When i was younger, sometime between ten and eighteen years old, there were these ice-creams. they were creamy vanilla on the bottom and then the top had a frozen jelly-like slightly chewy thing happening, all covered with crackly chocolate. i don't think i had many cos they were a limited time only kind of thing. But they were yummy. And special. And i knew exactly how delicious it would be as soon as I bought one.
In fact, half the fun was the expectation...
And they never let me down.
Until yesterday. Fast forward a few (ahem) years and my hubby had bought some as a treat for the kids while I was away. i didn't even know they still existed. I opened the packet and...
Disappointment! From the first look. They were half the size, the choc was skimpy and when i had a taste the vanilla ice cream was blah at best.
I think that's the thing about series writing. The reader (and first an editor i guess) has an expectation about the book, based on the line and the promise it holds. And I need to deliver or I'll lose them.
Thoughts?
I remember Jelly Tips . . . and yes, they do seem to have gone the way of wagon wheels - half the size and no where near as good. I think any experience is the same when it doesn't deliver. Perhaps that's why series/category writing is such a challenge. The writer has to deliver to attract the editors attention long enough to keep reading, and the hopefully said editor will love the book so much she can't put it down. I've heard many Harlequin ed's say that when they read a new submission they take off their ed hat and put on a reader hat. They know what the readers want, after all. It's up to us as writers to give them exactly that.
ReplyDelete:)
You had me at Jelly Tip ice-creams!!!! Now i need any type of ice-cream!!!
ReplyDeleteWriting category IS a HUGE challenge and when you find out how to deliver that expectation... let me know :)
I like the icecream as a metaphor thing - nice! (and yummy!).
ReplyDeleteVery true, too. It's so hard to deliver on the series promise while also having a unique voice and your own fresh stories to tell.
I don't remmeber jelly tips, but golden gaye times have sure changed - though still yummy. There's lots of icecreams they don't seem to make anymore like Pink Panthers and the Big Sandwich =((
ReplyDeleteSo many great ice-cream memories!!
ReplyDeleteWorking on delivering the expectation but it's hard. And then to do so with freeshness... sigh...
I LOVE Jelly tips but haven't had one in years. I'm sad they won't be the remembered delight of trying to eat all the chocolate off first, dissecting it layer by layer.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a crystal ball and could look into an Ed's mind and know what she wants. Sigh. The one thing I hold onto is staying true to your voice and believe in yourself and never giving up.
Sandii