Follow Up: "For Good or Ill..."

Thanks to Beth for the heads up...

So, Rachel Vater did post my hook. I'm in the "Women's Fiction/Chick Lit/Romance, etc. #1" entry, and my hook is #4. She said:

I have to admit I'm not crazy about time travel romance. This doesn't hook me personally, but commenters are welcome to say something about this one.

So, not a lot of input from her. But I guess I can take heart from what she didn't say... She didn't say it was cliche, or overdone, or a stolen/unoriginal premise (*cough*). She didn't say it was a bad hook, either, just that it didn't hook her personally because she's "not crazy about time travel."

I guess now we'll see if there are any comments from readers...

Heh...okay, a lot of Outlander comments. But the problem is the same one I catch a lot. People skim with the expectation of similarity, and don't realize what they see are actually differences - things that are unique and specific to my book. "Grey" John Campbell vs. Lord John Grey - Campbell was a historical figure (also here); I didn't pick the name. Or in some cases the skimmers are just plain wrong. Like the "she's a physicist and Claire was a doctor so that's the same thing" comment. Ummm...??? Physicist = radiation. Doctor = med school. For all that I'm a physicist and I do work in a medical field, it's a totally different occupation, with all the differences in educational background, job duties, and salary. *g* Also a different calling/mindset/characterization.

BUT if this is the standard reaction then I do have to get used to the idea that it is going to set me back. I know (and hopefully you guys know) that this is a unique story. Those who read parts of it are usually enthusiastic and want to read more, and those who have read significant chunks often tell me "it's nothing like Outlander." The trick I guess will be in describing it such that agents, editors, and eventually people skimming the back cover copy will think it's different enough to give it a chance.

For Good or Ill...

I was paranoid to submit to Miss Snark's "Happy Hooker" crapometer, but for some reason I felt compelled to try with Rachel Vater's "Got Hook" critique. Here's what I sent, for good or ill:

ROMANCE (MAINLY HISTORICAL): Physicist Elizabeth Clarke was supposed to be in Scotland for her honeymoon. Instead, she’s there alone—hoping the land of kilts and clans will distract her from the heartache of her fiancé’s betrayal. A trip to explore the ruins of an historic castle takes her on an unexpected journey: 300 years into the past. There she is taken captive by “Grey” John Campbell, Earl of Breadalbane. The politically avaricious Earl has found her historical notes and, believing her a Seer, intends to exploit her knowledge of the future for his own gain. She manages to escape the castle and comes under the protection of Alasdair “Alec” MacAlpin, son of a local chief. Dubbed “Elspeth” by him, she tries to find a place among his clan, even as she deals with Campbell’s attempts to recapture her and a growing attraction to her handsome (and unavailable, to an outsider like herself) protector. Together, she and Alec try to prevent the Campbells’ now-infamous massacre of the Glencoe MacDonalds. During the struggle at Glencoe, Alec’s true clan—the outlawed MacGregors—is revealed, and he is captured and sentenced to death. Elspeth bribes her way into his cell and spends one night with him on the eve of his execution. She leaves him with a promise to try to return to her own time, but instead goes to the Earl and secretly bargains for Alec’s release with the only thing she has—herself. Will she find a way to escape to her own time? Does that mean losing any chance to be with the man she loves?

ETA: At the very least, if this gets posted in public it will light a fire under me to finish the book, just in case someone else does like the idea and starts writing a similar one. Doubly so if Rachel actually likes the idea, though I'm not getting delusions of grandeur just yet. *g*

Crapometer

So. Miss Snark is doing another crapometer run, starting Friday. This one is for "hooks" (250 words), and she'll request "first pages" (750 words) if she likes it. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to throw my hat in.

The rough mini-synopsis on my excerpts blog is about 400 words. With a little pruning and tweaking, I might could (yeah, I'm from Kentucky) get it down to 250. And I do have 750 words of opener if--on the outside chance--she requests it.

But.

Do I really want to put the summarization of my "original idea" for a novel I'm only 1/4-1/3 of the way done writing up for all and sundry to see? (Sure, it's up on my blog, but how many people read this as opposed to Miss Snark?)

I'm a little protective of it, since I've already been accused of "borrowing from" or "copying" a certain famous author. (Not by the author herself, I should add. Someone else who is familiar with her work but not with mine.) I mean, I know what the whole story is different and unique. And hopefully those of you who read this and have read the books in question have heard enough about my story and characters to know that as well. I feel that when I'm done and my book can be read in its entirety, people will recognize the originality and not think that I just wrote a redux of Famous Author's story. (All right, it's Diana. Just because I have a character time-traveling to Scotland. Even though it's set in a different century, with different characters, different conflict, different plot, etc. And lots of other people have written time-travel romance novels, too. But I've already ranted about that.)

Anyway. I've struggled mightily to flesh out this idea, and I'm making good progress towards completing it, whereupon I can send it out into the world. But I would hate to see it posted online and someone else take it and write something like it before I can finish mine. Then the "original idea" I've struggled so hard to distinguish as being, in fact, original, won't be original anymore.

I'm sure I'm being paranoid. The odds of that happening are probably nil. But still. The accusation stung, for all that it was unfounded, and now I'm gun shy. OTOH, I'd really like to see if my idea can pique people's interest. So I dunno. Should I submit to the crapometer and cross my fingers against my story getting ganked? Should I rewrite certain key elements to keep the same premise, but protect my details? Or should I just call it a wash and hope she does another run later when I have a full MS in hand?