The First Five Minutes With James Scott Bell- Story Masters Conference

If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood.  I’d type a little faster.  ~Isaac Asimov

By: Stacey Purcell

Do you know what one of the first breakout novels was back in 1774? You don’t know? Imagine that.

A man named Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote The Sorrows of Young Werther and it was an instant success. It’s about a young man who falls in love with a beautiful woman who just happens to be engaged to another man. Instead of walking away, he becomes close to her fiancé even though it causes him much pain. Werther loves her beyond all reason and finally cannot take anymore and leaves town. Shortly thereafter, news comes that the couple have married and are quite happy. He is filled with despair and commits suicide. The End.

The German public back in 1774 were so inspired by this man’s love for a woman that it sparked a trend of young men committing suicide to prove their love. Seems a bit self defeating- you prove your love, but you’re dead…..just saying….

Why did James Scott Bell open his part of Story Masters with this story? It was to prove his point that a great plot is the record of how a character deals with death. This got my attention.

The first type of death is the most obvious. Physical death will ratchet the stakes of the conflict happening in your story right into the stratosphere. If your protagonist is willing to push for the gold or is being forced into doing it, the only possible ending is death. Any of the James Bond movies demonstrates this type of problem. James tries to save the world, bad guy catches him and promises a tortuous death, but our handsome spy prevails and saves the world while getting the girl too! Whew!

Professional death is often used when the protagonist is a cop, detective, doctor, lawyer or some other profession that is closely identified with the type of person they are in the story. The stakes for this protagonist has to be that if they go for the win, it will cost them everything professionally. Mr. Bell used The Verdict and Silence of The Lambs to illustrate this. Paul Newman is a washed up drunk of a lawyer chasing ambulances and handing distraught family members his card. He doesn’t have much to lose at this point except being able to practice law. He takes on a medical malpractice suit and discovers that the case should not be settled out of court, but that someone needed to fight for the patient. This washed up old drunk just took on a whole team of high priced lawyers- it doesn’t look good for him. If he proceeds with this case and loses, he will be finished in the legal profession. They will bury him.

The same goes for Clarice Starling who is pitted against Hannibal Lecter.  Because of her superior analytical skills, she is pulled from her FBI training to interview Hannibal. She is aware of the fact that there are people who are waiting for her to screw up and it will end her career. In both cases, the protagonist defies all odds, risks everything professionally and comes out the victor. This creates high stakes and almost suffocating tension for us!

 

Psychological death can be a more subtle, more sophisticated type of death to consider. For instance, in The Catcher In The Rye, the protagonist is on a journey to find authentic people and if he doesn’t find them, he will die on the inside. We also see this in some love stories. If the lovers aren’t together then they too will die on the inside. (Which may then lead to a physical death-check out poor Werther!)

This is also used in comedy very effectively. James Scott Bell chose The Odd Couple to demonstrate this type of death. Oscar Madison depends on his slobby ways to bring him happiness. He’s a guy on his own, living however he sees fit and loving every second of it. In comes Felix Unger who is the epitome of an obsessive compulsive clean freak and throw in being fragile and possibly suicidal if upset. You have hilarious comedy when they decide to live together. Oscar risks a huge psychological death if he helps his friend after being kicked out of his own house.

Wow. All this was from my first page of notes. What a conference. What great insights to writing.

What type of death will your protagonist suffer? I want to know!

The First Five Minutes With Donald Maass

By: Stacey Purcell

One of my all time favorite books is Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss. I know it’s a blast from the past, but it was the first time that I “lived” a book alongside the characters. (If you haven’t read it, and like historicals, I highly recommend you escape to a quiet room with this novel!) Shanna was given to me by a friend of mine when I was in tenth grade and I remember reading it in coatrooms, bathrooms, copy rooms- anywhere I could sneak a few pages while I was working at Halliburton for the summer in Singapore. It was excruciating to put my characters down and re-join the real world.

What was it about this book that so entranced me and has forced me to buy several newer editions because mine simply fell apart after so many years of re-reading? (I still have my original copy too!) If you asked me this question last week, I would have given you a different answer. I’ve been Maassified.

Again.

This past weekend I attended Story Masters with Donald Maass, Chris Vogler, and James Scott Bell. The rock stars of the writing world! For three days, it was like standing under Niagara Falls trying to capture the torrent of water with a teaspoon-my brain.

I would have said the reason that I love Kathleen Woodiwiss’ book so much was because it was a great story that spans two different countries set in an unstable time. While that is true, it’s not the main reason. So what is it that brings readers into a story, love the characters and makes us sorry when it’s time to leave? It’s all about the emotions.

Donald Maass said that, as writers, we need to open an emotional landscape and in order to do that we need to open ourselves to emotions. Don’t be content to use the primary colored emotions. Ex. Anger, bliss, happy, scared etc. Readers don’t see these. They are so common, so overused; they’ve lost their true meaning.

So how do we do that? Through a series of questions that you ask of yourself.

Had to use this image again- it's so perfect!

1. What is the feeling you’re most afraid of putting down on the page? What is so personal to you that you’ve only told a few people this truth about yourself? What is the joy that is so perfect, you can see it, but are afraid to feel it? What do you think people would do if you told them? Rejection? Laugh at you? Write it down.
2. What aspect of this feeling is most fearful? Silly? Ridiculous? Terrifying? Write it down.
3. Where are you when you experience this emotion? Does it come up on you slowly, building in intensity? Does it blindside you with no warning at all? Is it a constant in your life? Do you never get away from it? Write it down.

This is your emotion. This is authentic and personal only to you. No one else will feel this exact feeling or experience it in the same way that you do. No one else will have the specific reasons for having this emotion- you own this. Now, when in your story does your protagonist have this specific feeling? When can you give your character this emotion? Write it down.

Was this difficult for you? Do you feel resistance from within yourself? This is a good thing. Donald Maass says, “Resistance is your friend.” It is your barometer that points you to where you need to go with your story. This emotion that you wrote down is so nuanced, so detailed, so connected to you- in other words, it is authentic. It is exactly what you need because it will make your readers feel. They will live inside the emotional landscape that you paint because you have used yourself.

**A piece of advice- If you ever want to send your manuscript to Donald Maass, don’t ever, ever, ever, use “gut wrenching”. He HATES it!!

Eat Humble Pie And Die!

Writers are not just people who sit down and write.  They hazard themselves.  Every time you compose a book your composition of yourself is at stake.  ~E.L. Doctorow

By: Stacey Purcell

I had another article I was going to write today, but I ran across a series of emails that I felt compelled to share with all of you. Sit back and watch me eat humble pie and die!

It’s a doozie.

No, really- it was beyond embarrassing.

Background information: I’m first vice president of my writing chapter where I live. It’s a fairly time consuming and challenging job, but one I think that I handle fairly well. I bring in speakers every month from around the country to share their knowledge about writing or their particular profession. For instance, this spring we’ve had an ordained voodoo priestess, a literary agent teaching us about pitching, and a celebrated author (C. C. Hunter) sharing her inside knowledge of the YA market with us.

We’ve also gone on field trips and I’m in charge of our annual conference. Alexandra Sokoloff will be our key speaker this year, and we’ll have three agents plus an editor taking pitches as well. (If you’re in the area, it will be an awesome event and you won’t want to miss it. www.nwhrwa.com -Shameless plug, I know.)

Anyway, one of the hurdles I have to face is getting industry folks to commit to coming. This year, I set my sights on a particular agency. They have a wonderful reputation and both of their top agents are well liked. With high hopes I fired off my email requesting their attendance.

Things were going great. The first agent said she was already booked but would be happy to ask her associate. Yay! I loved her too. Then I waited. And waited. I sent a gentle nudge to see what was happening. And waited.

At this point, my nerves were getting frazzled. I knew I couldn’t ask another agency until I heard from this one. That would be rude. Little did I know that I would take rude to a whole new level!

Finally after two months, I got a response. It was not the one I wanted to read.

I would love to be there, but unfortunately I also already have a commitment that weekend. I hope you have a wonderful conference, though, and perhaps we can plan for 2012.

It was a perfectly lovely decline to our invite. She obviously had manners and responded with grace. What did I do? I decided I needed to let off some pent up anxiety over planning this shin dig. I wrote an email moaning over this new development with a snarky flair. I then sent it to the president of our chapter. (Hi Jenn)

Wow- they are just now getting back to me. Glad I wasn’t counting on them!!

Unfortunately I pushed the wrong button! Instead of the forward icon, I chose the reply one. OMG!!! I knew my mistake as soon as my mouse rolled over the little envelope with the arrow wrapped around it. How could I be so stupid?

Her response came quicker than I could say, “I’m moving to Siberia.”

I think this may have gone to the wrong person.

Wow. Really? Just slit my wrists and let me bleed out. I think my cheeks burned brighter than the sun that day. There was only one thing to do. I had to pull on my big girl pants and grovel like there was no tomorrow. Sigh.

After offering my first born child and apologizing until there were no words left, I waited for a response. I don’t know what I was more afraid of -getting one or never hearing from them again. I didn’t have long to wait.

No worries–I think we’ve all had that kind of email snafu. For the record, though, I responded within an hour of XXX”s email. I believe she was in Italy in when the invitation came through and then we had travel for a sales conference. We certainly try to get back to everyone as quickly as possible, and we really do appreciate the invitation.

This agent will forever be my hero. She could have raked me over the coals for my comment, instead she let me off the hook. I also made it a point to catch her in New York and introduce myself as the moron who couldn’t tell the difference between reply and forward. I apologized again and we had a good laugh. Thank goodness for folks with a sense of humor.

A Little Conference, A Little New York

Song of the day: Rock This Town by the Stray Cats

A visual display of my RWA National New York trip anyone?

I promise I won’t make you sit through an endless array of slides while I chatter on about my nasty run-in with a New York cop, near death taxi rides,  bomb threats,  and elevator mishaps. Nor will I bore you with bemoaning my choice of shoes while trekking across block, after block, after block of the city,  or how I cried during the Broadway show Wicked, or how nervous I was to meet members of my new publisher, Carina Press (oops…did I let that slip?).

I won’t mention the amazing workshops and parties, either. Well maybe, I will.

So without further ado . . .

People, lights, and animation everywhere you turned. Sensory overload!

By the looks of those sun-deprived skinny legs, I'm thinking this cowboy is a stand-in.

NY celebrated my arrival Monday night with fireworks. Did I mention I'm terrified of heights?

Don't honk. $350 Fine. One way the city makes lots of money.

Central Park, who knew it could be so big? And peaceful? And big? And beautiful? And big? Damn flip-flops.

My sight-seeing compadres, Stacey and Ruth. Thanks for not throwing me overboard.

Hard to believe I was part of a workshop panel.

What do you do at the end of a long day at conference? Go to a Harlequin PJ party and wear a silly hat, of course.

Traded PJs for chic at the Carina Press cocktail party.

The Wicked stage curtain. Yes, we had wicked seating.

Must. . . resist . . .donning . . .the ears.

Where's your sword, Zorro? You might can guess his answer.

Hamming for the camera on a tiny slab of red carpet.

Bon Voyage, Kemosabe

Song of the Day: Hold My Hand by Hootie and the Blowfish

And so it is upon us. I’ll be flying out to New York this weekend for the RWA conference.

The final touches are being applied. I’ve done my OCD thing making lists of what I will wear each day and night, including jewelry and shoes. My agenda for the week has been printed. My iPod is charged. The camera has been cleared for the gazillion pictures I’ll take. A new notebook for those novellas I plan to write in my down time (hahaha) is ready to be packed. And I’ve dug out all my pins to wear on my name badge.

Just a few days ago, I finally found a pair of sparkly, sexy high heels to wear with my cocktail dress for the awards ceremony. Since I’ve lost some weight, I’ll be rockin’ this outfit. Hubby seems to think I’m going to pick up men. Never mind that 95% of the attendees will be female.

Yep. Other than the carefully stuffing the suitcases for minimal wrinkle-age, I’m ready to go. So I’m thinking, what will my goal for this conference be?

Network, leadership seminar, retreats, workshops, sightsee, dinner with my Ruby-Slippered Sisters, attend parties, these are the given activities. Yet, this year will be different in other ways.

My ear will be to the ground listening, like Tonto, for the stirrings of the industry. Over the rise, there cometh a change. Self-publishing is whipping in the wind and causing quite a ruckus. Is it a manifest destiny of sorts? I don’t know, but the publishing industry and related organizations will need to assimilate and grow with the digital shift sooner or later.

I’ll also be interested in the value, means, and insight on marketing a self-published book with other conference attendees.

I can’t wait to share with you what I will learn.

Conference Tips, Bradley Cooper, & Daggers

Song of the day: Savior by Rise Against

Here is a quick list of do’s and don’ts and a bit about conference etiquette. Let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?

Do’s

Do bring a camera. Don’t just bring it, take it with you everywhere. You never know when you’ll want to snap a picture. Great photo ops will constantly arise. Besides, what if on your way to a workshop you happen upon Bradley Cooper in the hotel lobby? Who’ll believe you without the evidence?

Do pack light. Let’s face it, we’re women. We have clothes for every situation. Not only that, the time of day for which that situation happens makes a difference to what we wear, too. Add to that all the salon products we use to make ourselves acceptable for facing the outside world.  It’s easy to get carried away, but I strongly suggest mixing and matching outfits and shoes. You’ll not want to schlep the extra luggage.

Do pack snacks. There are many meals not provided by RWA and you’ll be on your own. Bring nutrition bars, trail mix, crackers, small boxes of cereal, packets of tea or Crystal Light, or whatever packable foods you like to munch on. Bonus! You’ll save tons of money if you don’t step out to delis and restaurants for each meal.

Do budget for shipping costs. With all those free books, you’ll likely want to ship a box or two home. Or, bring an empty carry-on suitcase. Fill your books and other souvenirs in your bag and check it in at the airport.

Do have business cards handy.  Give them out freely.  Carry an empty business card holder for the cards you collect. Write pertinent information about the people you meet on the backs of their cards. Your mind will be mush when you get home and this will help you remember who they are later.

Do wear comfy shoes. Got a new pair bought just for the conference? Break them in now. You will be doing a lot of walking. It never fails. You will have a room on the far side of the hotel and most hotels do not have those nifty moving walkways. Trust me, no matter the care you take or how trusty your footwear is, you’ll need band-aids, so bring lots of them.

Overall, BE CONFIDENT. When you are confident, people gravitate to you and respect you as a professional. I’m not saying that to scare the introverts. Even an introvert can display confidence and be seen as professional.  In a way, this is part of branding yourself.

 

Don’ts

Don’t get slobbering drunk.  This should be self-explanatory. No lamp shades on your head, professing your love loudly for everyone in the room, or dancing on the tables.

Don’t be rude, bad mouth, or complain, even among friends. What comes around, goes around. You could be overheard, or your words taken out of context. People may not always remember those who are kind and polite, but they never forget someone who is ugly.

Don’t dress inappropriately. Another no-brainer. No stripper clothes. No Cher or Lady Gaga outfits. No Daisy Dukes. You get the picture.

Don’t stalk the pros. Keep in mind they are there panning for gold, too, but they are talking with hundreds of people.  Approach them if they seem receptive. Pick up on their cues. They are just like you and I, they like their personal space and may be tired. If they seem uninterested, be gracious, offer a business card, and move on.

Don’t line cut. Yes, people do this, and if daggers could be thrown from dirty looks, it would be a crime scene writer’s conference.

Don’t crash parties. There are many parties that are open for all conference attendees. But some are not. It’s bad form. Remember those daggers?

Don’t try to sell your book. You will not walk away from the conference with a contract in hand no matter how great your novel. Pitch your book, yes, but sell yourself!

There you have it, my do’s and don’ts for conference. And complimentary pictures of Mr. Cooper.

One last thing I’d like to add. No matter what type of conference you attend, you won’t be able to do it all, so relax, and most of all HAVE FUN!

Got anything to add? Let me hear from you.

 

10 Reasons Why You Should Go to the RWA Conference

Song of the Day: Here I Go Again by Whitesnake

For romance writers, conference season is upon us. Authors from all over the world, the superstars to the newly aspiring, will converge in New York City later this month for Romance Writers of America’s 31^st annual conference.

Yes, MuseTrackers, I will be there to lay waste. With this year’s theme Bright Lights, Big Stories, I’m prepared to wow the Big Apple with my unique personality and overall awesomeness, aka my “brand”. Okay, that’s a loooong stretch. However, I have set aside my general fear of flying (again) and the excitement is seeping in.

This will be my third year attending. I don’t claim to be all-knowing (quiet down, those of you in the peanut gallery), but I think it’s safe to say I’ve learned enough to share a few tidbits with you. And so, with the dash of snark you have come to expect from me, I give you—

10 Reasons Why You Should Go to the RWA Conference

1. The People. Meet new like-minded crazies. Think about it, 2,000+ people who listen to the voices in their heads, just like you. You can also connect with the friends you’ve made online. New friends, old friends, the potential is there to make life-long friends, which will be handy when sharing padded cells.

2. The Energy. Whoo boy. The energy crackles. It’s contagious. There is no cure. You are so giddy from all the excitement, you want to write, write, write.

3. Pitching. If someone doesn’t ask about your book or what you write, you must still be in your hotel room. There is a very, very good chance you will pitch, even if you do not have an appointment to do so with an agent or editor. You may be standing in line, you may be at the bar, you may be in the restroom, but you will be asked. And you never know who is listening. I’ve heard many stories of how a casual conversation led to an industry pro asking for submissions.

4. Workshops Galore. There is a workshop for every facet of writing. Craft, research, business, the writer’s life, chats, publishing, and more, there is something for everyone.  If that wasn’t incentive enough, I’ll be presenting at one of those workshops. Look for me at Road to Novel Completion: Potholes, Pit Stops, and Poppy Fields, Oh My! You won’t want to miss that, right?

5. Industry Spotlights. Be in the know about publishers. Listen to the editors, get to know their personalities, find out what they are looking for and what they are not, and ask questions. These spotlights go a long way in helping determine a good fit, and the inside knowledge is valuable. Wasn’t it School House Rock that said Knowledge Is Power?

6. Girl Crushes. Stargaze at the famous, meet your favorite authors, and go ga-ga over those who inspire.

7. Networking, baby.  Go to the retreats. Get to know everyone. Let them get to know you. Be a sponge and listen closely. Share information and insights. Participate – actively. This is a biggie in my book. You never know when opportunity will strike. Assume it will strike at any moment. Last year, I played a Mad Libs – type game sponsored by Grand Central Publishing and won. My prize, a critique by two GCP editors. Now, that’s golden. You should be green with envy.

8. The Parties. All work and no play makes (insert crazy writer’s name) a dull boy/girl. So play! Publishers, chapters, organizations, and individuals hold all sorts of merrymaking revelry. Some even have themes. RWA holds a fancy awards ceremony, too. Great excuses to show off your swanky new digs. Bonus: more networking.

9. The Freebies. Publishers host book signings and all the books are freeeeeeee. Romance queens and brand new authors alike will gladly sign your copy. Last year, I picked up books as gifts for the readers in my family. I also collected some for a raffle basket at my child’s school fundraiser. Did I mention the books are freeeeeeee?

10. It’s a Tax Write-off. Yep, the entire affair is tax deductible. The registration, travel, hotel stay, food, the whole shebang is a write off.

Enhance you career, network, and have fun, this is the goal. Be looking for my next post covering the conference do’s followed by the don’ts.

Want to add to the list? Got more reasons to attend? Please share!

Research Steampunk Style! Encounter with Tim Powers

by Marie-Claude Bourque

with my brand new steampunk googles!

Some of you know I was at Steamcon last week in Seattle. Now it was not all about me squeezing into a corset and searching for the perfect pair of googles (did that thought! Awesome googles!).

No I also attended two great pannels/meeting with Steampunk authors that got my brain in gear. The first was with Tim Powers (author of  the classic novel THE ANUBIS GATE) who basically took all kinds of questions from the audience. The second included Cherie Priest author of the latest steampunk novel BONESHAKER who discussed the post-apocaliptic nature of some Steampunk stories.

Cherie was quite frank. First, she said, if you are not having fun while writing your steampunk novel, then you’re not writing steampunk. And she was also very open about the liberty she took in rewriting history a little bit. This is fantasy. Her civil war is a little longer than reality and that’s ok.

In fact, “Steampunk needs historical accurracy like an airship needs a goldfish” was the motto at Steamcon (and I have the t-shirt to prove it!)

Tim Powers however had a great method for his research and inspiration and it was quite different.

Author Tim Powers at Steamcon 09

In fact, Powers told us that he loves to read biographies. He just keeps reading all kinds of biography from interesting people and with an eye on the quirky, looking for small details that may be unusual and… perhaps caused by some supernatural or “spooky” little glitch somewhere.

Then his imagination does the rest.

The next step is what caught my attention and fascinated me. Once he found the biography of interest, say Einstein, and some key events of interest in the life of his subject, he researches what is going at the time, day by day. Let say Einstein makes a particular discovery one day, then Powers will look at all that was happening in the world on that day, and perhaps that time period (or even at the hour timescale if applicable.

He may add some contemporary of Einstein and line up the dates. Then he makes connections. So and so had a accident on that day, another important person died on that day and so.

Then it’s only a matter of connection the dots and with a little imagination, all these events are not random, but caused by one thing.

I thought that was particularly clever. I am not so good at research (unlike our own research queen Jenn) and I am paralyzed at the though of writing historical romance. But I though Powers methid might be one more tool for the writer’s tool box.

Hope this sparks your imagination as well!

Notable links of last week!

• At Witchy Chicks, a good take on Nanowrimo with “Not now, write more”
• Scott Eagan on Teacups and Toasts!
• How not to act as an author/writer by Susan Adrian
• A really sweet candid must-read about the whole Angela James saga (from Samhain to Quarter and her great new job!) In her own words at Dear Author
• and of course support our own Candi, if you like her stories, please please go tell Leah Hultenschmidt at Romantic Reads to help Candi make the cut as a finalist in the Best-Celler Dorchester contest!

ECWC: Agent Panel: What They Want. (Or Not!)

By Marie-Claude Bourque

Last week-end, I was very lucky to attend the wonderful Emerald City Writers Conference in Bellevue, WA. It’s great that I live so close.

The conference was a success as described here at Barbara Vey’s Blog (Publisher’s Weekly) .

I sat in front of a panel of impressive agents and editors and though I’d share what I heard from them here at Musetracks. So present at the panel, where agent Alexandra Machinist of the Linday Chester Literary Agency agent Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency, agent Steven Axelrod, editor Megan McKeever from Pocket Books, Wanda Ottewell from Harlequin (she edits the Superromance line) and editor Peter Senftleben of Kensington.

So here we go (disclaimer, this is what I heard, and maybe not what they actually said!)

On being asked about submission and pitching and what they hate, Senftleben said that if a book is not finished at the time of pitching, just don’t mention that. Pitch the book as is it is finished then send the whole thing if requested. And please don’t CC to all your agents on your list while doing an email submission (yes, he said, it did happened to him.) Axelrod said he will forget any mistake in pitching and submissions if he thinks he can sell your book, Ottewell doesn’t like receiving manuscript that are not targeted to Superromance. Machinist cautions against saying that you are a cross of a all famous authors at once. Perhaps a name or two to get the flavor of your writing but not go overboard. McKeever loves authors who are excited about their book while pitching and that have creative ideas. She also remind writers to always include the ending of the story in the synopsis.

On author promotions, Senftleben pointed that more and more publishing houses rely on authors promoting themselves and that attending writers conferences such as RWA are a great way to network, which may help in finding authors willing to provide cover quotes. On the other hand, Axelrod said that online promotion doesn’t really work that much and authors should really focus on writing a good book. Spencer also said that promotion is on the author’s plate more than ever. Authors still need to realize that their priority is to write their best book but they also do have to do something towards promoting themselves. Machinist warned authors not to get too obsessed with Amazon ranking.

On romantic comedy, whether it is a dead genre or not, Senftleben said that nothing is ever out but some things are more in favor at times and romantic comedy is still equated with chic lit which is down at this time. Axelrod commented that romantic comedy come and go and that is very hard to write universal romantic comedy, a humor that will please a lot at once. Spencer said that it doesn’t help to say it is funny in a query. She recommends calling it contemporary. Your humor will be obvious at first read and she suggests focusing on your voice while writing.

On epub, Senftleben said that sales for electronic books at Kensington are not that big 5-7% of total sales. Axelrod said the market was about to explode and that it was a fabulous way to distribute books, especially for commercial books. He pointed that it would be harder for literally fiction who depend on independent bookstores for their distribution and promotion. Ottewell mentioned that the good thing about ebooks was that books would not go out of print and Spencer mentioned that we do need to pay attention to that trend and that 5-7% of Dan Brown latest sale was still a large number of readers out there willing to buy electronics.

With fellow GSRWA member and Dorchester author Gayle Ann Williams at ECWC

On what it meant when an agent said that a submission was almost right but not quite, most on the panel agreed that this was a polite way of saying they passed on it. Senftleben also mentioned that to take in a submission, not only does he have to love it, but it also have to be good enough for all the other editors.

On what they are looking for, Senftleben takes all kinds of romance including erotica and please no terrorists, Axelrod is looking for wonderful storytellers, Ottewell wants depth, complexity and emotion for her HQ Superromance line. McKeever tell writers to write what you want to write and what you are good at. In romance, she takes paranormal, suspense and historical. She also said she likes sexy book. Nothing sweet.

So there you are. Get writing, and pitch and submit.

I was lucky enough to do a group pitch to Megan McKeever and she basically started our meeting by telling everyone to send their first chapter and synopsis. It seems to be the norm these days as far as I can see.  So next time you pitch, I suggest you relax and just show why you are so passionate about your story!

RWA DC Photo Gallery

Song of the Day: Photograph by Def Leppard (my all-time favorite 80′s rock band! <giggles>)

Hi Folks!

With the arrival of my daughter fast approaching, I’m a bit overwhelmed with what my DH & I have left to do. There is desperation to become organized both within the home and with my writing schedule.  And let’s not forget  getting my 8 year-old ready for second grade, research for my next WIP, contest coordinating, contest judging and juggling everday life. I’m a little behind, so I thought I’d add some pictures of RWA Nationals in DC. Something to tie you over until my next post. <tee hee>

 

Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Janet Evanovich - Gotta love her!

 

 

Dianna Love - She's just awesome

Anne Stuart - A very funny lady!

PJ Mellor - Erotic writer

Colleen Thompson - Suspense writer

 

 

Typical Stacey - my roomie

Hey! How'd he get in here?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christie Craig and Pirate Yoda t-shirt wearing me

 

Pj, wine & chocolate party

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner with some Texas locals

   

Ruby Slippers anyone?

 

Golden Heart finalists - Ruby Slipper Sisterhood

 

Golden Heart finalists - Ruby Slipper Sisterhood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Golden Heart finalists - Ruby Slipper Sisterhood

 

 

 

 

Laurie & Pat - Unique and fun Ruby Sisters

Ruby Sister Heather McCollum and I getting ready to PITCH! Nah - we're not nervous.

My new bud and Ruby Sister - Amy Talley