Hmm. That makes sense. And I guess all that leaves for me to do is keep writing, since as far as I've ever heard, you can't force voice--it just has to evolve as you develop as a writer. Too, it's a lot more subjective than pacing or POV or any of the other usual new author flaws, which would go a long way toward explaing the wildly divergent reader reactions I've been getting.

Her favorite was the Minear story, followed by ita's story.

The Minear story is pretty wonderful. I haven't read ita's story. And I'm still anxiously waiting for the finished "Save Firefly," cause hell, if what I read was only a first draft, you're in wicked good shape.

Dear god. I'm actually going to try and publish.

Susan, the most recent criticism you posted says what she means by "not strong enough writing":

The story moved along too slowly, with too much repetition.

I haven't read anything but what you've posted in-thread, but -- do you think there's any possibility that's accurate? If so, the way to strengthen your writing (at least for that reader) would be to cut back on repetition and not say things more than once. (Heh. I crack me up.)

Could be. I think I picked up some bad habits from having my initial audience be a writers group that meets once a week to read passages about ten pages long. I realized on editing that I kept re-explaining backstory in a way that made sense for a readership that got the story in small chunks once a week, but NSM for someone sitting down to read a novel in the usual fashion. I thought I'd corrected it on edit, but maybe not completely.

You can't hurry voice. You can't force it. Some writers are born with it, some writers develop it, some don't ever develop it but manage to have very nice careers writing anyway. And what Bev says about why readers read a particular genre is something that ought to be embroidered on a sampler somewhere. It's one reason I'm glad I don't write strict genre.

Allyson, I'm not surprised the friend loved it. So did I.

I am going to kill my DSL, which is double posting and then turning itself off...

All I seem to do these days is drop in with links. ::sigh::

That said, here's the latest:

Lit Idol begins search for author

The second Pop Idol-style search for literary talent has begun ... The 2004 winner, Paul Cavanagh, went on to sign a deal with Harper Collins.

This year, the competition is specifically looking for a crime writer.

Writers must submit up to 10,000 words from the opening chapters of their novels and a synopsis.

>[link]

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This year, the competition is specifically looking for a crime writer.

They might as well have said, "This year, the winner is Erika."

I've decided not to stop worrying about it exactly, but to limit my worry to whether or not I should continue trying to sell Lucy once I've finished this edit or concentrate all my energies on writing Anna and trying to sell it once it's done. I'm glad I'm doing this rewrite. If nothing else, it's strengthened my sense of Anna's background and issues for her story. But maybe I'm being too pigheaded in my desire to sell my very first novel, just because other people have been known to do it. It's not like it's the only or even a particularly important marker of talent or career success.