It all started when I was on Lying to Meet You's Amazon page the other day and I saw I had a new review. A bad one (sob). Bad reviews are unavoidable, of course. You can't please everyone in the world, but this one has really been bugging me because the reviewer is clearly a romance fan and I reckon she read the book wanting a more traditional romance rather than a work of chick lit. The main problem she had with the story was a plot twist that would never fly in category romance.
I'm not just trying to rationalize here, I promise. The reason I know she's a romance fan is because she mentioned "the H and h" and "the H's parents" etc. which is the standard way for romance aficionados to identify "the hero and the heroine". I must admit, the H/h thing got stuck in my craw for a bit. There isn't really an "H" in my story, per se. You don't really know for sure who Chloe's "hero" is until close to the end.
Eventually, I got over being bummed out over the bad review, but this H/h thing has really been bugging me. Not my reader's use of it in the review, but the use of it in general. When you think about it, it's so blatantly sexist. "H" means "hero" and "h" means "heroine". Why is that?
Just look at these two letters side by side:
H h
The big "H" is so strong and solid, whereas the little "h" looks a bit meek and fragile standing next to it. To me, the little "h" looks unfinished somehow, not fully developed. Definitely inferior. And this really bothers me. Perhaps I'm reading waaay too much into this (it's been known to happen) but I find it frustrating that the women who write, edit and read these books use the H/h identifiers so easily.
Hop on over to Julie Valerie's Hump Day Blog Hop for links to loads of fabulous blog posts!
Very good point. Using "H h" does bring to mind a very Alpha Male/meek female coupling.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I disagree entirely with the bad review. But you're right, they are unavoidable. If it's any consolation, my book with the most mixed reviews sells the best!
Completely amazing. I. Am. Shocked. I never knew about this H vs h terminology and you are so right - WHAT THE H?! Why is he capitalized?
ReplyDeleteWow, just goes to show that I know nothing about the romance world! When I first started reading your post, I assumed that the capital H stood for Heroine since that's who the main character is in romance novels, right? Making the Hero, who's basically just there to play the love interest role, the one with the capital/dominant letter makes no kind of sense.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the bad review. I got a 3-star one the other day that really riled me up. In the end, you just have to let this stuff go. SIGH
I'm so glad I'm not alone with finding this H/h thing so wrong! And that is definitely a consolation, Meredith. In a way, I think bad reviews legitimize a book. Not that they don't temporarily kill our spirits though...
ReplyDeleteAnd Tracie, I just have to say how great it is that your mind went to "H for heroine". It's how it should be when the female character dominates the book. (Although in most romance, I find that the man and woman split page time.) Sorry about the 3-star review. SIGH is right!
ReplyDeleteWow. Had no clue. Saw those letters used around the interwebs but didn't know what they meant and didn't care enough to look it up. I must say, the whole idea of a female protagonist needing a hero chafes. I'm not the staunchest feminist in the world, and I'm sure there are plenty of things in my books that make ultra-feminists cringe, but the idea of a Hero with a capital "H" is just so 1950s to me. And that's not to say that people who read and/or write romance novels are anti-woman or misogynist or any of those negative things. They're just reading and writing what's entertaining to them and excites their imagination. But that's just not for me. I don't think you're reading too much into it, Anna. I think it's an outdated practice for outdated terminology.
ReplyDeleteHey Anna! I saw your comment over on my blog, so lovely to cross your path again! I would so love to catch up - and preferably in person. Are you still in SF?
ReplyDeleteWhat I've always loved about your books is that the heroine is most definitely not a lower case h. They're always a capital H and they own it! It's so true what you said, you can't please everyone. But you write strong women and interesting characters, so just listen to us fellow capital H's. We're cheering for you!
Oh sorry I thought that would show my name, I guess I don't use this account. This is Melissa, I wrote the previous comment. Just updated this it shows who I am. Sorry about that!
ReplyDeleteI love that you don't use the "H and h" formula in your books! I hope I don't either. One way we can challenge these outdated notions is to keep writing stories that have more complex characters and plots... even if the die-hard romance readers don't like it! Just checked your Amazon page and while I can totally relate to being bummed out about a bad review here and there, I must remind you that you have TONS of great reviews and a really high average! :-)
ReplyDeleteWell, I am completely ignorant about all the abbreviations! For a long while I had no idea what the whole H/h thing meant, and only recently learned what HEA stood for. I had to look it up. Why are we a society that's so into acronyms? OMG! ROFL. IMO. Don't get me wrong. I'm guilty of it, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd Anna, even though the point of your post wasn't the negative review, I have to say that "Lying to Meet You" was such a delightful read. I loved Chloe's character because she is so down-to-earth and just plain cute - like you! (Aaaand... Chloe's my daughter's name. ♥)
I'm a new author too and, of course, not looking forward to any bad reviews. BUT my successful author friend tells me that even bad reviews sell books. What your bad reviewer said she didn't like about it may be what someone does want in a book. Don't take it too personally. Looking forward to checking out your book!
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of poor reviews, the skeptic in me 'trusts' a book more when I see that some people didn't care for it. If reviews are too shiny (all 5 stars, hello?) I get suspicious!
ReplyDeleteI, too, had no idea about H&h. And I think that's one of the most awesome things about chick lit, that we don't follow that formula, our protagonists don't necessarily need/want/get the guy (or girl??) and as such I think our work is less predictable but potentially more rewarding. I think of it in terms of going back to a wonderful vacation spot: it's enjoyable, partly because you know what you'll get. The risk, and potential reward, of a novel that doesn't follow the formula (or journeying to a new vacation destination) I think can ultimately be more satisfying and memorable.
It was only quite recently that I fully appreciated I don't write "romance". That knowledge is helpful, both in how I think about my stuff, and in reaching readers who are more likely to enjoy it.
So much to learn. I wrote my first fiction novel (my previous work was a memoir) and had no idea about this h thing! My widow memoir got the worst review ever a few months ago (and it had 20plus good ones) - it really stung because it seemed so personal. I didn't use names, but rather titles . . . husband, best friend...etc. only the dogs had names! The reviewer said I treated everyone like possessions, except for my dogs. It is hard to let it roll off - but I did. The dogs and I had a good laugh over it later. So happy to have met you on this blog hop, Anna. Going over to Amazon to check out your book!
ReplyDeleteI've never come across H and h before, so this post has taught me something new! I'm going to pop over to Amazon now to check out your book.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, ladies, thank so much for the wonderful comments!! And so sorry for not replying earlier (hanging head in shame). I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks the H/h thing is totally messed up. Also a huge thanks to the gals who are going to check out my book! And to those who said such lovely things about it. (((hugs)))
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