ABNA Update - Bob Waldner

First off – apologies for being away from the blog for so long. We took a much-needed family vacation last week, so I seized the opportunity to step away from the online world for a bit. Probably not an optimal course of action when it comes to promoting a book, but sometimes you just want to lay on the beach…

Of course, the rest of the world went on without me, and while I was sipping Pina Coladas in a lounge chair, Amazon went ahead and announced the quarter-finalists in their Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. I’m sad to report that Peripheral Involvement was not among them. I’ll confess that I was more disappointed than I thought I would be when I found out. I came to the contest much more in hope than expectation, but when I made it through the first round, visions of success started dancing through my head. Realistically, I knew that I was never going to win – as good as I believe my book to be, I know that there are many talented writers out there that have spent a great deal more time honing their craft than I have – but I really thought that I could at least make it through one more round (and get the Publisher’s Weekly review that comes with that distinction).

Alas, it was not to be. I brooded over it for a few days, but then they posted the judges’ feedback, and it made me feel better. The second round was judged solely on the first 5,000 words of the book (in my case, that gets you about halfway through Chapter Two). This is what they had to say:

ABNA Expert Reviewer

What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt?

This author writes confidently with a seasoned writer’s touch. The engaging narrative is infused with wit, nuance and a tone of sardonic humor which seamlessly shifts to drama. It has an entertaining cinematic quality to it.

What aspect needs the most work?

While competently written, this story has quite the familiar feel to it inasmuch as the same kind of character development and plotting are popular in current fiction and screen play writing these days. That is surely an indication of its appeal and that’s a good thing. But I think it would serve this author well to try to seize upon a slightly different angle to the story or character.

What is your overall opinion of this excerpt?

The author has a firm grasp on the essentials of good story writing. The writing is seasoned and refined; the plotting smart and intriguing.

With a little tweaking of plot and characterization, I think this story could be a real winner.

ABNA Expert Reviewer

What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt?

The monotony of his job with Skinner and Sons, the dread of work, the fear of his boss and finally the realization that all that you is is really the only thing that you know. Very well written and left me wondering if he was indeed fired at this point.

What aspect needs the most work?

It has been used a million times. The protagonist wakes up into an unforeseen circumstance with no memory of how he got there. I realize that this is the “hook” of the book, but it is just a tired tired literary device.

What is your overall opinion of this excerpt?

Even with the weakness that I just mentioned I found the writing crisp and tight with very few wasted words. The story flowed very nicely. It did leave me wanting to read more and after a short excerpt that is really all an author can want or expect.

Each excerpt was scored on a scale of 1-5 in the following categories:

1. Overall Strength of Excerpt

2. Prose/Style

3. Plot/Hook

4. Originality of Idea

We don’t ever get to see the scores, but based on the above, I’m guessing that I fell short in the “originality” component. Honestly, I think that’s fair enough. I like to think that the originality of the book becomes apparent as you read on, but I can see how someone who only reads the beginning wouldn’t see that coming. As much as we would like every judge (or literary agent, or publisher) to read every word that we write, the reality is that our work is often evaluated on the basis of an excerpt, and I can certainly live with that.

All in all, I was very flattered to read all of the good things that they said about my writing style. Gives me some hope that I’m on the right track.

So now I’m back at it. My book is now featured on Hidden Reads – check it out here:

Check back there in the next week or two for a review.

I’ve also entered the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards, as well as the 2014 Best Kindle Book Awards. It’ll be a while before I hear anything from them, but I will, of course, let you know how it goes.

And now that I’m tanned (or burnt, as the case may be) and rested, I’m committed to getting back to work on novel #2, which has been stalled a bit in recent weeks. Excited to pick it up again! Thanks for all of your support so far!