I just received contest feedback ranging from a 61 to a 92 out of 100. Either I stink or I'm brilliant, depending on whose critique you read.
At first I thought "what the?" but then I realized it's the same with published novels. People either love them or hate them. I couldn't get through The Da Vinci Code, and to be honest, I didn't love The Time Traveler's Wife as much as I thought I would, but plenty of other people loved both of those books.
Instead of agonizing over why the low rankers hated my manuscript, I took what I could from their critiques and focused most of my attention on the feedback from the judges who liked my writing. Their suggestions for improvement carry more weight for me because I feel like they 'get' my writing style.
On the Kindle front, even though I can now store zillions (ok, lots) of e-books, I have still managed to accumulate so many print books that we now need to add two more floor to ceiling bookshelves in the guest room/library. How did this happen? There's my stash from the RWA conference, plus a shopping spree at Half Price books while on vacation, plus a $1 sale at Borders, plus books from my parents, plus picking up a few books from the sharing shelf at the family cottage. Is this normal?
Currently reading: Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
Currently listening to (audio book in my car): Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
