Too Much Information?

Image from The Digerati Life

It's no secret that I have a book on submission.  Maybe it should be.  Perhaps I should have guarded it like a state secret, but I couldn't.  The reason I'm wondering if I did the right thing is because now my failure will be as public as my triumph.  Do I want the whole world to know if my book doesn't make it?

The point is, it's tempting to tell all when you are hooked into social networking.  It's a necessity in this day and age to show you have a web presence and that you are conscious of publishing as a business that will require you to do your fair share of book promotion.  But with all this connectedness, we risk a lot of ourselves out there in cyberspace and I wonder if this is a good thing.  

My previous post was about how writers supported other writers.  Most of the people who were telling me to keep going after that last rejection were people I met online--other writers who were looking to connect with their own kind, who were looking for support.  I've had friends jump in and offer encouragement and people I never would have expected are rooting for my success.

So, should I have put myself on the line like I did?  Is is okay that anyone linked to me by a mouse click knows my writing fate?  Maybe not, but if the trade off for that means I get to know more people like me who are working toward perfecting that book and getting "the call," or I get to see the positive, generous side of so many others, then it's all worth it.

So what do you think?  Too much, too little or just right?

Writers Helping Writers

As I hinted at in a previous post, I got hit with a rejection not too long ago that stung.  When a full manuscript gets rejected it always hurts more than the partial.  With a partial you can always say the reader didn't get to the good parts, but with a full, it's final and no matter how kind the agent's words, there's no way to avoid the burn.

The thing about this business is it turns on a dime, and after sending out  a new batch of queries just one night after getting the rejection, I received a positive response early the next morning.  Yes, less than twelve hours after sending the query, a full was speeding through cyberspace.  I don't want to jinx anything, but my reality this week is very different than my reality last week.  And it is good.

However, what I want to write about is what got me through the initial burst of disappointment. This writing business is brutal on the ego.  Tougher people than me have packed it in.  But I find I can keep going as long as I don't feel alone.

That's really the key.

Through different online outlets like blogs, Facebook and Twitter, I've met some amazing writers.  I'm also a member of two local writing groups that offer tremendous support and camaraderie.  Whether online or in person, these are people who are going through the same battles I am.  We're writing and submitting and dealing with rejections. Or maybe we're doubting whether what we write is good enough to be seen. When the rejection came, I reached out for a hand, for some sympathy, for some advice and it came back in droves. I was able to put the rejection in perspective and move on, but I was only able to do it because of some women with very big hearts.

I've always found the writing community to be a pay-it-forward kind of place. I was on the receiving end of that last week.  I can only hope that I have to opportunity to do the same for someone when they need the help or encouragement to keep going.  Because when we stick together and weather the storms with others, reaching that finish line is not only easier, there are more people to celebrate the success.

How do you feel less alone?  Has someone reached out and helped or encouraged you?

Letting the Work Speak for Itself.

In my case, being a parent has helped me with my writing.  Not everyone can say that, but I can.  I especially feel that having children who are nearly adults has given me great preparation.  You see, slowly but surely I've had to let my kids go.  They've gone to school, on dates, they've driven cars and two of the three have gone away to college while number three waits on deck.

So sending off a book should be no problem, right?  I mean I've sent my flesh and blood children into the world, so the book should be easy.  It's just a book, right?  Wrong.

Over the past two days, as I sent my work into the void, I was a nervous wreck, and I knew I had to calm down. The book I recently finished revising is not only back with the publisher who gave me such incredible input, but it was requested by an amazing agent in NYC. (Did you all hear me squeal from coast to coast?) If I should be signed by this woman, I would consider myself incredibly lucky and I'd know my career would be in good hands.  So why was I having a meltdown?

Simple. I had to let go.

Just like parenting, I have to let my work stand on it's own and accept the loss of control.  The book is really good, but there are no more training wheels, no more safety nets--the book, my literary baby, is going to succeed or fail on its own.  And it's hard to face that.  However, just like my children, I need to believe in what I've done and have faith that I've crafted a good story.

Of course, I'm scared to death, because I've been down this road before and the possibility of rejection is very real.

But it's also rewarding to know I took the step, that I made the attempt and that I was brave enough to let go.

It's the only way to move forward and as writers that's what we need to do.  What are you doing to move forward?

Website

I've parked a website.

I always felt a little funny about having a website to promote my writing when I'm not yet published.  It's not going to lead an editor or agent to my door and I honestly feel if I don't have something to promote, why put myself out there.

It seems this is my old "don't notice me" self coming back to haunt my life.  However, in the present, information-rich climate it's more important than ever to be visible.  So, even though I'm still tweaking it a little, here is my website.  It links to my Twitter, my blog, and my Facebook page (which you can also find here) and I hope to add more content as time goes on.

Please visit and please tell me what you think.

www.jeanniemoon.com

Back to the revision.  I think this may end soon.  I hope.

My Favorite Things

I'm a reader, and yes, I am a voracious reader of romance novels. I still read good women's fiction from time to time, biography, history and I devour YA simply because of my job as a high school librarian, but romances make me happy. I like that people can fall in love, work their way past the obstacles and find happiness. This doesn't mean I don't like good writing. I love good writing, as well as rich characters, well-crafted settings and stories that keep me interested. I like to laugh and cry and I want to like the characters I read about. To find all those things, I read romance. So imagine my dismay when recently a colleague of mine laughed out loud when I told her I was an aspiring romance writer. "Seriously?" she asked me. "How do you write that stuff? Do you have pirates in your books?" I kept my cool and explained what I wrote (no pirates, no bodice ripping), but I was so taken aback by her lit snobbery, that this post started floating around in my head.

The definition of a romance novel as determined by the Romance Writers of America is as follows: a romance novel must focus on the developing love story between the two main characters and there must be an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. That doesn't mean there is always a happily ever after, for me it means that I walk away from the book feeling like the characters are going to be okay and are better for whatever the plot has thrown at them.

It's generally believed that romance does not get the respect it deserves because it is literature for women, primarily by women. I can buy that. But chew on these stats for a bit: romance generates over 1.3 billion dollars in book sales every year with about 75 million readers. Romance novels regularly occupy spots on all the major bestseller lists. In short, it is a force to be reckoned with in the publishing industry, and if the genre died, the economic repercussions in bookselling would be huge. (Check out the stats: RWA) Yet the stereotype of the genre and its readers still lives regardless of sales figures…so what is a genre to do? Enter Yale University.

Yale is offering a course on the romance genre. They are not offering this course as a sociology or psychology elective to examine the reader of this type of book, but instead it focuses on the genre as literature. The course had eighteen spaces. Eighty students applied for the spots. The publicity from this course is giving the genre some academic cred and pushing forward the growing movement that romance is, indeed, literature. See this article in the Yale Herald for details.

So what's a writer to do when the lit snob puts you down? Be armed with facts. Talk about the empowerment of women, economic impact, but also talk about the power of love. That's what it's all about and honestly, it's what we all want to believe in. The question to ask yourself isn't why you're reading romance, but instead to find out why the lit snob isn't?

People who know of my addiction are always asking me what I read. So in the interest of being a helpful librarian, here are my top ten romance novels:

10. The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks. A tearjerker of a story that focuses on Ally and Noah, teen lovers who are separated by class, meddling parents and circumstance. This is a book about the power of soul mates who find a way to be together. If you haven't read it I ask, "Where have you been?"

9. Summer by the Sea, by Susan Wiggs. I can read this book over and over again. Rosa and Alex are childhood friends who became lovers. Their romance ended, but now they are back together and trying to make it work in spite of family objections. He is delicious and she is a force to be reckoned with. Rosa's very successful restaurant is a central part of the book, but their love story is the real treat.

8. Born in Ice, by Nora Roberts. Brianna Concannon may seem like a mild mannered innkeeper, but this book, set in Ireland, tells the story of a woman who will not settle for less than a total commitment from the man she loves. Beautiful setting and glorious characters. This book is the second of Robert's "Irish" or "Born in" Trilogy. All three are excellent, but this one is my favorite.

7. Virgin River, by Robyn Carr. This is the first book in a series that focuses on the fictional, small, Northern California town of Virgin River. This is a town populated by former Marines, so the testosterone level is at Defcon 5. In the first book we meet Jack, a retired sergeant and now bar owner, who has his lightning strike when he meets Melinda.  Mel is a nurse midwife, who has moved to town to escape the tragedies she suffered in Los Angeles. He falls for her almost immediately and even though she resists, Jack is so damned perfect and honorable, it's impossible for Mel not to love him.

6. Fools Rush In, by Kristan Higgins. Millie Barnes returns home to Cape Cod to practice medicine and make the unrequited love of her life fall in love with her. Joe Carpenter is a perfect physical specimen and Millie has been obsessed with him since she was a teenager. What Millie begins to realize is that Joe is not the man of her dreams, but a certain cop, who has always been an important part of Millie's life, is exactly what her heart needs. One of Kristan's other books was almost sitting in this spot. Just One of the Guys has an amazing romantic ending, but I was really rooting for Millie to win this one.

5. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. Mr. Darcy is the original wealthy, brooding hero. Elizabeth Bennett is headstrong, beautiful and from a less than desirable family. They meet, sparks fly, there are arguments and accusations and all is well at the end. I love this book and whenever I have girls looking for a "different" kind of romance (meaning no vampires, drug addicts or gang members), I give them Pride and Prejudice. They love me for it.

4. Three Wishes, by Barbara Delinsky. Tom Gates is a famous author who has lost his way. Bree Miller is a small town woman who offers him redemption. The two of them combine in a story that has me bawling every time I read it. The ending is unexpected, and heart wrenching, but it's all about the power of love to heal even the most broken hearts and lives.

3. This Heart of Mine, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. This book combines two of my favorite things, football and children's literature. SEP does this by having a romance develop between playboy quarterback Kevin Tucker and penniless heiress and children's author, Molly Somerville. Molly has had a crush on Kevin forever, so when circumstances throw them together at a camp Kevin has inherited, the crush flares and real feelings develop between the two. I like this book because Kevin has a vulnerable side and it's not just about him saving Molly from herself, Molly saves him, as well.

2. Bet Me, by Jennifer Crusie. I love this book. I read it and decided I want to be Jennifer Crusie when I become a grown-up author. This is the story of Cal and Min. He is gorgeous, successful and has no trouble getting the women to fall all over him. Min is successful, but she's chubby, lacks confidence and has no luck with men. They meet, the stars align and the chubby girl gets to have her love story with the gorgeous guy who can't resist her. The characters have depth, the dialog is rapid fire and there are tears to go along with the laughs. If you have never read romance before, read this one. You'll be hooked.

1. Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon. Claire is a WWII nurse, a Brit, who after leaving active duty takes a holiday with her husband to the Scottish Highlands. One morning, when out for a walk, she touches a standing stone and finds herself hurled back in time to 1743. There she meets a tall, broad Scots warrior named Jamie Fraser. 'Nuf said. This book is full of passion, adventure, humor and tenderness. It's also a long book, to the point of being intimidating, but not a page is wasted. I have friends who are die-hard literary fiction fans who list this book as their favorite. The story is epic and unforgettable.