Issue #19
July, 2006
Dear Romance Writer:
July is one of those months when I want to goof off and do absolutely nothing. It’s hot and humid, and everyone seems to be leaving for vacation. All the writers’ loops are quiet because most authors, agents and editors are gearing up for the Romance Writers of America National Conference.
This year, the RWA’s annual conference is in Atlanta. The dates are July 26-30. No one should miss the Readers for Life Literacy Autographing on July 26th from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The proceeds benefit literacy. The workshops, as always, offer something for everyone, and if you have a book to pitch, this is definitely the place to be. Be sure to make an appointment with an editor or agent. (No shoving manuscripts under the bathroom stalls!)
On a more personal note… this month, my new release, Flamingo Place, launches Harlequin’s Kimani line. It’s the first in the Flamingo Beach series, and the designer of this town is very real. (Log onto www.jtphome.com for information on urban design.) Then in August, my mainstream book, Shattered Images, will take you on an emotional journey from the halls of academia to the suburbs of Atlanta. I’d love it if you picked up a copy and contacted me with your comments.
Next month, stay tuned for a full report of the RWA conference. Meanwhile, remember to set aside time each day to write the book in your heart. For motivation, please visit http://www.theromancewriterslife.com/julytips/ and get inspired by one of your favorite authors.
Romantically Yours,
Marcia King-Gamble
Editor of Romantically Yours
www.lovemarcia.com
P.S. This month’s issue features Part 2 of our interview with Kathryn Falk, the founder and CEO of Romantic Times Book Review, in which she shares with us how she discovered Fabio.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Most of us, while waiting for “the call,” need to eat. Here are some valuable tips to aid you in finding freelance work as a writer until you make your “big sale.”
Make a list of all the publications that interest you. Bookstores, libraries, phone books, The Writers Market and The Writer’s Handbook are all helpful in this effort. Other good resources are your dentist’s office, your manicurist, your hair salon… any place where you might have access to periodicals.
Write a dynamic cover letter to each of these publications offering your services. Don’t forget to attach a resume and include some story ideas, angles, etc. It is perfectly okay to enclose clips of previous articles you’ve written.
If you don’t have experience writing for magazines, don’t shoot yourself in the foot by mentioning that in your letter. Instead, be sure to mention any relevant writing experience that you do have. And don’t underestimate the power of a good query letter.
Follow-up is important. Don’t just mail those letters off and wait. If after two weeks you’ve heard nothing, pick up the phone and make a call. This is your opportunity to make your pitch. Offer to meet with the editor or volunteer to do a sample story… you’d be surprised how many times that offer gets results.
Network! Network! Network! Contacts are powerful. Attend Chamber of Commerce events, industry meetings, trade shows, etc. Bring business cards that say you’re a “writer.” Be sure to pass your business cards out. One author I know freelances as a copywriter and brings along cards that say “Marketing and Copywriting.” She has more work than she knows what to do with. Copywriting pays well and enables her to pay her day-to-day bills.
Writers’ groups and loops provide other excellent opportunities to network. Your support team believes in sharing opportunities… and since you get to know each other well, you can quickly learn each other’s strengths. If you can leverage your writing talents with someone else’s marketing skills, you’ll have it made.
Often times, you have to give to get. Offer to help another writer friend who might be having trouble with brainstorming a plot. If your strength is punctuation, and your friend doesn’t know the difference between a comma and colon, your efforts will be greatly appreciated and you may even land a job. Writers like to reciprocate. One hand often washes the other.
Become familiar with news outlets. Know where to go for story ideas. This is another reason writers’ loops are so helpful. PR newswires are a good resource for hooking writers up with sources.
And even if you have plenty of work, don’t ever give up looking for more. This is a feast or famine industry, and it pays to pursue new opportunities. Hand out your business card every chance you get and pursue new publications that are always looking for new writers.
As a writer, you constantly generate new ideas. You should always have another story idea up your sleeve. If you are able to pitch more than one story at a time, you can ensure yourself several sales at one shot… or at the very least, the one sale you are after.
Some other options are to become a professional reader, book reviewer, copywriter, features writer, editor, translator, literary escort, resume writer, travel writer and graphic designer. These freelance careers are all money generators.
Writers need to do what they can until that call comes in, and just think of the characters you encounter during this wait. These interactions can only help your writing. So go to it and write every opportunity you get.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: If you’d like to learn more about copywriting please visit: http://www.thewriterslife.com/ry/]
HAPPENINGS:
July 26-29, 2006
Romance Writers of America National Conference
Atlanta, Georgia
www.rwanational.org
Members and non-members welcome. Participate in the workshops, Literacy book signing, and Golden Heart Awards.
September 23-24, 2006
Ottawa Romance Writers Association
Sweet & Spicy
Ottawa Sheraton
www.ottawaromancewriters.com/conference.htm
Keynote Speaker – Gayle Wilson
October 6-7, 2006
New Jersey Romance Writers
Put Your Heart in a Book
The Sheraton at Woodbridge
Iselin, New Jersey
www.NJRomancewriters.org
Keynote Speaker – Jennifer Crusie
October 27-28, 2006
Nebraska Romance Writers Workshop
Lincoln Women’s Club
Lincoln, Nebraska
info@nebraskaromancewriters.com
Judith Arnold presents a workshop on conflict and writing for the long haul.
PART 2 OF INTERVIEW WITH KATHRYN FALK
The New York Times dubbed Kathryn Falk—the founder and CEO of Romantic Times magazine and author of Love’s Leading Ladies (1980) and How to Write a Romance and Get It Published (1982) the “Queen of Romance.” “Queen” or Lady Barrow, by whatever title you choose to address her, Kathryn Falk has almost single-handedly propelled the paperback romance genre into the thriving billion-dollar industry it is today. Walter Zacharius, the owner of Kensington Books, has given her credit for having the courage “to go forward at a time when people didn’t believe in her vision. She and Romantic Times… became a voice for fans and professionals who had none.”
And now, Part 2 of our interview, in which Kathryn Falk discusses her association with Fabio…
RY: Your Book Lovers conventions are attended by thousands and are an event that readers and authors look forward to. Can you tell our readers how they came about and your future plans for these conventions?
KF: I figured out that people needed a newsletter to keep them informed of what’s hot and new in the paperback romance field. It was also apparent that the publishers kept the authors apart, so they wouldn’t reveal their contracts and royalties. I knew it would be fun to finally see familiar names up close. So I co-sponsored the first convention in 1982 with Long Island College. We filled the St. Regis ballroom, met editors, agents, authors, and learned a lot. It grew from there.
We try to reflect the market at each convention. For instance, in Houston we’re promoting the Latino authors because of the large Spanish population in that area and because we know that in about 10 years, sales will be high for this sub-genre (as they are now for the African-American series). The Asian segment might take a little longer to go across the board, but that’s coming, too (which means we may have a convention in San Francisco or Vancouver in the near future).
We try to keep our hotel rates down, and so far we’ve been able to furnish our conventioneers with complimentary books from publishers and authors. Our readers go home with a suitcase full of free books, plus whatever they buy at the book fair.
I like for our conventions to keep up with the times. We started with a one-day event, and now with the early-bird three-day sightseeing tours, a convention could stretch out for nine days.
I’m also adding parapsychology courses to our writing workshop options, since this fascinating subject (mediums, clairvoyance, etc) is great research and a wonderful opportunity for writers.
RY: A staple of the RT Book Lovers conventions is the very popular “Mr. Romance” contest. It is said that you discovered Fabio. Can you tell us how you met this icon and how you helped shape his career?
KF: Originally, our conventions were all ladies, but when Fabio first became a constant on the Avon covers, we invited him to one of our conventions, which thrilled all the readers. To generate men for the parties and dances, Fabio and I started the Cover Model Pageant, which still thrills the audience at our yearly convention.
The Oxygen network bought the idea last year (I leased the trademark “Mr. Romance” to them)… they produced a series, used Fabio as a narrator, and the “Mr. Romance” show became their second-highest rating. Meanwhile, Fabio has become a household name.
In the beginning, many authors thought he was just a flash in the pan. They didn’t like him saying that he helped to sell books (which he did). But I knew Fabio had the “It” factor. All you had to do was eye him from head to toe, watch him smile at every woman, and see how he turned on his sex appeal. After all, he’s Italian.
In the 80s and 90s, books were sold by their covers, since many name authors had not yet developed. Book distributors didn’t have time to read the books. So they bid on the covers and the sell-through of an experienced author. It was typical for the distributor to take the cover from a publisher’s salesman, walk up to a wall loaded with other covers, place this one cover somewhere on the wall, and then leave the room. When he walked back in the room, if he couldn’t see the cover, he didn’t buy it.
Fabio had a certain “bigness” and charisma that hadn’t been seen before in America. Sometimes when he was being photographed or appeared on a cover, he looked like he stepped off of Mt. Olympus. I started featuring him in the magazine, and when he got a contract to write three books for Avon, I helped plot out the characters. He attended several of our conventions, and I chuckled to myself as his fame grew and grew. He was just acting like himself. I can see it now… on my obit it will say – “She discovered Fabio.”
I felt Fabio was good for the industry and would attract the press… which was needed in the late 1980s. Why some of the authors of that period were so vindictive and nasty about his popularity, I don’t know. But after seeing him on so many Super Bowl commercials over the years, I’m sure not one of those authors even remembers the fight they put up.
RY: In that same vein, can you tell our readers about your theme tours? What are the plans for touring this year? Will you be going to anyplace particularly exotic?
KF: I’m too busy to do any tours this year, although I’d like to plan something to Austria. In the past, I’ve organized trips to Scotland, Iceland, Ireland, England, and Italy.
I hope to start the Italian trips again in another year. I love the climate, and I have a house and businesses there. As soon as I can go back, I will return.
I enjoy leading the early-bird tours that take place prior to our conventions. In Daytona, we went to NASCAR and St. Augustine. In Houston, I have fun things planned, including a cookout with buffalo burgers and homemade marshmallows at my country retreat in Alvini.
RY: No one does marketing better than you. What can an author do to make sure her name stays out there and her career remains on the fast track?
KF: Be original. You never want to copy. You want to take what’s out there and push the envelope. Books are like fashion, they have to change with the seasons. Some people are more psychic or intuitive about the market. I know everyone says to write what you love to read. But I say, write what you want to read but haven’t seen out there yet.
You learn about a new field as you write about it… so the reader learns too, and it’s a win-win situation. Someone is going to push the button on something new, whether it’s an Outlander or a Harry Potter. Just learn some creative manifestation and visualize your book on the shelves… then concentrate until you see the story within.
For instance, I don’t know if anyone has done anything about the gold market yet. I had a friend who left her job, went into commodities, studied and studied, bought gold when it was $200 an ounce, and now it’s up to something like $700 an ounce. She’s made $4 million and goes to mining conventions. I don’t think anyone has explored this gold/commodities market and its setting/ambience. So as they say, “Thar’s gold in them thar hills!”
RY: And finally, as busy as you are with your businesses and your own writing, you’ve always taken the time to support other authors, especially newcomers breaking into the field. You helped me. What advice would you give to newbies who are interested in being published?
KF: The market is much different today. There are fewer and fewer bookstores because people are buying online. If you’re not already internet-savvy, I’d find someone who knows computers and learn everything you can about cyberspace.
I’d also get my name on the top of the book, if possible (an old trick). I’d closely follow the most successful authors and pay attention to what their agents are doing for them and what months they are releasing titles.
Keep your ear to the ground about Hollywood companies making movies. Soon, movies are going to be made directly for home consumption, so that’s a new avenue to go down.
Find out where your company warehouse is, and get friendly enough with the sales force so that someone will let you know when supplies of your books are getting low… so you can have your agent nudge the publisher to go back on press.
Get written into your contract that you want a color ad in Romantic Times, and work closely with RT to promote your book. You can even get inserts made from your ad to hand out to sales people, booksellers, fans, etc.
It’s important not to get upset over bad reviews. Instead, ask the reviewer exactly what was wrong so you can improve it next time. Honest reviews and constructive criticism will help you when you sit down to write your next book.
COMING NEXT MONTH:
An interview with contemporary/chick lit author, Karen Kendall. Karen and I are two of 12 authors contributing to an exciting 12-book Harlequin continuity series set on a cruise line. Release date is 2007. Visit Karen’s website at www.karenkendall.com.
ABOUT ROMANTICALLY YOURS
Romantically Yours is a FREE monthly newsletter for members of American
Writers & Artists Inc.'s Romance Writing Course - "Writing for Love
and Money."
We want to hear from you. Please send comments, news, research, or story
ideas directly to Marcia King-Gamble at romanticallyyours@awaionline.com.
American Writers & Artists Inc.
245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
memberservices@awaionline.com
© 2006 American Writers & Artists Inc.