Jennifer McKenzie
Romance--Boy meets girl. Romantic Suspense--Boy meets girl with dead bodies.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
An Oasis In The Desert
A month ago, I submitted the first 10 pages of "Hidden Grief" to an agent. Yesterday, I got my response. It was a rejection but with a handwritten note in the corner.
"Hi--I really do like this idea--but that first section is awful. Why not start when she opens the boxes? Introduce Travis later. I'll be glad to re-read a revision then."
It's the first sign from the professional writing community that I may have a shot at getting somewhere. I called Michelle and squealed like a fourteen year old girl. Isn't it funny that a rejection that tells me the first section of my writing is "awful" is enough to have me doing the Hobbes dance.
This is going to require massive rewrites. I have to change Jessica's profession (because it's not realistic). I have to completely rewrite a lot of the structure. It's such a patchwork of old and new. It was almost easier to sh**can the thing. I know I can do this, however.
I don't want to say who the agent is at this point. I'll see how it goes. I think I can polish this and get it moving in the right direction in the next month. I don't want to miss an opportunity to turn in revisions.
It's a small reward, but it's something I can work with. I have to remember that my father wrote a book that he NEVER submitted to anyone. No editor or agent ever read his work. If they had, I believe he might have been successful. A perfectionist, he edited and re-edited his own work. It was a secret I didn't know about until he died in 2003. It motivated me to stop putting my writing off in "Someday" land and get feedback.
Then I discovered Romance Divas and eHarlequin. There I found the encouragement to keep writing through four months of silence at Harlequin Intrigue (that ended in a form R). My critique partner kept me writing, Romance Divas kept me thinking and eHarquin kept me from tackling the mailman everyday. (Check out eHarlequin's SubCare chat session. It's encouraging to see other writers waiting.....and waiting...just like we all do.)
I have a lot of work ahead but I'm so excited to do it now. Dad, I know you're up there, we did it.
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Name:: Jennifer McKenzie Location:: California
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