Rejection sucks. And even when it comes with helpful feedback, it still stings. Earlier this year, I entered The Manhattan Mishap into the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. I felt full of hope and happiness as I slipped a paperback copy into the mail. Unfortunately, my novel wasn’t selected to win any awards.

Many months later, they explained why. Some feedback felt useful. However, there were a couple of notes that didn’t make sense to me at all. Of course, this is just one person’s opinion. And since I have a personal connection to this book (obviously) I probably feel a stronger type of way about it than someone else.

Here is the best and worst feedback I got from the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards

“While Margot is definitely confident, she’s not always a particularly likeable main character.”

Actually, I do agree that Margot is confident. And truthfully, no, she isn’t always likeable. However, I don’t think that a main character — or any character for that matter — needs to be likeable in everything they do. No one is perfect. And yes, I understand that we’re talking about fiction here. Sure, I could’ve made her a stickler for rules and doing the right thing at every turn. But she’s human. She makes mistakes. She ends up in sticky situations while working towards her goals. To me, that’s not entirely unheard of.

“While there are heavy topics like the emotional abuse and gaslighting that Perla does to Margot, the author treats these topics well and it is rewarding to see Margot finally break free.”

Hey Siri, play Break Free by Ariana Grande. Oof. This is a tough one for me. In a good way. I’ve been though my fair share of emotional abuse as well as gaslighting and finally breaking free of that felt liberating on so many levels. Leaving toxic people in the past is so rewarding. If you’re dealing with this, know that you’re worth more than what they’re doing to you.

“[Margot’s] relationship with her best friends is a highlight of the plot and one of the most relatable elements of the story.”

This one, I love. Friendships are incredibly important to me. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve made a brand new friend in over three years. Of course, some of that is due to the pandemic. But I just really love the friends I already have. I guess Margot gets that from me. She loves her friends. They hold her down, make her laugh, and always have her back.

“A lot of the things that happen are fairly unbelievable, so it takes some suspension of reality to believe the plot.”

Say what? Many of the plot points in The Manhattan Mishap are based on true events. They’ve either happened to me or people I know. I’d say the majority of the book is based on something that’s happened in real life, with the exception of one or two things. I don’t want to give too much away but I have actually left underwear at a guy’s house by accident and been on the receiving end of some serious gaslighting from people I thought I could trust.

“The cover appears to be professionally designed and is compellingly related to the content/genre of the book.”

This was nice to hear. Especially because since publishing my book I’ve had many second guesses about the cover. Definitely not in its professionalism, but in its overall style. I’m not a huge fan of the colour — it looked different on my computer when I mocked it up — and I’ve been wondering if the artwork was misleading to the storyline.

Ultimately, there’s nothing you can do about bad feedback except try and improve. And doesn’t that make it good feedback in the end? I’d like to think so. By the way, stay tuned for an audiobook version of The Manhattan Mishap coming next year!

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