This page contains articles written by members of Washington Romance Writers. In accordance with RWA policies, we no longer publish the current issue of our newsletter, The WRW Update, here on our website, but we archive all available issues in our Members Only section.
By Danielle M. Angeline
(From the December 2006 issue of the Update.)
Three years ago, I was six months into my membership with RWA and WRW when I nonchalantly answered our group email to volunteer as a judge for the Marlene. “What’s a Marlene?” I wondered, yet I sent my information to the contest chairperson. As the holidays lapsed into New Years and the judge’s training meeting neared, anxiety caused me to question my previous actions. “Who am I to judge?” weighed heavily on my mind and that was just the beginning. The day of our January judges meeting, I was greeted with the same cold everyone else was fighting, and to top things off, I overslept and missed the morning session. Still, I dragged myself out of bed and arrived just in time
to be handed a package of information that overwhelmed me. I listened tentatively and took notes to better guide myself through my apprehension of, “What am I getting myself into?”
Once the entries arrived, my pounding heart and sweaty-palm affliction was replaced with anticipation and excitement. I opened the package and scanned through the titles. Being a “title” person, I looked at those first. One of the entries that caught my eye had a title that was the same as a popular Dixie Chick’s song. Being a lover of country music, I set that one aside, wanting to save it for last. Perusing through the other titles, I chose one that didn’t really tickle my fancy. Why? You may ask. When I was in elementary school, my mom taught me to tackle the subject I dislike the most first. I try to apply that wisdom today in my daily routine.
Back to the first manuscript entry. Judging was tough. The first four pages rambled on and on until - Eureka! One great sentence drew me into the plot. Quickly, I uncapped my red pen and circled the sentence. That was the hook, and I had to tell the author so, but I was quite hesitant to suggest it would be best placed on the first page. Again, the Doubting Thomas in me questioned, “Who am I to judge?” But I forged on, fighting the little voice in my head. When I finally finished reading and making notes on the first entry, I breathed a big sigh of relief. I had actually judged a Marlene entry!
Woo-Hoo!
Over the next three weeks, I took my time with each entry and even returned to the first entry to make sure I wasn’t too harsh. It was interesting and exciting to examine the work that other authors devoted hours to perfecting with their blood, sweat and tears. I wanted to applaud these brave writers for taking the risk to have their labor of love read, evaluated and the bottom line --judged. Overall, it was a rewarding experience. But in the end, I didn’t necessarily learn how to be the perfect judge, but I did learn two things about myself: one, it’s important to put myself out there and get involved - whether it is volunteering as a judge or entering a contest. I will never know what the results will be until I try. And two - “Who am I to judge?” I still cannot answer this question because when it comes to trying something new, I will always be a novice, and it is with time, patience, and a little confidence that I will eventually become an expert.
By Danielle M. Angeline
(From the November 2006 issue of the Update.)
The following terms, though far from a completed list, were compiled for the education of those writers who are new to the industry. They were gathered from the following websites:
http://aalbc.com/writers/publishing_glossary.htm
http://www.peacecorpswriters.org/pages/depts/resources/resour_writers
Acquisition Editors - A person at a publishing company in charge of reviewing and rating incoming manuscripts for possible publication and then supervises the publication process.
Advance: A sum paid to the author in anticipation of royalty earnings.
Agent: A person who sells your work to a publishing house for a fee of 10% - 15% of the writer’s entire income from the work.
Blurb: Abbreviated, positive review of the book appearing on the back cover.
Book Proposal: Package submitted to an agent, editor, or publisher for consideration; usually includes a cover letter, synopsis, outline, sample chapters, and a SASE.
Content Edit: An edit of a book that checks the flow of the text, its organization, continuity, and content.
Copy Edit: An edit that checks for grammar, spelling, punctuation and other “typos.”
Copyright: Legal protection given to intellectual rights such written and published works in a variety of forms such as books, audio, and software.
Cover Art: The design of the book jacket.
Cover Letter: A brief letter accompanying a manuscript containing a paragraph about you and a paragraph about the manuscript.
Distributor: A company that buys books from a publisher or other distributors and resells them to retail accounts.
Epilogue: Additional text at the end of the book, that provides readers with additional information on the subject.
Final draft: The last version of a polished manuscript ready for submission to an agent, editor, or publisher.
Font: The typeset used in page design.
Foreign Rights: Rights granted or sold that allows books to be printed and sold in other countries.
Front Matter: The series of pages that appear before the body of text.
Galley: The pre-publication copies sent to the author for final proofreading or to reviewers for pre-publication reviews.
Genre: A specific category of literature, marked by a distinctive style form or content.
Graphics: The non-type parts of a book such as drawings, illustrations, photographs, charts, and clip art used to enhance the content of a book.
Hard Copy: A print out of the manuscript.
Imprint: The name of the publishing company on the title page.
ISBN: International Standard Book Number- An identification number code uniquely assigned to every book.
List Price: The retail sales price printed on your book.
Manuscript: The book in typewritten or word processing form; double-spaced, with numbered pages.
Marketing Plan: A book’s selling plan that includes a budget, synopsis of book, target audience, distribution, promotion, timeline and how you will create demand.
Mass Market: A small format paperback edition usually sold in airports, grocery stores, and drug stores.
Media Kit: See Press Kit.
Partial: A portion (up to the first 3 chapters) of your manuscript sent to an editor or agent (usually by request).
Press Kit: Provides reporters, reviewers, bookstore managers, and others information on the book. It includes a press release, author biography, book cover, testimonials, etc.
Proofreader: Checks the manuscript to make certain that the copy is correct and verified before final printing.
Publication Date: The date set, usually after actual printing of the book, announcing when the book will be available to its audience.
Publicity: A marketing technique using free advertising outlets such as press releases.
Publisher: The person or company responsible for the entire process of producing books. Includes overseeing the writing, editing, design, production, printing and marketing of the book.
Query: A letter or email to an editor or agent proposing what you written, sparking interest so they request a partial.
Review: A critical evaluation of a book.
Review Copy: A free copy given away to be reviewed.
Royalties: Percentage of the sales price earned by the author on sold copies, charged against the advance until it is earned out.
SASE: Self Addressed Stamped Envelope; included when submitting a query or proposal to an editor or agent.
Simultaneous submission: Material sent to several agents, editors or publishers at the same time.
Slush pile: Editor’s term for their collection of unsolicited manuscripts.
Synopsis: Brief summary of a story or novel; approximately one page per 10,000 words.
Unsolicited manuscript: Material sent to an editor, agent, or publisher without request.
By Marilyn Trent
(From the June 2006 issue of the Update.)
A few years ago, Susan Donovan told us about her wonderful muse, a little old lady not unlike Dr. Ruth, who jumped on her back brandishing a whip and made her write hot, sexy romantic books. I had muse-envy. I had no muse. I wanted to lure her muse away in a clandestine takeover, cajole her muse into my life, whip and all.
I wrote, mind you. I wrote bad time travels, bad historicals, bad historical time travels—you get the picture. I really needed that muse! I needed someone to wake me up, slap me silly and tell me what to write.
In my muse-less state, I continued to wander blindly around blank pages, filling them with words, ideas, tales. I wrote about Travis Summerton who left Montana to find his own way in life, only to lose his way until his heroine brought him home. I found Brad D’Angelo, the injured undercover cop who takes a hostage to save himself—and ends up saving her. There was Sam Donegan, retired CIA operative, who is forced to save a King and his true love in a very tongue-in-cheek comedy of errors.
Brian Lane was a firefighter who rescued a woman and her baby only to be rescued himself by her love. And Elisha McCoy was the cynical Catamawchi Island cop who is led to happiness and true love by an Angel. I can’t forget Buddy, the West Virginia cattleman, who wrote love poems to his secret high school sweetheart. Or the Witch, Thomas Harwick, who bewitched not only me, but my entire critique group. Billy Coulter, U.S. Marshall, an old-west hero at odds with his past, saved by the love from his past. And my latest—Oh! My! God! —MUSE.
I HAVE A MUSE!
My heroes are my muses or MY MUSE in different guises. He—yes, my muse is a HE—teases me in the wee hours of the night with quirky, seductive grins, twinkling blue eyes and suggestions for hot sex. He appears in doorways awash with late afternoon sunshine, silhouetted in dusty haze. He rides by on tractors and Harleys, in pickup trucks, sports cars and on fiery stallions. He calls to me from far away places and just across the road.
He is always with me, in one form or another. A Cowboy, a Cop, a Witch, a Spy. Who knows who he will be the next time? One thing I am sure of—he will always be a hero with a big heart and a big grin, just waiting for me to bring him to life, to tell his story, to give him a happy ending that will produce a sigh in a contented reader.
If I don’t do right by him, he’s liable to leap on my back and knock me silly. Or maybe he’ll have his own whip.... hmmmm....how interesting. Pardon me. I need to see to my Muse.
~~~~~
Marilyn Trent is a member of WRW, writing contemporary romantic comedy with the help of her current MUSE, Harley-riding Trailer-ite, Joe Castaldi.
By Annabelle Corrick Beach
(From the April 2006 issue of the Update.)
An odd thing happened awhile ago on my way back from my mailbox. I saw a return submission that arrived several weeks before promised. Then an even greater surprise—a reply letter on stationary with a signature. This was for a three-chapter submission; whereas, a response to a simple query arrived several weeks later with a form letter.
The life of the writer is filled with rejection, right? So the quicker and more pleasant each one, the better. Right again. The first response, arriving much sooner than expected and in more personalized format, was infinitely preferable to the second. In fact, it made my day. It also caused me to ponder upon the greater attributes of the first rejecter who appreciated the writing so much that she took the time to express sincere regret.
While mulling over this event, however, a new bit of information converged with it. I recalled that an editor had been cited as commenting about submission packages ... about why they always seemed to be so difficult to open. Oops. Perhaps that quick and courteous rejection was not totally the result of how nice the agent was (and how good my writing) but more about the convenience of the envelope that allowed tab opening.
Something else came to mind, and that was the recent phone call with a relative who was sure a package I’d sent had not arrived at all. Then she said to wait a minute. Maybe she had set it aside, and it was under some other things on the table. She found the envelope and then said to wait while she used her letter opener. Uh-oh, it wouldn’t work. She’d have to go get some scissors. Many minutes later she got the thing open.
I tried to recall what kind of envelope I had used. Ah yes, one of those fancy tyvek first class white-and-green envelopes I’d just purchased. A whole box.
Although contest judges often suggest using tyvek envelopes because they won’t tear and because they store easily, for editors and agents (not to mention relatives) they do have the disadvantage of being more difficult to open. What if the editor or agent does not have scissors at hand, or their ever-prepared assistant is off for the day? Or they get impatient and try to tear it open with their teeth and suffer an injury. Will you be liable?
But this all gets even worse. I finally re-located the editor’s comments in Atchity’s How to Publish Your Novel: A Complete Guide to Making the Right Publisher Say Yes, page 151. The “former vice president and senior editor of Random House” feels very strongly about this issue: “In terms of on-the-job hazards,” he states, “excessive use of adhesive tape and staples finishes a close second to anthrax.” So you could be imposing the near-equivalent of weapons of mass destruction?
How many times had I carefully sealed my precious missives with strips of brown packing tape? For those full manuscripts, I might have even used a row or two of staples. Yikes! And I thought it was just those layers of editorial committees that caused the complete-manuscript submissions to return months and months later, usually with no comment. I never imagined that those not returned might have been confiscated by WMD squads.
While it’s probably not necessary to hand deliver partial and full submissions in zip-lock freezer bags, tab openings would seem to be advisable. Whether there’s anything to the theory that submission coverings could be decisive, as with selling your house, it does make sense to follow this adage: Remove all obstacles.
~~~~~
Annabelle Corrick Beach, a WRW member, is author of the romantic suspense novel, Illusions of Spring and has been marketing the romance, Summer Dreams.
By Maggie Toussaint
(From the March 2006 issue of the Update.)
The big day finally arrives. You type “The End” on your work-in-progress. Take the time to celebrate that success. Many people talk about writing a book, but few persevere. So, go ahead and enjoy that feeling of accomplishment.
Then roll up your sleeves because it’s time to get back to work. Writing that first draft is only the beginning of having a publishable manuscript. To polish your piece you must look at your work objectively. This may sound daunting for a 100,000-word book but breaking the analysis into smaller sections works well.
1. STORY MOVEMENT. Whether you review one chapter or multiple chapters at a time, the first element to check for is story movement. In romance novels, both the hero and the heroine need to have goals, motivation, and conflict, and these should be internal and external. Make sure the characters change and grow as a result of the plot events. Fine-tune the pacing and heighten the tension.
2. STORY LOGIC. After you smooth out movement inconsistencies, examine your story logic within each scene. Verify that the events you’ve written about make sense. Can your hero really catch a galloping horse when he’s on foot? Did the objects in the scene stay put or move about, as you wanted them to? Is your heroine furious about being slighted or is she merely irritated?
3. SETTING. A mistake many beginning writers make is in impersonally describing the setting. Instead, have your POV character react to the setting. Let the wind blow through her hair and the giant raindrops pelt against her skin. Write your setting as a sensory experience and you will hook your reader.
4. NARRATIVE. Writers want to tell all, to let readers see how intimately we know our characters. But narrative can be overdone. Take a harsh look at your narrative passages. Is there anything that can be moved into dialogue and action? Can your narrative sections be condensed? Make it so. Study published books in your target market. If the balance of narrative-to-dialogue in your book isn’t the same, make those adjustments.
5. DIALOGUE. Your dialogue should reflect the essence of your characters. It should flow naturally without sounding stilted. A good way to check for this is to highlight the dialogue and only read the highlighted text out loud. To ensure you have a distinct voice for each character, you may choose to read one character’s dialogue at a time. Use dialect sparingly.
6. SHOWING. How many times have you heard “show don’t tell?” Incorporate sensory responses to the setting and emotional responses to events in an action-reaction pattern, and you won’t hear that criticism again.
7. WORDSMITHING. Lastly, word choice matters. Get rid of filler words like felt, seemed, just, and really. Cull overused –ly words. Use the “Find” feature of your word processing software to locate the useless words and eliminate them. Incorporate action verbs for weaker verbs. Every “was” that you can change into an active verb will add to the immediacy of your story. Check for overused character tags. If you have the hero’s eyebrows waggling on pages 1,3 and 5, we’re going to think he’s Groucho Marx. Vary what you say and how you say it.
If you polish your work, it will sparkle with freshness and originality. Your voice will ring true in that elusive editorial ear. Take the time to improve that first draft. It will be time well spent.
~~~~~
Maggie Toussaint is a member of WRW. She’s hard at work polishing her contemporary romances and cozy mysteries.
By Diane Whiteside
(From the January 2006 issue of the Update.)
A few months ago, Karen Anders, Leanne Banks, Meredith Bond, Glenda Garland, and I got together for a Meet the Writers panel at Barnes & Noble in Fairfax, Virginia. After a rainy week, we were looking forward to an evening in a warm, friendly place with lots of books and hopefully, reasonable questions.
To our great joy, we found the B&N “CRMs” (the folks who arrange these gatherings) very pleased to see us. They’d set up a table and chairs in the middle of the cooking section. (We were very careful to keep our backs to the cakes and candies cookbooks and our faces toward the health & fitness section. This had the added benefit of letting us view the cover models [mostly male] on the diet & exercise books—strictly for research purposes, of course!) A table in front of us proved perfect for the usual offerings of bookmarks, cover art and chocolates. (Meredith Bond had brought dark chocolate kisses!)
Soon a few aspiring writers arrived, and we were off and running. One of them had been published before and wanted to know how to get back into the game. The other one was desperate to become a published romance author. Between the two of them, they had a million questions, and they kept us hopping.
They also insisted that we use The Dreaded Black Microphone. So we passed it back and forth, handling it very carefully as if it might explode at any time, or deposit ten thousand calories on the unsuspecting, trying to answer all the questions.
We were apparently successful because at first people watched us from the back, then others watched from the side, and finally started sitting down and joining in. Leanne is as spectacularly witty as her books. Meredith is warm and loving, while Glenda spoke cogently and brilliantly about mystery, science fiction AND romance. Karen has been a good friend for years at both writing and my day job. She was always the voice of common sense.
Afterward, the wonderful CRM asked us to autograph stock so they could sell it later. Bless her heart; she said the books would “go like hotcakes.” I thought she was going to be smothered by five adoring authors. Then she asked us if we thought we could sign more than the three or four copies each we’d been told to expect. We all assured her we were certain we could (duh!), unlimbered our pens, and set happily to work.
Finally, I drove home, got myself a good stiff cup of tea, and purred happily. It was a very nice end to the week.
~~~~~
Diane Whiteside, a WRW member, is the author of two historical novels and a novella for Brava, a contemporary erotic novel (The Switch, January 2006, Berkley), and The Hunter’s Prey, a compilation of interrelated erotic vignettes that includes the prequel for Bond Of Blood (October, 2006), the first of her Texas Vampires Trilogy. Also on the horizon is the futuristically erotic Captive Dreams (written with Angela Knight, Berkley, September 2006) and The Southern Devil (Brava, September 2006), another western for Brava.
by Gail Barrett
(From the December 2005 issue of the Update.)
All right, I’ll admit it. I’d fantasized about this moment my entire life—having my very own book signing. And I could imagine it so clearly in my mind—sitting at the linen-draped table, smiling graciously while fans lined up to buy coveted copies of my best-selling book.
So yesterday, the dream finally came true—or at least part of it. I actually had a book signing. Reality, however, didn’t quite match the fantasy I’d dreamed. But I did learn several things from the experience:
Lesson one: People believe that authors work in book stores, or at least that we know everything about books. I shouldn’t have been surprised at this. Back when my husband worked at the Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center in Long Beach, California (dispatching helicopters and cutters to rescue boaters in distress), people would routinely call and ask if the grunion were running (grunion are fish that come close to shore to spawn). Why anyone thought that the U.S. Coast Guard would keep track of the grunion always mystified me. Do people call the Air Force to ask about the migration of geese? But since the Coast Guard operates around the water, people assume that they know about everything in it—just as an author must be an authority on anything related to books.
So no sooner had I sat down at my table, brimming with excitement, pen in hand, a stack of my debut novel at my side, when a lady trotted up and asked where the dictionaries were located. Never good at come-backs, I gaped at her for a moment, then told her the truth—that I honestly didn’t know because I didn’t work there and had never even been in the store before. She looked affronted—even upset—as if it were somehow my responsibility to know.
She wasn’t the only one who thought so. A short time later, another woman approached the table. By now, I’d been joined by Karen Anders who was signing her November Blaze anthology. The woman asked us if we thought books about bird-watching would be in the hobby section. Fortunately, Karen (a veteran at book signings) is faster on the come-back than I am. She smiled brilliantly and told the woman in a very enthusiastic voice what an excellent guess that was. That woman walked away happy.
Lesson learned? Satisfy the customer, even if you have no idea of the answer because (shock!) you don’t actually work at the bookstore.
Lesson number two: Try to get your table placed somewhere near the appropriate section for the type of book you write. Since this was a multi-author event, the store manager had spread our tables throughout the store. Unfortunately, Karen (with her Blaze anthology) and I (with my Silhouette Special Edition) landed in the Christian book section. Flanked by Bibles and other inspirational works, we didn’t lure many romance buyers to our table (even though Karen assured me that the sex in her Blaze was very inspiring).
Lesson learned? People reading Christian books aren’t necessarily interested in sensual and erotic romance novels—or at least not in public.
Lesson number three: Bring along friends. It helped that this was my first-ever book signing and, therefore, a novelty for my friends. Not only did they show up and take pictures, but also they bought numerous copies of my book (one friend alone bought fifteen copies). Thanks to them, my book signing was not just successful—it was fun. We went out to dinner afterward to celebrate, laughed and just enjoyed each other’s company.
Lesson learned? No amount of books sold can ever equal the joy of having good friends. And that lesson matters most of all.
~~~~~
Gail Barrett is a WRW member. Her debut novel, Where He Belongs, was a November 2005 Silhouette Special Edition release. Watch for her next book, Facing The Fire, in April 2006 from Silhouette Intimate Moments. You can visit her website at http://www.gailbarrett.com .
Washington Romance Writers Update Editorial Staff:
- Meredith Hurt, editor
- Danielle Angeline and Lisa Fontaine, associate editors
- Binnie Syril Braunstein, Publicity
- Rebecca McTavish, Member News
- Sherri Neilson, Classifieds
Update is the monthly electronic newsletter of the Washington Romance Writers. The deadline for UPDATE articles and features is the tenth of each month prior to the month of publication. Send electronic files via email to Meredith at: . Send Member News and On the Shelves announcements to Rebecca McTavish at: . Submit classifieds directly to Sherri Neilson at .
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Please Note: Each month, the current issue of Update will appear on the WRW website http://www.wrwdc.com . At the end of each month, the issue will be moved to the “Members Only” section of the website where Update has been archived since December 2003. Please be advised that all content published in Update will be available to the public during the month it runs on the website, and to all WRW members after it is archived.
Changes to Address and Membership information: If your address, phone number, fax number, or email address changes after you join WRW or after you renew your membership, please contact Jackie Graf, Membership Chair, at .
WRW Board Members:
Kathryn Anderson, President
Lavinia Howe Klein , Vice President
Jackie Graf , Secretary
Julie Halperson, Treasurer
Merry Banerji
Deborah Barnhart
Marjanna Bogan
Susan Donovan
Yvonne Pinney
Alix Rickloff
Anne Marie Rodgers
Committee Chairs:
Programs Chair, Michelle Butler
Hospitality Chair, Position Open, Apply Here!
Appeals Chair, To be assigned at first meeting.
Newsletter, Meredith Hurt
Website, Yvonne Pinney & Nicky Penttila
Elections Chair, Kathy Altman
Publicity Chair, Binnie Syril Braunstein
Membership Chair, Catherine Kent
Marlene Chairs, J. Keely Thrall & Beth Balberchak
Retreat Chair, Sophia Nash
Published Author Liaisons, Merry Banerji & Glenda Garland
Unpublished Author Liaison, Alix Rickloff
Library/Archives, Julie Stewart
Legal Counsel:
Elaine P. English, Attorney at Law, 4710 41st Street, NW, Suite D, Washington, DC 20016 Phone:(202) 362-5190.
By Michelle Butler
(From the September 2005 issue of the Update)
How do you make that first sale? Like many other aspiring romance writers, I am sometimes obsessed with that question. Write a great story that is marketable immediately comes to mind, but I often wonder if there is a more complicated answer. To try to find out the trick to making a first sale, I interviewed more than seventy authors who sold within the last five years or so and asked them how they did it. While I may not have discovered a secret handshake, I did learn a lot about the romance publishing business. In a series of articles, I’ll share what lessons their journeys to publication offer to other writers.
The authors I spoke to write all different kinds of romance novels. Twenty-four made their first sales to various category lines of Harlequin-Silhouette. Eight sold traditional regencies to Signet or Zebra. Thirty-three cracked into the single-title market first, and eight made their publishing debut with smaller presses. Some took many years and manuscripts to make that first sale, and several sold their first manuscript soon after completing it. While some had agents at the time of their first sale, thirty-eight did not when a publisher first offered to buy their books. One obvious lesson from these interviews is each author had her own unique path to her first publishing contract.
According to conventional wisdom, the most traditional way to sell your first book is to sign with a literary agent and let that publishing insider sell your manuscript for you. Less than one-half of the authors I interviewed had an agent who sold their first book. This can happen relatively quickly for some.
“My agent submitted the book for me and sold it to Berkley. It took seven months,” said Dee Davis (Exposure, HQN, Sept. 2005), whose first book was the time-travel romance Everything In Its Time (Berkley, 2000).
Most of the authors I interviewed took longer to get published. After many years of trying, several authors credit their agent with making that first sale happen. About a year ago, Tracy Anne Warren sold her book The Husband Trap (April 2006), the first novel in her Regency-set trilogy to be published by Ballantine/Ivy Books.
“Although I sometimes feel as if I have been writing forever, I’ve only been seriously pursuing a career as an author for the past five years,” Warren said. “After five completed manuscripts and a drawer full of rejection letters, I finally got the call on a glorious afternoon last July. When I began submitting my fourth manuscript, it took me nearly a year to find the right agent, but once I did things really zoomed along. I signed with her in May of 2004 and by mid-July had my first book contract.”
If you don’t have or can’t get an agent, there are still many different ways to sell your first book. As a few of the first-time authors I interviewed can tell you, it is still possible to get published from the slush pile. Jenna Kernan submitted Winter Woman (Harlequin Historical, September 2003), her fifth manuscript and third historical, to Harlequin. Winter Woman was a 2003 Rita Finalist for best first book.
Kernan (The Trapper, Harlequin Historical, Sept. 2005) said, “This unsolicited manuscript sat in a pile for two months when a very officious member of the cleaning staff chucked it out as trash, which it may be, but I’d still appreciate a letter with an editor’s signature as a second opinion. Harlequin apologized and asked me to resubmit. I did and then I waited five more months before I got the call.”
Several authors first sent a query to an editor who then requested to see their manuscripts. Teresa McCarthy wrote to an editor at Signet Regency and asked if she would like to see her traditional regency The Rejected Suitor (Signet, April 2004).
“A month later her assistant called me and asked for a full,” McCarthy (The Convenient Bride, Signet, Sept. 2005) said. “In the query I mentioned that the manuscript had been rejected a few years ago by the same editor but I had bolstered the plot. I don’t know if the editor even remembered the story, but I wanted to be up front about it. I got the call about six months later.”
In July of 2001, Victoria Bylin sent queries to several publishers for her second manuscript Of Men And Angels (Harlequin Historicals, July 2003).
“I received a variety of ‘good’ rejections from publishers who weren’t interested in westerns and a request for the full from Harlequin Historicals,” Bylin (Abbie’s Outlaw, Harlequin Historicals, April 2005) said. “I sent the completed manuscript in October 2001 and received the call from my editor in February.”
Kernan, McCarthy and Bylin submitted their novels to publishing houses that bought the kind of stories they wrote. In order to make that first sale, it is often necessary to understand what type of story is marketable and what certain publishing houses look for in a manuscript.
“For me, the most important thing is to know your target market. To study it inside out and to make sure this is where you truly believe your voice will be a fit,” Loreth Anne White (The Sheik Who Loved Me, Silhouette Intimate Moments, May 2005) said.
Even before she began to write her first novel, White researched the two romantic suspense category lines: Harlequin Intrigue and Silhouette Intimate Moments. After deciding Intimate Moments was the line for her and educating herself on the particulars of that line and craft, she sat down to write. Silhouette Intimate Moments purchased her first manuscript, and Melting The Ice was released in October 2003.
Other authors take a little longer to understand how vital it can be to write a marketable manuscript.
“I had written one and a half Russian historicals before I realized this wasn’t the best way to break into romance,” Kathleen O’Reilly (The Diva’s Guide To Selling Your Soul, Downtown Press, April 2005) said. “So when I heard that Duets was looking for authors, I wrote a Duets manuscript and submitted it before starting on my Regency-set historical.”
O’Reilly’s first book published was that Harlequin Duet, A Christmas Carol, released in December 2001. One month later, Berkley published her Regency-set historical Touched By Fire.
For other authors, the key to making that first sale was finding the right editor who loved their voice and wanted to buy their book. Gail Barrett’s editor first saw her work in the TARA First Impressions contest and requested it. Since another editor at the house already had it, the first editor told Barrett to let the other handle it. The second editor rejected it, but when the first saw it again in the Golden Heart, she requested it.
“The book I sold was rejected by one editor, yet bought by another at the same house with absolutely no changes,” said Gail Barrett (Where He Belongs, Silhouette Special Edition, Nov. 2005). “In my experience, it was a matter of finding the editor who loved my voice and was willing to go to bat for my book.”
Often finding that editor can take awhile. Kathryn Caskie’s debut historical Rules Of Engagement (Warner Forever) won the Golden Heart for Long Historical. A St. Martin’s Press editor who had judged the manuscript was interested in it and requested revisions but ultimately did not buy it.
“Since the book was now revised and polished, due in large part to that editor’s interest, my agent, Jenny Bent, had gone ahead and sent my book out to our ‘A’ list,” said Caskie (A Lady’s Guide To Rakes, Warner, September 2005).
The “A” list was interested. On the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, Warner made an excellent offer for a two-book contract that pre-empted an auction among Avon, Pocket and itself. Caskie’s first book went on to become a double 2005 Rita finalist for best first book and best short historical.
Caskie’s agent helped her get in the position where more than one house wanted to buy her first book. How do you get the attention of editors if you don’t have an agent to submit your work for you?
The two most common ways are through contests or networking at conferences. Both Barrett and Caskie caught the eye of editors though contests, and so did many of the other authors I interviewed.
“I entered the Beau Monde (Regency Writer’s RWA Chapter) Royal Ascot Contest and was one of the three winners,” said Meredith Bond (Dame Fortune, Zebra Regency, Sept. 2005). “The finalist judge was Kate Duffy. She couldn’t decide which one of the three finalists should win so we all did, and she gave us all two-book contracts.”
The other two winners were Glenda Garland (In Pursuit Of A Proper Husband, Zebra Regency, July 2005) and Nonnie St. George (Courting Trouble, Zebra Regency, May 2004). Like Bond, Garland, St. George and Barrett, many authors who make their first sale to Harlequin/Silhouette first caught their editors’ attention through RWA chapter contests.
“I was one of those writers who took the contest route to publication,” Tanya Michaels (Dating The Mrs. Smiths, Next, Nov. 2005) said. “I wanted to write for Harlequin and had a partial requested one year when I was a Maggie finalist. Then I entered the eharlequin.com Writing Round Robin contest. When I won that, they asked me if I had anything in-house, and I let them know there were three chapters under consideration. My full manuscript was requested that same week.”
While Harlequin spent a long time evaluating that manuscript, Michaels did not rest on her laurels. She continued working on new projects and entered them in contests.
“I targeted the competitions with Harlequin Toronto editors as final judges,” Michaels said. “I had more books requested as a result, although when I called to thank the editors, I was told I couldn’t send additional manuscripts until they’d made a decision on the first one. I was, however, building some name recognition and making them aware that I had other stories. They ultimately rejected the book that was in-house for so long but immediately asked for the next two that had been judged in contests and bought them both.”
Another way to get the attention of editors is to attend writing conferences. At these events, you may be able to pitch your story to an editor in an appointment. These may be group appointments or one-on-one, but they both give a writer the opportunity to talk about her story to an editor or agent and find out if the publishing professional would like to look at the manuscript.
“I attended the New Jersey Romance Writers’ conference in October 2001 and pitched to a Harlequin editor who requested the whole manuscript,” Anna DePalo (Tycoon Takes Revenge, Silhouette Desire, December 2005) said. “Eventually, I received ‘the call’ and, after ecstatically jumping up and down, revised the manuscript as requested and was given a contract.”
In addition to formal editor and agents’ appointments at writer conferences, there are often many opportunities to interact with publishing professionals in a more casual environment. You may have a chance to talk to editors at an opening reception, at a luncheon or dinner, or even at the hotel bar during a conference.
“I enjoy being with people, so the whole networking thing was a bit natural for me. I learned very quickly that being myself and just getting to know publishing professionals in non-intimidating social settings like the bar at Hilltop House was the most comfortable option for me,” Elizabeth Holcombe (Heaven And The Heather, Berkley, Nov. 2002) said. “Later, if they received a manuscript of mine, I hoped they would remember the friendly girl who asked them how their trip to Harper’s Ferry was instead of trying to shove my pitch down their throat. I have made friends of quite a few publishing professionals that way. They don’t have to buy my book to gain my friendship.”
It does cost money to attend RWA conferences. If your budget is tight and you can’t afford to attend a conference, you can still network online with certain publishers.
“The most important networking, I think, was on the eHarlequin community Web site, where I met my editor, Tanya Starratt, virtually, before I met her in person to pitch the book in New York in 2003,” said Julie Cohen (Featured Attraction, Mills & Boon Temptation, Mar. 2006). “I knew we shared a sense of humor, and she’d probably appreciate my characters and story, which is why I decided to send it to her.”
One cautionary note that several of the authors said about approaching editors or agents is to make sure you are submitting something that is of high enough quality to be publishable.
“Don’t try to sell before you’re ready,” said chick lit writer Shane Bolks (The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Men I’ve Dated, Avon, May 2005), who also writes historicals as Shana Galen (When Dashing Met Danger, Avon, May 2005).
“I wrote four books before I was ready to approach agents. There’s a lot of pressure from friends, family, other writers to submit, but make sure your work is up to industry standards before you try to sell because you never get another chance to make a first impression. You might also want to have a backlog of work.”
Waiting to submit until your work is ready is not a common message you’ll receive at RWA chapter meetings, but Bolks was not the only person to bring it up in her interview.
“RWA is so good at encouraging everyone to submit and sell that most of us submit far too soon,” Robyn DeHart (Courting Claudia, Avon, Aug. 2005) said. “It’s like getting senioritis your freshman year in college.”
“I’m with Robyn on this one,” Emily McKay (Surrogate And Wife, Silhouette Desire, Feb. 2006) said. “RWA is so great about encouraging people to submit. But I think a lot of people submit too soon. I certainly did. So I wish I’d waited until my second book to submit. I also wish I’d spent more time early on studying craft, particularly what I call the ‘big ticket items.’ GMC, story structure, character arc.”
The fact that McKay’s first published novel Baby, Be Mine (Harlequin Temptation, Jan. 2003) was a double Rita finalist in best first novel and best short contemporary shows that she mastered those big ticket items. She, Bolks, and DeHart all eventually reached the point that they were ready to sell as did the other authors I interviewed.
Their journeys to publications show you many of the ways you can sell your first book. When they wanted to make that first sale, some of the authors hired agents to approach editors on their behalf. Others, after taking the time to understand the romance publishing market, submitted to publishing houses directly, entered contests or pitched to editors at regional or national writers’ conferences. Some even combined these different avenues to reach that first sale, but they all persevered and eventually sold a book.
When asked for her advice to aspiring authors, Diane Perkins (The Marriage Bargain, Warner Forever, Oct. 2005), who also writes as Diane Gaston (The Mysterious Miss M, Harlequin Historical, Nov. 2005), said, “Write what you love because your heart will be in it, but also try to steer that heart in marketable directions.”
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
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Michelle Butler writes the second sales column for RWA eNotes. If you have sold your first book and would like to participate in this series, please email her at .
