barked viciously.  I'd prefer to have you show me the vicious dog.  The dog bared his teeth and growled deep in his throat.  The fur on his back stood on end.  Better?

My most recent lesson learned deals with eliminating needless verbiage and insulting the reader's intelligence. *smile*  If we, as authors, do our job, we put the reader into the character's POV, therefore it's unnecessary to continually indicate who watched, felt, sensed, saw, etc.  Example:  She watched him pour a drink.   If we've been in her POV, then it stands to reason she's watching what he does, so he can just pour a drink.  He meandered to the bar and poured himself a drink.  Another example:  She felt the cold air on her bare arms.  How about showing the reader?  Goosebumps peppered her bare arms.  She embraced herself against the cold air.

There's a rule in writing called RUE=resist the urge to explain.  Readers are intelligent and little things like "to him, at her, for him" are easily figured out. Example:  He read the article aloud to her.  If they are the only two in the room and he's reading aloud, then I think you get my drift.  Seems petty, but these are the things that jump out at me.

 I learned to eliminate"that" from many sentences because it's unneeded.  He knew that she would feel insulted.  He knew she would feel insulted, or even better, if at all possible, eliminate the "he knew."  Of course, she'd feel insulted if he...  Put the reader into the story and let him/her figure it out.  It shouldn't be difficult.

Word echoes show laziness.  Instead of using the same word over and over, consult your thesaurus and find something different.  No one likes redundancy.  Of course sometimes, using the same word over again is used for dramatic effect, and that's perfectly okay.

I've listed a few problem areas here.  Feel free to list your pet peeves in the comment area.  This is all about learning, and good authors never stop.  Teach me something new so I can pull out the rest of my hair.  :)