The Other Face of Rejection

[Spectre-7]

Like our friend Crittias, I also entered this year's Amazon Breakthrough Novel competition... but my novel didn't perform quite as well. Out of somewhere approaching 10,000 contestants, Crittias is now in the company of the 500 quarter-finalists, while I only made it to the 2,000 (octo-finalists?) of the first round.

The upside (if such a thing can be said to exist here) is that I was promised access to the two reviews that were produced by Vine Reviewers (http://www.amazon.com/gp/vine/help) during the judging. Considering some of the moronic and flat-out offensive things I've seen in other people's reviews, I can't say that I was particularly enthusiastic, but I waited patiently none-the-less.

Today, my reviews came. Here's a quick summary of the two, in case you're in a hurry:

Review A: "I don't like space-opera, but..."

Review B: "I don't like science-fiction, and..."

Now for the real deal...

I'm not normally a fan of space opera, but I have to say that in this case I was drawn into the narrative. It is, in places, awkward but on the whole, competently written. It drops the reader right into the action and provokes all the right questions.

The alien names, so often a fudge factor in a piece of science fiction or fantasy, are simply rendered here, making it easy to remember the important ones without losing their essential otherness. This is no small feat. Too often stories in this genre are peppered with names that look as if they could be vocalized only with grunts and whistles.

Overall, I'd say that this story has a lot of potential.

...and...

"Coordinates locked and ready to initiate scan, sir." That phrase tells you this writing is from a science fiction story, sort of "Star Trek" meets "Contact" meets "The Right Stuff". I liked "The Right Stuff" and have no interest in "Contact" or "Star Trek", so now you know what type of books I read.
Writing was mildly interesting but because of the subject matter, it didn't pull me in. I didn't think it was too original, but the characters are well developed. But the concept is just not what I usually read and the characters didn't overcome my bias towards science fiction. But for a sci-fi fan, it would probably be good.

Oddly enough, these are more or less what I've been expecting for the past two weeks. I'm a bit disappointed that one of them amounts to, "I don't like sci-fi, but if I did I might like this," but I can't say I'm surprised. No. Definitely not surprised.

So, there you have it. I'm off to procure some red wine now, and then mull over my next step.

Cheers!

[BLeeP]

What sucks about reviews like that is that they basically tell you nothing. Would a fan of science fiction like it? You have no clue because they don't have specific reviewers for specific genres. Sorry you didn't do better, but good luck in the future!

[Spectre-7]

Precisely.

Shockingly, I've been putting some thought into how to improve the way this contest was administered. While having reviewers picked out for specific genres might be just a little too much, I thought it would be nice to at least steer reviewers away from genres they're explicitly biased against. Do you hate this genre? Please check this box.

The way it went, that second review might as well have said, "Science-fiction. One star. Next."

From another perspective, though, them's the breaks. I have to get used to the fact that I'm trying to work in a genre that some people just instinctively fucking hate.

Thanks for the well-wishing. I'm starting to realize just how much luck factors into success.

...and back to my wine I go. :)

[boratika]

I once read a review in a major newspaper for the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It was interesting. They went to great lengths to explain why the movie was terrible and listed classic pirate movies you should watch instead. Now while this may or may not be true (depends who you ask) what interested me about the review is that the person who wrote it clearly had not seen the movie. He explained scenes that not only don't appear in the movie but couldn't have even been shoehorned in in the most ham-fisted way. The only things he described that are in the movie appeared in the trailer and indeed he misrepresented their context. My only guess is that he watched the trailer and then reviewed what he imagined the rest of the movie might be. Kind of like if I eat a slice of bread and then review a sandwich.

I guess my point is: reviewers are essentially just any old jerk except for one reason or another their onion gets heard, valid or not.

From another perspective, though, them's the breaks. I have to get used to the fact that I'm trying to work in a genre that some people just instinctively fucking hate.

On the plus side though, you are trying to work in a genre that some people just instinctively fucking love.

[Rogue_hunter]

I once read a review in a major newspaper for the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It was interesting. They went to great lengths to explain why the movie was terrible and listed classic pirate movies you should watch instead. Now while this may or may not be true (depends who you ask) what interested me about the review is that the person who wrote it clearly had not seen the movie. He explained scenes that not only don't appear in the movie but couldn't have even been shoehorned in in the most ham-fisted way. The only things he described that are in the movie appeared in the trailer and indeed he misrepresented their context. My only guess is that he watched the trailer and then reviewed what he imagined the rest of the movie might be. Kind of like if I eat a slice of bread and then review a sandwich.

I guess my point is: reviewers are essentially just any old jerk except for one reason or another their onion gets heard, valid or not.

Wow, that sounds like you read the LA Times review as well. It did the exact same thing. The writer clearly hated the first two movies, and didn't even bother to acknowledge that there was stuff that happened in those that connect the overall plot. The idiot reviewed the movie as if the other two never existed, and never really commented on there having been two previous movies.

Anyways, Spectre, your novel sounds cool. I want to read it. Gimmie book NOW!

[DangerousDaze]

I'd like to read it, too. My review would start "I love space-opera and I thought...

[Crittias]

I had a chance to read Spectre's excerpt, and it deserved a better shake than it received. It's a shame that he got dinged by genre-bias on the second review.

That said, the first review should be very heartening. DESPITE genre-bias, the reviewer found the story intriguing and well-written. I'd say that counts for a lot. If I could get someone to say, "I don't like sci-fi normally, but this author's book is the exception to the rule," I'd feel extremely pleased.

Keep at it Spectre!

[Spectre-7]

I guess my point is: reviewers are essentially just any old jerk except for one reason or another their onion gets heard, valid or not.

On the plus side though, you are trying to work in a genre that some people just instinctively fucking love.

Quite right. To be honest, I wouldn't even be all that bothered by this one review if it hadn't decided my place in the contest. I'm certainly not going to lose any sleep over the fact that they didn't like it. ;)

And your second comment is definitely something to keep in mind. This world is jam packed full of trade-offs, and with some luck, maybe I can make the best of this one.


I had a chance to read Spectre's excerpt, and it deserved a better shake than it received. It's a shame that he got dinged by genre-bias on the second review.

That said, the first review should be very heartening. DESPITE genre-bias, the reviewer found the story intriguing and well-written. I'd say that counts for a lot. If I could get someone to say, "I don't like sci-fi normally, but this author's book is the exception to the rule," I'd feel extremely pleased.

Keep at it Spectre!

Thanks, Crit. :D

I think I'll take your advice and be pleased for a while. You're right, and I admit that I was very jazzed when I first read it... Unfortunately, I kind of forgot when I got to the second one.

For anyone and everyone who's interested in giving it a read, please drop me PM. I'm doing another editing pass right now, and after that, I have some rather ambitious plans. I've been keeping the novel under wraps pretty much since I started it, but I think it's high-time to get some opinions. I'd very much appreciate every set of eyes I can get.

Unless you don't like it, of course. Then I'll politely thank you, and mock you caustically among friends. It's a defense mechanism.

Cheers all, and thanks for the support!

[bean]

Writers don't really want criticism anyway. We want people to acknowledge or genius and validate our work.

If you disagree, post your excerpt and I'll read and review it. I'm a fan of science fiction who has read everything by Asimov, Heinlein, Card, Clarke, Vonnegut, and Dick (among others).

[Spectre-7]

Disagree? Oh no, not at all. I'm only looking for effusive praise bordering on outright verbal fellation, so thanks anyway.

Also... 1,000th post. Yay!

[Crittias]

Looks like I didn't make the cut for the ABNA semifinals.

I'm not at all surprised, so I'm not all that disappointed. Now I just need to get back to rewriting my manuscripts and start sending them to agents!

[Karak]

Like our friend Crittias, I also entered this year's Amazon Breakthrough Novel competition... but my novel didn't perform quite as well. Out of somewhere approaching 10,000 contestants, Crittias is now in the company of the 500 quarter-finalists, while I only made it to the 2,000 (octo-finalists?) of the first round.

The upside (if such a thing can be said to exist here) is that I was promised access to the two reviews that were produced by Vine Reviewers (http://www.amazon.com/gp/vine/help) during the judging. Considering some of the moronic and flat-out offensive things I've seen in other people's reviews, I can't say that I was particularly enthusiastic, but I waited patiently none-the-less.

Today, my reviews came. Here's a quick summary of the two, in case you're in a hurry:

Review A: "I don't like space-opera, but..."

Review B: "I don't like science-fiction, and..."

Now for the real deal...



...and...



Oddly enough, these are more or less what I've been expecting for the past two weeks. I'm a bit disappointed that one of them amounts to, "I don't like sci-fi, but if I did I might like this," but I can't say I'm surprised. No. Definitely not surprised.

So, there you have it. I'm off to procure some red wine now, and then mull over my next step.

Cheers!
As someone who has gone through this damn process more than once I can tell you, those are FAR better mini reviews than I have seen for many others. Keep on keeping on.
Let me sum up a couple of mine.
"I hate fantasy, so I hate this story, despite it being well written and an incredibly unique set of characters."
"So the characters are amazing and the story well written, it's fantasy. To me that's a dead genre."

It is HORRID when people do this in reviews and it happens all the time. Thus you should be excited about the first review.

[Squidbot]

Dude, post the damn story already! Or we'll be forced to moleculizor you with our space lazors!

I hated that second reviewer.