The first company to which I submitted my book, "A Promise of Possibilities," rejected it for a few reasons. The first was that I had too many characters. Once I got over the hurt of rejection, I looked at their line, again, more objectively, and realized their books had a hero and heroine and a few supporting characters. I wasn't a good fit for their line.
The other complaint was that the work was too political. Wait...what? The story takes place in 1816. How could it possibly be political, when I never mentioned anything remotely political? Looking how everything is being made political, I again stepped back and took a more objective look at my work. I worked hard to lean more towards attitudes and beliefs found in 1816. I lamented that I allowed too much of the equality of the 20th century into the story. Again, I had to more carefully investigate the line to which I'd submitted. Many of their historical romances had more 20th century themes in a historical setting. I really wasn't a good fit for the line.
Once I was over my hurt feelings, I went over the story again, making minor changes while I looked for a publisher that fit better. I found them and loved working with them, though I'm sorry I wasn't a better moneymaker for them.
Life happens, and I'm on my own again. I could adapt my stories to fit the more accepted formula, but then they wouldn't really be my stories anymore. As I reread them, I saw so many places I could improve, with what I've learned, and so that's what I'm doing. I'm adding more description to fill out the dialogue and clearing out words that weren't in use in 1816. I hope the readers who know my stories aren't disappointed.
