Thread: A lot of nail biting going on

The people on Createspace's "Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Forum" are in anguish right now. Tomorrow is the day that they will announce the 2,000 who will go onto the next round.

They are also sweating the reviews that will take place. I tried to reassure them that the "reviewers" are just Amazon readers, not experts by any stretch of the imagination. Some have just reviewed a particular chocolate or pot pie.

Life will go on but some of them are placing so much importance to this it is getting way out of proportion. Last year, the forum got pretty nasty as a particular guy "History Professor" looked down his nose and tried to pick everyone apart and put them down. I did an amazing amount of research on my novel. He tried to tell me that my sequence of reloading a cannon was nonsense. I provided him with a link and pasted that a cannon could actually be loaded and fired much faster than a gun at that time, i gave him the amount of time. They were pretty quick back then.

He kept on ragging everyone and some of them were so anxious about their entry he almost brought them to tears. I then asked him if he actually made even the first cut and he shut up. Obviously he didn't even place in the top 2,000.

Well, even published writers can be nervous about putting themselves out there. Especially with jerks like that on the prowl.

I was in the contest for two years, but didn't have time this year.

Last year, I submitted a historical slavery novel and got rave reviews at first. But in the semi-finals, I got slammed. I was told I had no right to base my story on an 1843 narrative because "he had told his story himself, already." Then the reviewer called me "appropriative and borderline plagiarisitic." (hey, I'm going to leave that spelling typo in. I think I just invented a new word) I had cited sources (all in the public record from the 1800's) throughout the novel, but I guess I was still stealing, huh? The reviewer said not one word about the quality of my writing or the novel.

Oh, well, I published it myself on CreateSpace a couple of weeks ago. And I recommend createspace for the ease of their software to use. After paying nothing for cover or text, they even gave me the proof copy for free, just because I had entered the ABNA contest.

I've had a few bad reviews in my time, and even been called a "hack." But don't worry about some anonymous reviewers comments. Only your opinion counts.

And stay off the forums, if you're that sensitive. They're back-stabbing, ego displays.

JohnB

PS - after you've reached the semi-final, the reviewers are no longer Amazon readers, but people in the publishing industry - all anonymous until the final round.

John, the jerk on the forum didn't bother me but really got under some people's skin. I made it to the 50 semi finalists and got a good review from Publishers Weekly. I never took advantage of the free proof book that they offered, I guess I should have. I entered again this year and I now know not to take it so seriously. I'm still submitting to agents so maybe one day I'll stumble into the right one. I submitted a few chapters of "Goldfish" my last work to Clive Cussler and he actually wrote a hand written letter back saying he didn't have the time as he had received three manuscripts that week and it was only Tuesday. Goldfish, in my opinion, is a good work of action/adventure that he would enjoy reading.