tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post5978453404895412200..comments2024-03-26T18:28:06.391-04:00Comments on Evil Editor: Face-Lift 499Evil Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03879826770199639420noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-31849606440427133932008-03-08T18:46:00.000-05:002008-03-08T18:46:00.000-05:00Not trying to bash romance here, either. I'm on s...Not trying to bash romance here, either. I'm on several romance blogs & forums and I have read criticism of the genre from Northrop Frye to Pamela Regis.<BR/><BR/>Even category romance, with its strict formulae, can be well-written and intelligent. I used to read a lot of it back in the 60s and early 70s, and some of those books I still enjoy. And many of the top writers of today, like Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz, and Elizabeth Lowell, to name only the top few, got their start writing categories.<BR/><BR/>Just because I am not particularly interested in a story that is JUST about romance doesn't mean that I'm biased or that the story is necessarily bad. But you'll notice that there is usually something else going on in even the categories by the above authors--something that lets the H/H find out what the other is made of.talpiannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13978075304795724185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-71492495378555315192008-03-08T18:30:00.000-05:002008-03-08T18:30:00.000-05:00Hmmm. Not trying to bash romance in general. Just ...Hmmm. Not trying to bash romance in general. Just harping on what this query seems to be offering - the same story with the same characters only the faces and names have been changed.<BR/><BR/>If that sells - and apparently it does - ok, whatever. Personally, I like to read about strong women characters who kick ass, don't take shit from anyone, and don't come across as being idiots. So maybe my take on this is not valid.Sarah Laurensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09252565450452195395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-4986830946787973372008-03-08T10:33:00.000-05:002008-03-08T10:33:00.000-05:00In 2004, romance titles accounted for 39% of all f...In 2004, romance titles accounted for 39% of all fiction sales. $1.2B in a $25B total booksales market, or 5% dollar-wise. <BR/>(Numbers from the wiki entry on the genre which are in turn from RWA.) <BR/><BR/>It's a robust genre, but not 61% of all booksales.EBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14361825595951678685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-13536692348464043552008-03-08T08:43:00.000-05:002008-03-08T08:43:00.000-05:00Well, Tal, it may be stupid for Jett not to try co...Well, Tal, it may be stupid for Jett not to try counselling or pills, but it's also very common. Thousands of people live with untreated mental illness. Men especially are unwilling to admit they have a problem.<BR/><BR/>However, a relationship isn't going to fix his PTSD.nonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00415222406280230021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-18130964451403219512008-03-08T08:12:00.000-05:002008-03-08T08:12:00.000-05:00In my experience, many romances would sound ridicu...In my experience, many romances would sound ridiculous if you broke the plot down. The writing is what makes them work. What this letter needs is to have the writing work to make the characters sound intelligent instead of TSTL (too stupid too live). Not sure how you are going to do that, but cliches are not helping here.<BR/><BR/>I don't get the impression anyone is bashing romances, brenda.writtenwyrddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02280711822302493122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-50710388686311835082008-03-08T02:11:00.000-05:002008-03-08T02:11:00.000-05:00Sex as a cure for depression? In my experience, mo...Sex as a cure for depression? In my experience, most sex is depressing and disappointing. Sigh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-15148549004032359842008-03-08T01:18:00.000-05:002008-03-08T01:18:00.000-05:00Tortured fireman hooks up with twentyverysomething...Tortured fireman hooks up with twentyverysomething nurturing time-limited ovaries?<BR/><BR/>OK - so this is romance. <BR/><BR/>Not my genre but here goes.<BR/><BR/>The query letter hints at the potential for a certain buzz in their relationship, but unless their fiery romance erupts against the backdrop of some other event - a towering inferno perhaps (at the hospital?) - I can't see that this is going to provide enough of a story to fill out a whole novel.<BR/><BR/>Granted, it isn't the standard Boy Meets Girl in that you've placed numerous obstacles between the otherwise done & dusted combo of Jett's plentiful hose pipe and Roxanne's vacuum womb, but unless you can work a few wonders with the haunting flashbacks, sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression, speed dating, body clock etc (without it becoming melodramatic), I concur with Sarah that it's difficult to see anything new in this.Whirlochrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09846196906206886945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-11390005468071916842008-03-08T00:15:00.000-05:002008-03-08T00:15:00.000-05:00Nothing like having one's genre bashed. Please rem...Nothing like having one's genre bashed. Please remember that the umbrella of "romance" includes women's fiction (Jennifer Crusie, Julie Kenner... gasp - Nicholas Sparks), suspense (Lisa Gardner who is downright scary sometimes and would make The Man Stephen King raise a bushy brow, Iris Johanson, Allison Brennan) to paranormal and sci-fi and every. other. genre. out there. <BR/><BR/>I flippin' DESPISE sweeping generalizations.<BR/><BR/>Does this need work? Absolutely. Why? Because it's a query letter that needs work, not because it's a ROMANCE query letter that needs work. God help us -gasp- "romance" sells 61% of booksales, at least, last figure I heard. I'm sure that number is updated, but it's still a g'damn impressive number, is it not?<BR/><BR/>It's only 55K. It's category. Perfect word count. I'd like to think it's targeted for Blaze, but not sure. Send it to me, I'll read it and actually HELP you with your query. First name last night at gmail.com.<BR/><BR/>Mega congrats on your recent sale to Wild Rose. Bottom line: You've already accomplished more than most will ever know.<BR/><BR/>EE - feel free to edit this if you feel it needs it. And remind me not to send out requests for queries on the RWA loops.Brendahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17083327647412477394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-53685765036865663922008-03-07T21:26:00.000-05:002008-03-07T21:26:00.000-05:00Another alternate title: IS IT HOT IN HERE, OR IS ...Another alternate title: IS IT HOT IN HERE, OR IS IT JUST ME?<BR/><BR/>What strikes me, as it has so many others, is the <B>stupidity</B> of the protagonists. Why doesn't Jett get counseling, maybe anti-depressants, since the sex isn't working? Why doesn't Roxanne try one of the tried-and-true methods of finding a man who isn't commitment-averse: joining a church or hobby group, taking a course at night school, picking him up in the produce section at the market or in Barnes & Noble? <BR/><BR/>I think it would be much more interesting if Jett and Roxanne bonded over something other than sex that they both cared about--say, a severely burned child rescued by Jett from the fire that killed his family, who is being cared for by Roxanne. In trying to heal him physically and emotionally they are drawn to each other. This would also permit them to observe each other's qualities besides the abs and gazongas.<BR/><BR/>Or it could be something light-hearted and less fraught, like they both want to adopt the same Dalmatian puppy from a shelter and engage in some sort of crazy contest to either win the dog's affection or prove to the shelter staff which is the most deserving. (Remember the recent flap when Ellen de Generes adopted a dog, found it didn't fit in with her other animals, and gave it to another family, and the shelter people seized it back? A lot of people thought their rules were ridiculous--some variation of that could be played with here. Maybe the shelter only allows engaged or married couples to adopt pups?)<BR/><BR/>One of the reasons I DON'T read most romance novels is that I like more story than relationship, which is why I go for romantic suspense. The characters, in my opinion, need to have something going on that causes them to show what they are really made of, not just "a relationship" consisting of nothing but sex and emotion and quarrels over commitment. Danger and adventure do it best; but problem-solving and comic conflict work, too.talpiannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13978075304795724185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-2817000600947423572008-03-07T18:36:00.000-05:002008-03-07T18:36:00.000-05:00Whoa, BT- you're right. Godd Lord, EE. 500 queries...Whoa, BT- you're right. <BR/><BR/>Godd Lord, EE. 500 queries done!!!<BR/><BR/>You're the marathon man.Robin S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03258459688300851984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-18815664784300368272008-03-07T18:20:00.000-05:002008-03-07T18:20:00.000-05:00Hey, this is 499. Do we get to do the blue stuff a...Hey, this is 499. Do we get to do the blue stuff again on the next one?Blogless Trollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03983848259551488867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-8263756337691951262008-03-07T17:53:00.000-05:002008-03-07T17:53:00.000-05:00This is the troubled hunk fireman meets woman who ...This is the troubled hunk fireman meets woman who can't find Mister Perfect and they have hot sex before they realize and decide that they make a couple. <BR/><BR/>Nice romance material, but the story is not why they haven't met Mister or Miss Right, it what they do when they meet. I can see the book as (let's just say) ten chapters - one chapter introducing him, one chapter introducing her and eight chapters of them romancing each other. (I'll be nice and not say eight chapter of hot sexual encounters).<BR/><BR/>That's where the query goes wrong, it seems to me. The query isn't about where they came from but where there are going to - romance city and how they deal with each other. <BR/><BR/>Hey, but what do I know, I don't write romance and I only read it once a year.Dave Fragmentshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17985158361431606939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-61677714906287885812008-03-07T17:37:00.000-05:002008-03-07T17:37:00.000-05:00This query seems to me like a string of different ...This query seems to me like a string of different cliches (even some of the less cliched phrases seem off, maybe because they're surrounded with cliches.)<BR/><BR/>I'd have to be worried that the story would be full of them, too. <BR/><BR/>(And at least I'm not the only one here who got hung up on the fireman inuendos... =)Clair D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18081744733758211094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-27949847721774317142008-03-07T16:48:00.000-05:002008-03-07T16:48:00.000-05:00"Roxanne tries to resist the flaming inferno bad b..."Roxanne tries to resist the flaming inferno bad boy Jett ignites deep within her, knowing he's definitely not husband material."<BR/><BR/>This sentence gave me a strange mental image and a few chuckles. Maybe it's just me. I do think, however, that's its idea that Jett would be a poor husband should be stressed earlier to explain why she would speed date but spurn his advances.<BR/><BR/>I agree that opening with Jett made it sound more like his story than hers. But the story itself seems to focus more on her.Matt Larkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08459553223062636770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-66875834990173669522008-03-07T16:19:00.000-05:002008-03-07T16:19:00.000-05:00Actually, there's no indication in the query that ...Actually, there's no indication in the query that either of them has ever been in a bar before the night Jett puts the moves on Roxanne. I would guess Jett has, but Roxanne has been speed/blind/double/Internet dating.Evil Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03879826770199639420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-72712031071099926512008-03-07T16:14:00.000-05:002008-03-07T16:14:00.000-05:00If the author can show me the clinical study decla...If the author can show me the clinical study declaring that sex is an effective treatment for PTSD, then I might begin to think seriously about the rest of the query.<BR/><BR/>The gist of this is: sex isn't working for Jett, so he looks for more sex. Simultaneously, going to bars isn't working for Roxanne, so she keeps going to bars. These two characters are logically challenged, besides having their story based on an impossible-to-buy-into premise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-57116103609435726332008-03-07T15:04:00.000-05:002008-03-07T15:04:00.000-05:00I had silly comments, but I'm going to attempt to ...I had silly comments, but I'm going to attempt to steer them in a direction not completely useless for the author.<BR/><BR/>So my silly thought was basically, what is it with angst-filled men who apparently can sleep with women at will to drown away their sorrows? Maybe I needed to get my best friend killed when I was single so I could get some decent action. Now, granted most of my friends have three heads and furry backs, but they actually have difficulty finding women on a routine basis to sleep with. (And that's just the married ones, ba-dum-bump.) But Jett can apparently find a warm body virtually at will. Why? (And here's where perhaps things become more constructive.) I assume he's got some serious stud going on. We know he's got abs. What else is attracting women to him? Is he funny, charming, beguiling, mysterious, free with the liquor, friends with Obama, what?<BR/><BR/>I think what we need is to understand why Jett is so awesome and then understand how he's subverting his awesomeness with this sleeping around. After all, plenty of men who are healthy, kind, and attractive go to singles bars; not just ones trying to escape their demons (though demon escaping is apparently very, very hot in men). Therefore, his behavior has changed in a way we don't quite understand from the query letter. If we know in more detail just how Jett has fallen (has crashed to the earth, has gone down in a ball of flames, has had his engines go out), then we can understand better how our heroine's love might restore him (ready him for take-off, set him soaring, find lift-off) without magic.pacatruehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04125048243775811714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-71399285727564445352008-03-07T13:54:00.000-05:002008-03-07T13:54:00.000-05:00Jett? Methinks you should have scrapped the subli...Jett? Methinks you should have scrapped the subliminal and just called him Gushing Fountains of Luv. At least the query was free of hoses and couplings. <BR/><BR/>In the film Roxanne, weren't the men chasing after her firemen?<BR/><BR/>I don't quite see the potential for change, since both characters are stuck in a rut (stalking the singles bar scene, albeit for different reasons) and their way out of the rut is to...continue stalking the singles bars. If I'm reading the query correctly, Jett has been drowning his sorrows in fury of one-night-stands, but it's left him feeling empty as a tanker after a 5 alarm fire. (Hey, don't blame me. The query started it.) So he's looking to settle down. Roxanne is likewise looking to settle down. Where's the problem, since their passions burn with the fire of a thousand suns? What, exactly, is keeping them apart when they seem to have the same goal in mind. Or, as Sarah suggests, is the conflict how Roxy sets about a-changin' the man?EBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14361825595951678685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-13954084964064296132008-03-07T13:51:00.000-05:002008-03-07T13:51:00.000-05:00The query gave me a head-fake by starting with Jet...The query gave me a head-fake by starting with Jett so I thought he was the protagonist. Perhaps the paragraph on him should follow the introduction of Roxanne.<BR/><BR/>There seems to be a conflict in logic where Jett is looking for "the one woman" yet he wants no strings or commitments. If he wants no strings, he probably wouldn't be searching for just one companion. Wouldn't the plot work just as well if he wants to continue his sport-*&^%ing, but he's drawn to Roxanne against his will? Or rather than search for THE one, he might realize his cheap and superficial lifestyle is unsatisfying. Personally, I think cheap and superficial is underrated. (Just kidding)Weshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03077791761104576436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-12466732723846779952008-03-07T13:18:00.000-05:002008-03-07T13:18:00.000-05:00'Dear Ms. Agent'? Hmmm. Is there something you hav...'Dear Ms. Agent'? Hmmm. Is there something you haven't told the rest of us, EE? Or is this harking back to you being a woman from Argentina?<BR/><BR/>This does sound like your formulaic romance. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl have major communication issues. Boy and girl have sudden realization that they're in love and communication issues disappear.<BR/><BR/>*picks up soap box and puts it in cabinet* <BR/><BR/>Moving right along and not saying anything about the romance genre in general...<BR/><BR/>Aside from the standard romance formula - which I'm guessing is a good thing in this genre - there's a lot of potential here. But there's also some confusion, which EE points out.<BR/><BR/>What I'm getting from this:<BR/><BR/>Jett is trying, but not succeeding, to extinguish his nightmares in the flesh of his nightly conquests. Roxanne is on a seemingly futile search for Mr. Right who wants the white picket fence and children. They both go to a bar to find what they're looking for.<BR/><BR/>They meet and sparks fly, but their goals are incompatible. Jett thinks he's found the one woman who's touch can soothe his personal demons. Roxanne feels Jett would be Mr. Right if only she can get him to see the error of his ways and settle down.<BR/><BR/>So what happens to change that? Jett suddenly realizes he's fallen in love and becomes the man Roxanne knew he could be? And Roxanne changes how? Or is the man changing to meet the woman's ideal the only scenario allowed in romance. Oh, excuse me.<BR/><BR/>*Throws soap box in the trash*<BR/><BR/>Where was I? <BR/><BR/>What makes this romance novel different from the hundreds of other romance novels out there? I know you want to bring your nursing experience in here as a selling point, but I don't see how it's pertinent to this story. Maybe there's something missing from the query description that would make it more obvious.<BR/><BR/>Good luck!Sarah Laurensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09252565450452195395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-40606171631490636812008-03-07T13:10:00.000-05:002008-03-07T13:10:00.000-05:00Things can get pretty hairy when you lose your dea...Things can get pretty hairy when you lose your death. <BR/><BR/>Firemen heroes are a staple of category romance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-6936094310260995512008-03-07T13:06:00.000-05:002008-03-07T13:06:00.000-05:00"After suffering the devastating loss of his best ..."After suffering the devastating loss of his best friend's death in a recent warehouse fire..."<BR/><BR/>He lost his best friend's death?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com