Issue #23
November, 2006
Dear Romance Writer:
A very happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. I’ve always thought of the month of November as the time to reflect and count my blessings. It’s a time to regroup and start setting goals for the following year.
When I reflect on the past year, there is so much to be grateful for. I am grateful to have three books released this year. I am thankful to have found a home at Harlequin and to write for four of their imprints. I consider myself lucky that a book written for the defunct Bombshell line was picked up by Harlequin’s Kimani.
I am lucky to have supportive friends and family who can put up with my crazy “writer’s life,” and I am immensely thankful for a roof over my head, food on the table, and an unbeatable opportunity to temporarily relocate to Seattle, a city that I love. I’ll be writing to you from my new home in the coming months.
I am especially grateful to you, the reader, for allowing me to give something back in the form of this newsletter. Not so long ago, I was an unpublished author experiencing all the frustrations of waiting endlessly for some editor to read my manuscript. My optimism and belief in myself got me through. Because I knew deep in my bones that my day would come.
And yours will too. As writers, we have an enormous talent and the power to change lives. Hone that talent and nurture it. Do not become discouraged by the rejection process. This business can be all about timing. Use rejections to learn what you can do better. Meanwhile, continue to write.
You, too, can be like Elise Chidley, who recently sold to a British publisher. This month, Elise has more good news. She has received an offer from Warner Books to publish that same manuscript. Congratulations, Elise! You really are cooking.
As you sit around your table with family and friends this Thanksgiving, remember all the good things in life to be thankful for. You have a unique skill. Not everyone can bring to life the wonderful stories roaming around their heads.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Romantically Yours,
Marcia King-Gamble
Editor of Romantically Yours
www.lovemarcia.com
TOOLS OF THE TRADE: BE PROACTIVE, BE PROTECTIVE
By Carol Stephenson
As writers, we all do it. We procrastinate, put things off. We let life get in the way of our dreams. We let others sap away our creativity and our confidence.
We put everything and everyone first but our writing.
Balancing life and writing is a constant battle, and the struggle evolves as one progresses from being non-published to published.
To the non-published: Be proactive in your search for a writing career. You cannot sell if you do not have a marketable product. You cannot sell if you do not submit. You cannot sell if you do not write.
If you are not studying and honing your craft every single day, then how do you ever expect to wow an editor? All the brilliance in the world isn’t going to get you past the slush pile if your manuscript isn’t formatted properly, clean and free of grammatical errors. The editor will follow the path of least work. If you’re not querying and/or submitting, why aren’t you? There are books, magazines and list serves chock-full of information about editors and agents and their requirements. So what if you get rejected? Your manuscript cannot be bought unless you submit.
Not entering contests? Why not? Despite the occasional unevenness or unkind remarks of judging, there are many chapter contests where the editor judges the final round and then asks for the complete manuscript. A contest placement is a ticket past the slush pile. Why wouldn’t you avail yourself of such a golden opportunity? If you have a thin skin, you’d better thicken it real quick in this business. The fact that an editor buys your book isn’t an immunity necklace against her harsh comments during revisions or subsequent proposals.
Not writing? Say what? If you wait for inspiration, if you wait for the perfect environment, or if you wait for when you feel like it, then you’re setting yourself up for failure. The publishing houses expect professionalism from their authors, they expect deadlines to be met, and they expect new books to be produced on a regular basis. If you don’t have your butt-in-chair, hands-on-keyboard (“BIC-HOK”) on a regular basis, then how the heck do you expect to stay afloat in a highly competitive market?
To the published: Protect your writing. In this day and age of the ever-shrinking market, the one thing you can control is your writing. There will be many demands on you… from family, friends and yes, even your chapter members. Only you can understand your limitations, only you can know how much you can handle and give, and only you can refuse another drain on your muse. You need to learn when to say “no.”
Eliminate the negative, the clutter, the time-consuming but little reward activities and people from your life. Don’t let yourself get distracted by the petty. Find supportive camaraderie. If you’ve reached a lull in your career, reinvent yourself. You’ve been published before; you can do it again. The knowledge and talent is there, only needing to be reformatted. Writing is a soul’s eternal torch of joy. Cherish and protect your extraordinary ability.
To all: You are a storyteller; you are a writer. Cherish, protect and rejoice in your writing as you navigate the stormy seas of life and the publishing world.
May the muse be with you,
Carol
HAPPENINGS:
December and January are notoriously quiet months for conferences. Come February, there are two conferences you should not miss:
February 2-3, 2007
The Mystery of Suspense 2007
Sponsor: Heart of the West, Utah Chapter
Location: Airport Hilton, Salt Lake City, Utah
Fee: $130-140
Featuring: Karen Robards
Keynote Speaker: Christina Skye
February 23-25, 2007
Fun in the Sun 2007: Miami Heat
Sponsor: Florida Romance Writers
Location: Dadeland Marriott, Miami, Florida
Fee: $210-$235
Keynote Speaker: Sherrilyn Kenyon
INTERVIEW WITH HARLEQUIN AUTHOR, MARY LEO
And now on to our interview with Harlequin author, Mary Leo. What continues to astound me is the diversity of backgrounds that we romance writers have. Mary has a day job in electronics and has that left and right brain thing going on. She writes fun, hip, contemporary stories that are designed to bring a smile to your face. See www.maryleo.net for more details.
RY: How would you describe the genre that you write for?
ML: Romantic comedy with an edge.
RY: On that same note, can you tell our readers a little bit about Harlequin’s Flipside?
ML: The line has closed, but it really contained some great stories that were both funny and smart. The stories were more like condensed versions of a chick-lit novel, but the hero was able to vent his angst as well.
RY: Did you always want to be a writer, and if so, what did you do to prepare for this journey?
ML: I started writing when I was in high school. I wrote for our school paper, but I really started writing romance way before that. I used to write stories about myself and my two best girlfriends with various rock stars. Hot stuff!
RY: I know you have a day job, so tell us about it. Would you recommend keeping your day job once you get published? If so, for how long?
ML: I work in electronics. It’s kind of a difficult job to describe, but I’m an integrated circuit layout designer. I work with schematics on a computer, and connect resistors, transistors and capacitors together to make computer chips.
If you can find a way to cut back your hours with your day job, do it. If you can find a way to eat and pay the rent, quit. If you want to be a successful writer, you need to put out a lot of quality material. Working a full-time job limits you.
RY: As busy as you are, how do you schedule productive writing time? Do you write every day, on weekends only, or a combination of both?
ML: During the week, I try to get up at 4:30 a.m. to write before I go to work. On the weekends, I give myself a break and get up at 5:30. If I’m on a deadline, I’ll write for most of the weekend… I never usually write at night. I’m way too tired.
RY: Do you ever get writer’s block? What do you do to stay inspired?
ML: I’ve had some really bad cases of writer’s block. Not so much while I’m putting the book together, more when I’m coming up with the synopsis. I had one trick that really helped me get through a difficult time. I designated a toy shoe as “my inner critic,” and stuck it in a drawer. Every time I got stuck, I opened the drawer, took a look at “my inner critic” and told myself it couldn’t bother me as long as it was festering inside that drawer. When I shut the drawer, I’d write whatever came to mind without judging it, because, after all, “my inner critic” was stuck inside a drawer and I couldn’t hear it no matter what miserable thing it had to say.
RY: Who are your favorite authors and why?
ML: Christina Dodd… I love her contemporary books. They flow so easily, and they’re a fun read. Sophie Kinsella… She’s funny and smart. Marian Keyes… I identify with her characters. Harper Lee… because no one can write a sentence quite like her.
RY: Both published and hopeful authors often talk about the benefits of going to conferences and getting their faces seen and names known. How has conference attendance benefited you?
ML: I think attending conferences and networking are some of your most powerful tools. I met Janet Wellington, a fellow romance author, at the SDSU conference. She told me about RWA and the chapter in San Diego. At my second chapter meeting I pitched to Brenda Chin from Harlequin. She told me to submit my proposal to Kathryn Lye. I submitted, and attended RWA National in New Orleans where I had an appointment with Kathryn. She asked for my entire novel at that conference. I sent it to her. She liked it and worked hard at placing it inside Harlequin. She’s been my editor ever since.
RY: What advice would you give to newbies just getting their feet wet in the writing business?
ML: Study the marketplace. Learn the craft. Take some classes. Read everything you can get your hands on in your preferred genre. Join a great writing organization like RWA. Write everyday. Go to conferences, especially the smaller ones. Go to writing meetings. Get at least two critique partners who are more advanced than you. Write everyday. Learn to take criticism and how to make it work for you. Read books on writing. Master the details of writing like spacing, margins, etc. But most of all, never let the passion die. Stay on that road… eventually it will lead to some pretty amazing things.
RY: Your website mentions you are one of the authors writing for a Harlequin cruise ship “continuity.” You’re assigned book number 9. Can you tell us what a “continuity” is and a little about your story.
ML: Gosh. I don’t know if I can accurately describe this, but I’ll try. A “continuity” is a story line that editors inside the publishing house create. They then work out a detailed synopsis for each book, including characters, setting, etc, and invite some of their authors to participate in the continuity series. You’re given a “bible” that usually contains everything the author needs to write the book. However, the author makes the characters and the story come to life. It’s like getting a broad sketch of what the story is about and the author has to actually breathe life into it.
My story is about Becky Montgomery, a 36-year-old widow with two small children. She’s been working too many hours, ignoring her children, and running away from life. Her mother-in-law has invited the entire family on a Caribbean cruise for the holidays. Becky doesn’t want to go, but is talked into it by her teenage niece. Once onboard she meets Dylan Langstaff, a charming water sports instructor from Newfoundland who has been running away from his own loss. Together they learn how to laugh again, how to love again, and what it takes to start over.
RY: How many books do you think you can reasonably put out in one year… and given a choice, what kinds of stories would you like to write?
ML: I don’t think I could write more than three books in one year, especially with working a full-time job. Given the choice, I like to write comedies with an edge. Although, I’m working on a proposal right now that has a mystery element to it that I really like.
RY: And finally, do you have any words of wisdom to impart to members of our Writing for Love & Money program?
ML: Enjoy the details of the journey; it’s what makes the arrival extra special.
WHO’S ACQUIRING:
Ocean’s Mist Press:
OMP is the premier publisher of multicultural erotic romance. Here is a link to their submissions page: http://www.oceansmistpress.com/submissions.shtml
Premium Press America:
2606 Eugenia Avenue, Suite C
Nashville, TN 37211-2177
Acquisitions Editor: Lanier Brandau
Word count of 80,000-88,000 words. Please include cover letter and SASE. Acquiring Contemporary and Romantic Suspense, Historicals, Erotica and Romantica
COMING NEXT MONTH:
It’s a holiday surprise. Please stay tuned.
ABOUT ROMANTICALLY YOURS
Romantically Yours is a FREE monthly newsletter for members of American Writers & Artists Inc.’s romance writing program – “Writing for Love & 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.