After the public drubbing, it was time to meet face to face with Robert Sawyer. He said some interesting things that put my situation in perspective.
Rob said that what happened to me was what happened to him at the beginning. He thought he had something perfect when an established writer slammed him down pretty hard. He said that he dusted himself off, got back to work, and started the process of fixing what was wrong.
He also said that he wouldn’t tell me this criticism if I couldn’t handle it. He had many tips and suggestions about the career aspect of writing. All in all, the hour flew by. How often does someone get to sit one on one with one of the best-selling authors in Canada (imagine!) and pick their brains on the industry.
Now, why this is all interesting is because this is the first real critique I’ve received since 1996. That’s 10 years. I’ve been writing in a vacuum for 10 years. No feedback, no responses, just the brickwall that has been the publishing industry.
Taking a look back through some of my rejection letters (some posted on this site), they all talk about the ‘dynamics’ of the writing. So here I’ve been told how to fix it.
A magic bullet, perhaps?