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 .