Searching the inbox

About 8 weeks ago i submitted The Price of Passion to Embrace books, an epublisher.
At the end of the allotted 6 weeks they informed me it would take to get back to me, i hummed and hahhed, bit my nails and sent a nice email asking about the status of my sub.
Got a very nice reply apologising for taking so long and to expect a reply by the end of the following week.

Last night i checked my email and there it was.... . I spent a good ten seconds considering not opening it until morning but then curiosity got the better of me.
With one part fear (If it was an acceptance i knew i'd have a whole lot of work ahead of me! If an R, what if there was no feedback for why?), and one part excitement (If it was accepted, my dream would be partially coming true - would still prefer to be published in book form), i opened it.

I got a very nice R.
It was full of constructive feedback such as that i didn't use enough dialogue (something i struggle with!); i had resorted to a cliche with my heroines actions; i have good punchy writing but at the wrong times - i need to slow the pace down at crucial moments, not gloss over the important stuff!
But, the editor said i am readable have a good voice, i just used the wrong conventions.

Now i can take this two ways (there are probably more but i'm trying to keep it simple :D):

1. Use the feedback and re-write Billie and Cooper's story, or
2. Use the feedback and apply it to a different set of characters

I think i'm tending towards the second as i have done all i could (at the moment) for Billie and Cooper, and i have other stories on the go. So i'll plod on with those, with the feedback in mind and submit something else when i'm done!

What do you do with your feedback?

Submission result

Well, i opened my email this morning and there was an email from ucanwrite.
My heart stopped then sped up and i waited for oh, a whole five seconds before opening the email with bated breath - just maybe they'll have said they like it, or if not they like my voice and want to see something else...

but no:

Thanks so much for submitting the first chapter and synopsis of your story.  Our editors reviewed the submission with care.  Unfortunately your story was not strong enough for us to consider further.  Good luck with your future writing endeavors and thanks for entering our challenge!


:( It would have been nice to have gotten a bit of feedback on WHY it wasn't strong enough.
Maybe they don't  do that, but it is frustrating that i don't know what i did wrong so how can i stop from doing it again with another story?


Well, to any of you out there lucky enough to get a "we love it", congratulations!


I shall not give up, no siree. One rejection can not stop the need to write!

A Big Rejection

Well i got my reply from the competition, and as a first rejection goes this one is pretty good:

Thank you for submitting your first chapter to The Harlequin Presents Writing Competition 2009. The winners have now been notified and we’re sorry to say that your entry was not successful.

You may be wondering if you should revise your story? On the whole, we'd advise against this, but instead recommend that you start afresh with something completely new. Of course, we understand that you’ll want to know the reasons why your chapter didn’t make it into our shortlist, but unfortunately we can’t give individual feedback to every entrant. However you may want to take a look at the most common mistakes we saw in this year’s competition entries, which you can find here: http://www.iheartpresents.com/2009/11/contest-update-feedback-from-the-editors/

We appreciate your interest in Harlequin Mills & Boon and wish you all success with your future writing.

Yours sincerely,

Editorial Department

The editorial Department may advise against revising my chapter, but Billie and Cooper still want their story to be written so it will be. It will be my learning piece. I can and will finish their story. I owe it to them, to myself and to those who have read that first chapter and have begged for more!
But you know what? I really don't think the Presents line was for me anyway. It is really fun to read and has been fun to create. I am going to finish this story and Logan's Angel which i started as the first idea for the competition, mostly because i hate to leave anything unfinished.
And because i may find that i do like writing it, after all you can trick yourself into enjoying things when you don't want to do it.
I think my true passion lies in the longer novel but we shall see. I will keep writing and see where 2010 takes me, who knows, Logan's Angel may be a hidden gem that i submit and am successful with? Or it could be my baby, Secrets and Lies.

A Reply Letter

I received a letter from HarperCollinsPublishers this week. Based on my critique from Rob Parnell i was expecting a "thanks, but no thanks" and that is what i got.
The letter was very polite and nice:

Thank you for writing to us regarding you manuscript entitled Secrets & Lies. While an interesting idea, i am afraid that this is not suitable for our list, and we would be unable to make an offer of publication.
I am sorry to have to disappoint you, but i wish you every future success with your writing.
Thank you for offering HarperCollinsPublishers the opportunity to assess you proposal.

It took seven weeks from the date i posted my document, so very timely and i was impressed with how sincere they sound.
Better luck next time!