Rejection!

Well, if you have been following this blog for the past couple of weeks, you will notice I added a new link for a "Situations of Inconvenience Series." The first book in this inspirational romance series is now published under the title "The Inconvenient Widow" on Amazon. Yep, it was rejected by Harlequin because it had too many characters in it.

I am not really upset because it is the first book in a planned series and as such I wanted to introduce the characters you will see in the next five books. Harlequin doesn't like involved plots though, and I knew that when I submitted it. However, I was hopeful since it was the first book in a series they would overlook it. They didn't.

The problem with traditional publishing is that you must give them exactly what they are looking for when they are looking for it. As most of you probably know, I am not a mold type person. Everything about me, from my Guru profile name, 'Paradoxical,' to the employers and situations I choose to write about screams my rebellion against molds. I like Jane Austin and Samuel Beckett. I don't like things that are neat.

Don't get me wrong, I did my research - if you want any chance at traditional publishing you must. But with all the awful books that traditional publishers are putting out these days, I think the quality of traditional publishing is flagging while the quality of self-publishing is increasing. As more people who self-publish invest in paid cover designers and paid editor/proofreaders, this quality will only continue to improve.

One person asked, if you only could choose to read one, traditionally published or self-published books, for the rest of your life, which would it be. I would take my chances on self-published books at this point in time because the quality is increasing. But, then again, I am definitely an outside the box type person.