I’ve been testing the comments. After the first comment by a reader, that reader’s comments will auto-post. Whew. I’m really glad I don’t have to look at every comment before it’s posted. That would be a pain.
Meanwhile, I have taken the box holding all my Remodeling Eden papers out of the closet. The synopsis and first three chapters are squeaky clean. No corrections needed. Except I have a sticky note saying to start a few pages later than my current first page. I need to think about that.
If I make this chop, I’m going to lose some lines that I really, really love. But the bigger question is–will it make the opening scene better? And I think it will. Still, it is very hard to kill my darlings.
The other thing I’m finding difficult is how to answer the whole “what is my market and what is my place within that market” thing. My market is women’s fiction, I know that much. But my place there?? That’s the problem. Most writers and publishing people see women’s fiction as more serious, more angst-ridden than other fiction. At least that was the consensus from my research, including writers interviewed for the RT article.
Angst is not a bad thing. In fact, I love a good angsty read. But it’s not funny. I have angst but also humor. Humor is more the territory of chick lit or romantic comedy. So it’s women’s fiction, but also (I hope) funny. I know what I write, I just can’t think of any comic women’s fiction. The novels I’ve read like that usually call themselves chick lit or romantic comedy or literature. There are also lots of mystery writers who write funny.
If Remodeling Eden were television I could call it dramedy. Is that a real term? Has anyone ever applied it to fiction? Apparently, I need to do some research before I draft a new cover letter to BCR.
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