tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853176663210499095.post2397047328567089838..comments2024-02-08T01:23:37.734-07:00Comments on Stories By Mina Khan: Author Jeannie Lin Shares The Inspiration Behind Her Amazing RomancesRashda Khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04803134396969891096noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853176663210499095.post-56540164202801083742011-09-22T06:27:27.413-06:002011-09-22T06:27:27.413-06:00Does Victoria go combing the Secret Agent contests...Does Victoria go combing the Secret Agent contests for new recruits? :) <br /><br />It's been a wonderful journey and the Asian novel group has been so helpful for those hard to find research issues.<br /><br />Susan- thanks and hope you enjoy "Dragon". I think it's a much more "Asian" novel than Butterfly Swords so I wonder how it will be received.Jeannie Linhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12714068387571203896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853176663210499095.post-13131302845777787762011-09-22T03:49:43.109-06:002011-09-22T03:49:43.109-06:00Hi y'all!
Thanks for visiting :) OMG,Vic, we ...Hi y'all!<br /><br />Thanks for visiting :) OMG,Vic, we did meet on the Secret Agent contest so very long ago. Yup,that was a very good thing!<br /><br />Thanks for you kinds words Susan!<br /><br />And thanks for a great discussion Jeannie!Mina Khanhttp://minakhan.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853176663210499095.post-9157400403564961282011-09-21T21:04:18.422-06:002011-09-21T21:04:18.422-06:00I second Vic! Jeannie and Rashda keep me going eve...I second Vic! Jeannie and Rashda keep me going every day. I've had maybe 100 rejections if you count agents who've never replied to my queries. I loved "Butterfly Swords" and just ordered "Dragon". Looking forward to "The Djinn's Dilemma", too!!Susan Blumberg-Kasonhttp://www.susanbkason.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853176663210499095.post-7224984125953526062011-09-21T19:07:55.847-06:002011-09-21T19:07:55.847-06:00This is inspiring, Jeannie. Thanks so much to you ...This is inspiring, Jeannie. Thanks so much to you and Rashda for sharing. I'm so glad we met in the Secret Agent contest and I look forward to reading "Dragon." :DVictoria Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08978050059674596756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853176663210499095.post-74154358808127986072011-09-21T17:59:33.100-06:002011-09-21T17:59:33.100-06:00correction: "It's still NOT good enough&q...correction: "It's still NOT good enough"Jeannie Linhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12714068387571203896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853176663210499095.post-50240863689726210152011-09-21T17:58:58.090-06:002011-09-21T17:58:58.090-06:00Hi Kelli!
Good questions:
I never knew when Butter...Hi Kelli!<br />Good questions:<br />I never knew when Butterfly Swords was good enough. In fact, it's published and I'm sure it's still good enough. <br /><br />I would submit it in rounds and if all of the requests came up empty, I figured it was me. I never blamed the market or the agent's taste or what not. So I kept on writing the next book as well as going back to take a hard look at the submission and seeing what was missing. There was a point I felt I had edited all the life out of Butterfly Swords and I hated it. But I think the key was that I wasn't stuck just polishing the same manuscript. I started the next story and not surprisingly, the opening to that manuscript (Now The Dragon and the Pearl) was the first time an editor or any contest took notice of my writing. Though rough, the editor placed it first in the Gateway to the Best contest and requested the full. But I didn't move forward with Dragon. I went back to Butterfly Swords, knowing that I had developed "something" in my writing now that I didn't have then. I think that something was Voice and I tried to strengthen it in Butterfly Swords. <br /><br />How many revisions and readers? Probably a good five full rounds with a bunch of minor rounds in between. So, so many. I wanted anyone with a set of eyes to read it and I took every critique to heart. <br /><br />Why this book? Why not move on to Dragon? I set myself a limit of 100 rejections based on a interview I saw of Sherrilyn Kenyon which inspired me. She had been rejected 150 times in one year. I told myself if I hadn't been rejected 100 times and was still getting requests, then it wasn't dead yet. Sometimes you have to want it and want it bad. I wanted to know I'd done everything. Rejections stopped hurting. I learned to love the pain and the process because it meant I was on the journey. If you ask me why negative reviews don't hurt now, that's why. I've been practically rejected by everyone in the business. No reader giving their opinions on my PUBLISHED books can hurt as much as hearing "no, no, no". <br /><br />Sometimes, you have to be a little crazier than everyone else. :)Jeannie Linhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12714068387571203896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3853176663210499095.post-66105810842760643552011-09-21T14:45:46.931-06:002011-09-21T14:45:46.931-06:00Jeannie's story is inspiring! I'm wonderi...Jeannie's story is inspiring! I'm wondering what she did to make her writing "good enough"? Jeannie, how many rounds of revisions, how many critiques, how long did it take? How did you know when you were good enough? What kept you from giving up on Butterfly Swords and moving onto a different story?<br /><br />Thanks and good luck with The Dragon and the Pearl! I'll be looking for it at my local bookstore.Kelli Esteshttp://www.kelliestes.comnoreply@blogger.com