Well, I got my SYTYCW rejection today. I was lucky enough to get two lines of feedback on why my story didn’t make the grade, but I was not lucky enough to be encouraged to submit again that some people received. (Which means this book that I love so much will never be a Harlequin book).
I realized before I got the email the exact problem they mentioned (because that’s how it always seems to go!), and I had actually been fixing that plot element (which makes me so frustrated with myself!). Everything they mentioned in their email was dead on, I just wish I had figured out how to fix it earlier because it was the same mistake I made with my medical fast track. And I knew it when I submitted. I just had the foolish idea that if my first chapter was good enough, they would overlook a weak synopsis and at least request a partial.
So, I realize I really have two things I need to focus on right now.
First, conflict. Conflict has always been one of my weaknesses which is obviously a problem in any writing. Stories need conflict and I tend to focus so much on my characters that the thing that drives them apart or challenges them sometimes falls by the wayside. BIG problem. I also tend to heap all the conflict on my heroines, when I really need to angst up my heros as well.
The second and bigger issue is the synopsis. It’s the bigger issue because this is one I am struggling to figure out how to fix. I don’t know why or how, as I feel like I am a decent writer, but I just haven’t yet been able to write a good synopsis. It always feels so “tell”. This happens, then this happens, and yah, this is how it ends. It’s just so dry, and I really need to work on fixing that issue.
So, now I wait to hear back on my partial with M&B Medical. It’s been 18 weeks now, so I will be nudging sometime in February if I still haven’t heard.
I’m going to finish revising my SYTYCW entry and then submit it somewhere, trying to decide between a couple publishers right now.
Then, I’m going to start on something new.
Okay, first I might go cry into some brownies, but after that I’ll do those things.
Hope someone out there gets some good news today!
Nicole Helm 