Well, it's official

I did not make the Semi-Finals in the Amazon contest, but after the review from my PW reviewer, I didn't expect to. I read three or four (of the five) who made it through to the Semi-Finals in romance, but I didn't leave a review for any of them ... so that tells me they were not books I would be interested in reading. Even if the novel seemed to be extremely predictable, if the writing was good, I left a review. I didn't leave reviews on the ones that were boring, poorly written, or that had plots that were (in my opinion) just plain ridiculous.

I tried to leave only reviews that were positive. If I had nothing positive to say, I didn't leave a review ... with two exceptions ... and those two were so offensive I felt obligated to leave bad reviews. They were not just offensive, but darkly, deeply disturbing. The love interests in one was a child and her pedophile molester. Am I to assume we are supposed to hope the pedophile "gets the girl"? The other was one writer's attempt at "Fifty-Shades-of-Grey-Mommy-Porn", and fell far short. It was really just expletive-ridden, vulgar language by promiscuous women who were rather mean. I didn't like them, so I didn't really care if they found love or not ... and I kind of hoped they wouldn't! Even so, I was kind when I left reviews for them. I don't see any point in being cruel or hateful, even if I was repulsed by their stories.

None of those I enjoyed and rated highly made the Semi-Finals. I hope those writer's understand that the PW reviewer who judged their entry (most likely quite harshly) isn't necessarily their target audience ... I am ... and I liked their work. The PW reviewer read their romance novel because they were paid to, not because they have any expertise in, or the desire to read, that genre.

I am disappointed that I was eliminated, but not as much as I thought I would be. According to one PW reviewer (per his blog), Publisher's Weekly hired reviewers on a contract basis to judge the entries. This judge did not mention that they were given entries in their preferred genre. I've said it before and I'll say it again ... you cannot accurately judge a book properly if it is a genre you do not enjoy. If you were to give me the Twilight manuscripts, I wouldn't be able to give them bad reviews fast enough. I do not enjoy paranormal romance ... at all ... and I will be the first one to tell you not to ask my opinion on one, because I already know you won't like what I would have to say. Don't give me horror, either, because I'd rather read paranormal/fantasy than something like that! I cannot accurately judge those types of work because I do not read them, do not enjoy them, and have no way of knowing if I'm reading a plot that's been done ad nauseam.

My review was written in a way that leads me to believe the reviewer does not enjoy reading romance. While not overtly hateful, it was definitely mean-spirited, and got a few key facts very wrong. They either did not read the book (skimming rather than reading), or I did a very poor job of getting my message across. Since this person seems to be the only one who came away confused on basic facts, it doesn't appear they read very carefully. I realize not everyone will like it, even those who enjoy romance, but this reviewer almost seemed angry that he/she had to read "another romance novel".

Although I wanted to win (of course!), I honestly never expected I would. More than anything, I wanted to make it to the Quarter-Finals (and I did!) for one reason ... to get a PW review that I could use when querying an agent. Well, I got my review, but I don't think I can twist it enough to make it usable.

Okay, enough grumbling! It's time to look on the bright side ... now that I'm no longer in this contest, my manuscript if freed up and I can concentrate on finding an agent and getting published. Not winning did not dampen my spirit, and I still believe I will be successful and that my dream will be attained. As long as I have tomorrow, my dream will live on :)

Tomorrow Amazon Announces the Semi-Finalists

I wish I felt better about my odds at progressing into the Semi-Finals, but my gut feeling at this point is that I will not. I think I wrote a great book that appeals to more than just fans of romantic fiction, and I will work to get published if I fail to make it to the next round of ABNA, but it takes more than a good story and great writing to continue on ... you also have to be lucky enough to have your work read by someone who reads ... and enjoys ... the genre in which you write.

Some of the Publisher's Weekly reviews are available to contestants, privately. It is my understanding that all Quarter-Finalists get two PW reviews.  (Note: I was incorrect ... we get one PW review). I have one review posted to my account, and it isn't glowing. It wasn't horrible or scathing, but it was definitely not kind. If they are correct in their assessment, then I have some things to work on. For instance, they said Larry was constantly talking about his past, his dreams, needs and wants, and that Tara had a crippling self-esteem issues and "never had anything to say, so she said nothing at all".

What?

If that's what they took away from the story, then I did not write it well. Yes, Tara does have self-esteem issues, but they are hardly crippling ... and yes, Larry talks about his past, etc., but every book has characters who talk/remember their past ... and since Larry is quite content with his life, his past is a very minuscule part of the book.

The way they referred to "the genre" in the review makes me feel like this is not someone who reads romance novels. I received two amazing reviews from the Amazon Vine Reviewers, who both chose to read from the romance category, and they both loved the excerpt. These are the people who buy books, so I'm choosing to believe their comments are closer to what a romance reader would feel.

I had heard that the PW reviews were notoriously brutal, and yet I wasn't worried ... I was actually looking forward to their reviews! Oh, how naive I can sometimes be! I will read my book again, and try to see it through the eyes of the PW reviewer.

I am very curious to see who makes it through to the Semi-Finals. I read a good many of the excerpts in the romance category, and wasn't impressed by any of them. There were a few that I might pick up at the library, but I didn't read any that made me want to finish them badly enough to purchase them.

One more day and I will know if I'm one of the lucky 5% to continue on ... or if I will be one of the disappointed 95% that will be eliminated.