Moving Up the Rejection Food Chain and Perceptions of Women by Jannine Gallant

So, I had an interesting phone call the other day. First of all, I always thought getting a call from a publisher was supposed to be good news. I must be special because I've had not one, but TWO rejection phone calls from editors in the last couple of months. Honestly, I felt pretty good about it. Used to be, I received a rejection form letter email saying "Sorry (insert author name), but your book (insert title) isn't right for us. Good luck." I bet you can all relate. But this time the editorial director of the romance division of a large publishing house picked up the phone and apologized for not getting back to me sooner! She also said she was very interested in me, BUT (you knew there was going to be a BUT, right?) she wasn't thrilled about my proposed series. She didn't think it would sell well. And that isn't a risk a publisher wants to take with a print series.

So, let's talk about what sells in today's market because I honestly found our conversation fascinating. It also made me lose sleep over what market perception says about society (and women) in general. First, I write romantic suspense. Maybe other sub-genres have different requirements, but I'm guessing a lot of this crosses over from one to the next. I (in my infinite ignorance) decided to change things up a little (okay, a LOT) when I wrote the first book in this new series. You may remember COUNTERSTRIKE is a series about a black ops type group that rescues kidnapped victims. She really liked that idea, by the way. BUT (that word again) I did not create a band of brothers headlining the group. I have both men and women working together.

The heroine of book one, Deadly Encounter, is a bad-ass sniper who kills bad guys and saves people. She quits the team, but danger follows her, and she continues to be a bad-ass throughout the book. The hero, an author of thrillers, sort of comes along for the ride. He pulls her but out of trouble a few times, and he offers moral support. He is very self-confident and successful in his own right, and he doesn't feel threatened by her bad-ass-ness. Okay, maybe he does a little, but he works through it. And he does save her butt in the end! Apparently strong, kick-ass women who used to be snipers aren't relateable. And that is key in the romance market. What sells in romantic suspense is Alpha males who save every-day, relateable women. I turned the trope on its head. I thought I was being original. Turns out, the editor was very clear in saying publishers don't want original. They want what sells. She wants heroes who are military or cops and other similar hero-ish professions. She wants heroines who have spunk and personality but have careers women can relate to.

So, then we talked about book two. My heroine is a professor and a scientist who has discovered a cure for dementia. Until she loses her memory after she's kidnapped and takes a blow to the head. The editor was not a fan of that trope, even though I use it as an ironic foil to her life's work, and she does get her memory back, and the story isn't about how she forgot she loved the hero or anyone else, for that matter. The hero is the team medic who saves her and continues to protect her as trouble stalks her throughout the book. The editor didn't think a scientist, super-smart woman was very relateable, either. She's not every-woman.

So, I have to ask myself, do women who read romance really only want to read about strong men and unexceptional women who need to be saved? My oldest daughter read Deadly Encounter and said it was her favorite book of mine. She loved that my heroine was a bad-ass woman sniper. But then Tara is a super smart, bad-ass woman who races triathlons and kicks most boys' butts. She could relate. Apparently Tara isn't my target market. The editor said, as a woman, she isn't thrilled about the stereotype, but as an editor, she has to buy what sells. So, do publishers assume women who read romance can only identify with heroines who are average (not scientific geniuses) and need a man to save them? Or is that what most women truly relate to? I always assumed romance readers came from all demographics, but perhaps I was wrong. So, chew on this, each of you lovely ladies who believes in strong women... If I had reversed the rolls of my main characters in Deadly Encounter and made the man the sniper and the woman the author, I'd probably be signing a contract right now.

As it is, I've decided this series isn't the right vehicle to pitch to an agent or attempt to sell to a different big publisher. I'm going to self-publish it and HOPE that there are romantic suspense readers out there who CAN identify with a bad-ass heroine. I guess we'll find out. I won't release this series until 2019 since I still have my final Siren Cove book coming out in November about a very relateable heroine who sells antiques! The editor I talked to did say she would happily read another submission from me in the future. As long as I make my heroines more womanly and my heroes more Alpha. I've done it before. I may even do it again.

In the meantime, my entire BORN TO BE WILDE series and BURIED TRUTH are still on sale for .99 cents for the rest of the month. Give them a try. And if you like them, leave me a review. I swear, most of these heroines are relateable! Happy reading!

Help Us Choose Our First Line! by Jannine Gallant

It's that time of year when the Roses of Prose start thinking about our holiday stories. As we have for the last several years, we will be posting short Christmas stories throughout the month of December. The only common denominator is the first line. That's where we need your help. We've had a LOT of first line suggestions this year, and we want to narrow the pack to the ones our readers think have the most potential before the final vote. Please leave comments telling us which lines are your favorites. Listed in the order they were received:

1) It was done. And she would lead the Christmas Parade down Main Street wearing nothing but a smile before she did it again.

2) She couldn't wait for Christmas to be over. Last night she'd dreamed she was being chased around the kitchen by a diabolical gingerbread man with glowing, red-hot eyes.

3) Pulling this off would take a Christmas miracle.

4) The eggnog was definitely spiked.

5) There was something about Santa no one had ever told her.

6) Stuck in an elevator on Christmas Eve...

7) Red really was his best color.

8) The only Christmas card she'd gotten and it was signed "Your Secret Admirer."

9) Her effort to steal Christmas failed.

10) She never liked Christmas when she was a kid.

11) Naughty and nice were never a problem for her.

12) What would Santa think about her last move?

13) There stood Santa, naked except for his black boots and his hat hanging on...

There are some definite contenders in here that get the creative juices flowing! What do you like in a first line? Long or short? General or specific? Pick your favorite line or two and leave us a comment. We'll announce the winning first line when we get a little closer to Christmas. Above all, don't forget to come back in December to read our stories!

And now for a book plug since it is my day to post... My BORN TO BE WILDE series is still on sale throughout the month of July. Check out my WEBSITE for direct buy links to all retailers.

The Advantages of a Solid Critique by Jannine Gallant

Who wants to be told our books have issues--lots of issues? Uh, not me. I'd rather hear it's perfect out of the gate. Too bad that's NEVER the case. Usually I have mixed feelings when I send my finished manuscript off to my CP because I know she's going to point out everything I did wrong. Some things I agree with. Some things I don't. But, here's where both sorts of comments help.

1) Frequently I know in the back of my mind that something isn't working. Let's take my most recent effort, Wilde Side (Book Two in my new Borne To Be Wilde series), which Margo just sent back with pages and pages of (minor) suggestions. Minor is her word. My thought was, "Are you freaking kidding me!" The opening is a white water rafting trip with a congressman who is running for president, his aide (the heroine), the rafting guides (owner of company is the hero), c-man's male relatives to make him look like a family man to the voting public, and the media who are filming/writing an article about the trip. LOTS of people. Margo's comments were things like, "Who's this guy--I can't keep them all straight." Huge sigh. I was a little worried about this. Let me stress that someone is trying to kill the congressman, so I need suspects present. But I had too many extras. Solution: I ditched the journalist and his cameraman and stuck with only the two man video team. Of course one of my suspects was the journalist, so I had to rewrite some of his sections to switch him to video. (More heavy sighs.) But, it was easier than I thought it would be. The result was a tighter group with less confusion. (I hope!) My point is it took a fresh pair of eyes to see what I couldn't. And she was completely right about there being too many people.

2) Next up - repeated comments that this or that doesn't work, and I need to change it. My reaction, "Is she crazy? It works just fine!" After simmering down and mulling over the part in question, I asked myself why it didn't work for her. Let's take the part I'm "fixing" right now. My heroine and the congressman have been knocked off a cliff and are holding on for dear life. Comments about the rocks that knocked them over and facial expression that couldn't be seen from above abound. All of it seemed completely fine to me. I could picture the whole scene... Too bad Margo was picturing something completely different. I didn't have enough detail to make my vision clear. Adding in a few sentences should solve this problem, and I'm able to leave it the way I want it. Turned out to be an easy (but necessary) fix.

3) Sometimes she points out problems that I don't really believe are problems and suggests solutions to solve said problems that I don't want to do. I'm left stuttering to myself, "But...but...that's not what I want to have happen." We've gone back and forth about this one. Kidnapping occurs, and kidnapper has to haul his victim across a couple of states. Her comments are about how, "This is crazy because no kidnapper would give his victim that much opportunity to escape. Change the location they go to to someplace closer." I don't want to change the location. I set up this location with a ton of effort and have multiple reasons for not finding a new one. So, I looked at the problem behind the problem. The probability that my heroine would get away during this journey. My solution is to make the kidnapper colder and more aggressive. If he has to get gas or food, he gives her the old Vulcan nerve pinch to the neck to knock her out. If she has to pee, she's going to have to do it in the bushes not at a gas station. I sort of skipped to the end of the trip without filling in how they get there, but I need to go back and add these details to make my "must have" road trip work for a discerning reader. So, the drastic (my word not hers--she's still saying minor! LOL) changes she wanted aren't going to happen in this case. But, I will do my best to address the concerns that caused the suggestions.

So, whether or not you agree with everything your CP has to say, my advice is to look deeper into why she's saying it. Chances are there is something behind the suggestion that needs to be addressed. You may not want to solve the problem one way, but it would behoove (love that word!) you to dig into the underlying issue and give your story more clarity. And, if you're sending your poor little manuscript off to your editor with no critique beforehand, you can probably expect to have to address far more problems with someone you can't say no to. Do yourself a favor and get a CP who isn't afraid to tell you when your writing sucks and save yourself a lot of headaches down the road. I'd far rather fix problems my way than an editor's way.

I'll shut up now with the sage advice. Happy writing!

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